by Beto
A lot of dancers think that mambo dancing is all about turn patterns or spinning or shines.  Some one said, "It's not about what you do, but how you do it".  Let's take a cross body lead for example: You have two different couples executing this same move.  One of them looks forced, with no feeling or structure, while the other one looks stylish, very smooth and lead without difficulty.  The two are executing the same move, and have taken the same amount of classes, so what makes one better than the other one.

There are a couple of aspects that in my opinion dancers should consider in order to achieve a higher level of dancing.  The follow would cover a couple of aspects that "a leader" and "a follow" should concentrate in order to become a good dancer.

In my belief, a leader needs to:

- Have a strong understanding of the basics.  Things like, when to change your weight; arm tension, basic footwork and when to lead the turns are all part of the basics of mambo.  The better you understand them as a beginner the quicker you'll improve your dancing.  Notices that I say understand them not execute them, going through the step doesn't necessarily mean that you know the steps; can you execute them to the music on time?  That is the question you should ask yourself every time you think you know a step or move!
- Measure your partner's level.  Have her go through a simple routine of basic moves (basic, cross body lead, right turn, left turn) for you to have an idea of what moves she'll be able to follow without difficulty.
- Adjust your lead.  After you have measured her level, keep in mind that certain followers respond better to more obvious signals and leads, and others to stronger or softer leads.  You'll have to determine how to calibrate your lead accordingly.  A good leader is able to adjust his lead while keeping his flavor and style with almost every single different partner.  On the other hand, when a couple dances constantly together, they lose the ability to adjust to another dancer.  A good lead can only be develop if you get yourself out there and dance with as many different partners as possible.
- Share the dance floor with the lady.  I have seen a lot of posing from some leaders but no dancing.  Some times, they don't even move their feet, while their partner is moving from point A to B, side to side, turning left and right with doubles and triples while the man is holding the same pose.  Dancing is movement, not posing. If you ever watch Eddie Torres dance, you'll understand what I'm talking about.  Think about dancing in a circle, you want to share the circle not be in the middle and have the lady run around you.  If you do this, your lead would improve and you'll notice while leading fast inter-exchange of places or dancing fast songs.
- The most important one is to feel the music.  Feeling will manifest through your body.  That is probably the most admirable characteristic in a dancer, not how many times he spins or makes his partner spin, not how many moves he goes through in a single song, but how connected he and his partner are with the music.

Mambo or salsa dancing is all about the lady, it's often heard that the lady is the 'picture' and the man is the 'frame'.  Followers delight us with their style, sexiness and playfulness.  In my belief, all these aforementioned characteristics come to place after the following:

- A strong understanding of the basics.  By this I mean: When to put weight in the proper foot.  How to interpret the lead and to know which direction to go.  Know how to execute right and left turns properly without depending on the leader.
- Prepping for spinning.  No matter if there is one or a thousand spins led, there is always preparation before a turn.  Of course, prep for a single right turn is going to be different than prep for a triple right.  It's all about adjusting to the lead.  The better you prep the better you spin.
- Good connection.  It's a must for the follower to be able to feel the lead.  Starting with the way your following hand is positioned, it should not be flat.  You should use your ring and middle fingers of your hand to connect with his ring and middle fingers on his hand, that way we have good security on the hold and not too much friction (which would be uncomfortable and would slow us down).  Keep tension in your fingers and slightly curve them to his to maintain connection.  Then comes your arm, you need some kind of tension to be able to react on time to any kind of move.  Always match the tension you receive from the leader.  Tension will range from a zero level to a five level depending on what is being led.  Your posture should include a straight back that is what is going to help your balance while turning.  This is also going to allow you to carry your own weight and give some tension at the same time.  If you keep all these pointers into consideration you'll become a follower that is not too light and at the same time not too heavy.
- Experience.  The leaders and followers' learning process is different.  Leaders need more time to develop than followers.  From an experience standpoint, a follower needs to get used to standard moves and be ready for new ones and learn how to respond to certain leads.  On the other hand, if the follower gets too used to a certain lead by dancing with the same partner all the time, she'll have problems adjusting to a different lead.  A follower should try to dance with anyone who is available to be able to react to different feelings.
- Styling.  This is something that comes in place after all of the above has been achieved.  It's not easy.  Good stylish dancers are able to keep their own flavor and follow any move flawlessly.  A lot of experience is needed because the follower needs to understand when she has time to style during a turn pattern or what she can do while been led during a move.  You can use every single part of your body to style like your hands, arms, shoulders, rib cage, hips, and head.... even your hair.
- Feel the music.  Styling and feeling the music go hand in hand, but when you feel the music, the moves that you execute are not pre-designed or rehearsed.  They are inspired by the music and transformed into those sexy hips movements and head rolls we guys love to watch.

