Salsa: Copa

In the previous post a move copa was added to complete the pattern with other more complicated turns. Silvia Stoyanova on the video below dedicates several minutes to explain details of the move to the very beginners. The combination they show is completed with a simple haircomb to return hands from crossed to basic open position.



Silvia is a dance teacher from Chicago. More information about her school can be found at www.salsawithsilvia.com. She posted several videos on YouTube that may be interesting for beginners. For more information about salsa lessons, clubs and events around Chicago a website www.salsachicago.com is a good starting point.

Bachata: Inside Turn

Inside turn is a natural next bachata step for a beginner to learn after basic step that we discussed earlier. The embeded video below is also from http://www.expertvillage.com (expertvillage on YouTube). They show the turn both to the right and the left.

Zouk: Basic step

Zouk is a dance similar to bachata which is danced to music originated in Caribbean islands. It is especially popular in French speaking countries and Brazil.

The basic step in the video below is well explained by Perle Lama, a French singer originally from the West Indies. It is posted on YouTube channel Pasquino52 for a zouk website in Italy.

Bachata: Basic step

Bachata is a dance originated from Dominican Republic. It is danced to the music with the same name.

Similar to merengue, in basic step the leader starts stepping in left direction with left foot and makes a bachata "pop" on count 4, changes directions of the steps and makes another pop on count 8. The follower mirrors the steps of the leader.

The video below illustrates the basic step very well, they also give some styling advice



The video is from http://www.expertvillage.com/, a website where people share how-to videos on various topics (not only dances). They have extremely popular channel on YouTube (expertvillage). Many videos on the site are dedicated to social dances including salsa, bachata, lindy hop, etc.

Merengue: Basic step

Video from YouTube user moshunpics spends lots of time explaining concepts of merengue for beginners. They make three important points:

• Keep time with the music.


• Keep upper body level.


• When dancing, take your time and do not worry how many bits are required to complete a move. Keep stepping each bit, and do not forget to move the hips.

The author of the video also promotes his online store of dance instructions DVDs.