These are just a couple of aspects that I think an upcoming dancer should consider to develop into a great dancer.  While you might think some of them are more important than others, remember that dancing is an interpretation of the music from our soul with in our bodies and we will have different approaches.  I hope this helps some of you and have fun at the dance floor.

by Betto Herrera

Leading and following are the two most important things in any type of partner-dancing.  You have a leader and a follower.  There are a lot of aspects to consider in becoming a good leader or follower.  While there are too many to cover in this article, we'll just focus on the main ones.

The leader role is more complex and difficult.  There are three main fields that a good leader should cover while dancing with his partner.  They are leading, timing and safety.

Leading: The leader is responsible for creating, improvising and executing moves to keep the dance interesting, while at the same time allowing the follower enough freedom to express her interpretation of the music.  He should execute moves that match the music and adapt his lead to the level of his partner (for example, by adjusting arm tension or by making the lead less or more obvious).  You should never try to execute the same moves you lead on an advance dancer with a beginner.  Also, a count before you start any move you always have to signal it first so that your partner is aware that a move is coming right after.  In order to develop a good lead, you should have a steady, close, open, firm and subtle grip.  Your palms are probably the most sensitive part of your body.  Use that sensation to communicate what you want her to do.  If you want your lead to be easier to follow, lead as if your partner is blind.

Timing: It is the leader's responsibility to keep both himself and his partner on time during a whole song.  This applies to whatever beat you are dancing on.   For instance, if you started dancing a song On1, stay on the 1; if you started to dance on the 2, stay on the 2.  Do not change the timing in the middle of the song or a turn pattern.  The timing starts with the music and goes to your feet.  If you change the timing in the middle of a turn pattern, for example, and you whip the girl to step back when she was about to step forward on her basic, you might injure her.  Stay on beat the whole time.  Do not expect the follower to keep you on the beat.  It's like going to work and expecting others to do it for you.  If you want your timing to improve, dance as if your partner is deaf.

Safety: It is your duty to ensure that your partner is safe at all times.  No one likes those selfish dancers that you find at the clubs that use the entire dance floor with no regard for others.  Just as bad are the ones that push people around or bump into you demanding more space.  The funny thing is that really good dancers don't need to demand space.  It is always the not-so-good dancers that do these things.  Keep your partner safe.  On a crowed dance floor don't try big extensions that cause her to end up between other couples.  Don't dip her into someone's knees.  DO NOT try to flip her, or do any other crazy stunts that would cause her to end up on top of some guy.  Leave the stunts for performances.

The follower's job is simply to follow, but it doesn't stop there.  "The man is the frame and the lady is the picture", so in order for the leader to look good, the follower needs to look better.  The three main things the lady should be aware of while dancing is arm tension, following the hand and styling.

Arm Tension: Arm tension is something really important while following.  When you are a beginner, your tension may be either too soft (i.e. spaghetti arms) or too stiff.  You need an arm tension that falls right in the middle.  Do not expect the guy to carry your entire weight.  Rather, share it with him.  If you are wondering how your arm tension is, pay attention to your arm while executing an extension.  Is it locked all the way?  Is my shoulder moving forward?  Is my back straight?  Once you get the correct arm tension, you'll be surprised how much easier it is to follow ins and outs, and you will notice that you can fit more turns in a spin.

Follow The Hand: Notice that guys are always leading with their hands.  When they have both hands there is always one predominant hand that is the one you'll need to follow.  If they have just one hand, it's easier to know which hand you should be paying attention to.  If, however, he is trying to ask for the other hand 99.99% of the time, he is going to show you the palm of his free hand.  This means "I want your other hand here."  Pay attention on what kind of grips he is using to hold your hand.  You can almost guess which direction you are going just by the way he is holding your hand, but make sure that you are not assuming and lead yourself into moves.  Always wait for the lead.

Styling: Notice that I put styling last.  Following always comes first.  Styling is secondary.  Once you are on an intermediate level, you may fall into either the "no style" or the "over style" category.  The second one is the more difficult to get out of.  You should start experimenting with styling movements while partner-dancing after you have developed a higher sensitivity and a quicker response to different leads.  Your styling should not interfere with the lead or the following part of the dance.  The best time to style (or the easiest move to style to) while partnering dancing is when stepping back on an extension.  A great way to develop your styling is to learn shines.

Whether you are leading or following, the main purpose of the dance is to have fun.  Mambo/Salsa, by its very nature, is a social dance, not a competition or show (even though there are competitions and performances).  While you are out there dancing remember that no one is perfect.  Don't correct others or make any funny or nasty faces if something doesn't work out.  We were all beginners at one point.  Always be considerate toward the one you are dancing with.  The one you are criticizing now may someday become far better than you.  Considering these helpful hints will help you pinpoint the areas that you need to work on.  The only way to improve is by practicing, so go on to the dance floor and have fun, and remember practice, practice, practice.

by Betto Herrera.
Keep in mind that a dancer on a certain level can also have strengths or weaknesses that are characteristic of a different level. Below, we created a general overview of 9 levels that dancers fall into to help you distinguish your level and which classes are right for you.

Beginner

• Raw Beginner -- If you are taking your first class.  You are just learning your three basics steps and basic turns.
• Intermediate Beginner.-- You should know how to lead and follow 'Cross Body Leads', left and right turns, and extensions.
• Advanced Beginner -- You should be able to lead and follow 'In and Outs', 'Cross Body Leads' with turns, double turns, proper spinning prep, double spins and basic shines.
 

Intermediate

• Beginning Intermediate -- You should be able to get a double spin on your own.  You are leading and following basic patterns and variations in tune with the music.  You continue developing your shines and begin to include them in every dance.
• Intermediate Intermediate -- You begin to flow, connecting turn patterns together with fewer basics in between.  You start adding double turns to your basic moves.  You are now able to lead and follow more challenging partner and foot work and you begin to experiment with styling.
• Advanced Intermediate -- You have a complete understanding of your footwork when leading and following; double turns are no problem and you can change directions from spinning one way to the other with ease.  At this level your own style starts to develop.  You are beginning to experiment with your turn patterns and body movement.

Advanced

• Beginning Advanced -- You can figure out how to lead or follow any move with ease, your turn pattern footwork is impeccable, you are starting to play more with the music, and you go from one move to the next without thinking about it.  You are able to lead unrehearsed moves.  You follow pretty much everything they throw at you, responding quickly to the lead.  You are able to complete 3 spins consistently.  Your styling is feeling more natural and in tune with the music.  You don't feel awkward to play around with your partner.
• Intermediate Advanced -- You are so in tune with the music, you don't think about anything else but the music.  There are no secrets left for you, everything is clear as water.  You have found your personal style and often improvise on shines.  You are able to bring the best out of any other lower level dancer; you complete 4 or more spins fairly consistently.
• Advanced / Professional -- You clear the floor every time you and your partner dance.  You are able to put on a show by yourself.  Your understanding of the music is impeccable and you can hit all the changes, accents, pauses, syncopations, slow and fast parts of a song without thinking about it.  You are not listening to the music anymore, but you are part of it.  Your body is another instrument that plays along with the song you are dancing to.  You make spinning look effortless and you consistently complete 5 or more spins with ease