If you're interested in picking up salsa dancing as a hobby, then finding private salsa dance lessons is the best way to start. Beginner lessons don't require any previous experience with dancing, and they'll allow you to get a good grasp of the basics. You'll set yourself up for success in the future when you're dancing with partners at a salsa club or a group class. To learn why it's a good idea to start with private instruction when first learning salsa dancing, read on.
Enables You to Develop Strong Foundations
A good reason to seek out private salsa dance lessons when you're just starting out is that it'll give you a strong foundation in the basics. For example, it's important to keep your core tight and lead into movements using your core rather than leading with your feet or arms. You'll also need to shift weight between your feet in order to shift your hips rather than tilting your pelvis. This makes your dancing appear fluid.
When you're in a group class for beginners, you won't receive nearly as much personal instruction. If you're not moving into the patterns correctly, your instructor may not notice, and these problems can become ingrained in your muscle memory and become difficult to correct later. Starting with a private instructor will make sure you're not reinforcing bad habits because you don't have a strong grounding in the foundational movements of salsa dancing.
Provides You With an Experienced Salsa Partner
Another downside of starting with a beginner group class is that you'll be dancing with other beginners, and this can quickly become frustrating. Salsa is a partner dance, so learning how to lead and follow well is a very important part of becoming good at it. It can be difficult to improve much when you're having to compensate for a poor leader or follower while trying to focus on performing your own patterns correctly, and it can also be stressful rather than fun. Private salsa dance lessons will allow you to concentrate more on your own dancing since the instructor will be able to lead or follow without any problems.
Allows You to Set the Pace According to Your Skills
When you're in a beginner group class, it will go at the pace that the instructor sets for everyone. Learning to dance salsa involves stringing together basic movements like turns into a cohesive pattern that flows gracefully. As a result, group classes slowly become more advanced as you add more movements to your repertoire — they build on each other. If you're struggling with a movement learned early on, you can easily become lost as the class starts to become more difficult. Working with a private instructor allows you to control the pace of your lessons, which means that you won't fall behind.
On the other hand, you may find that beginner classes move too slowly if you have prior dance experience. In this case, private salsa dance lessons can help you improve more quickly than would be possible in a group class that moves at one pace.
If you're new to salsa and looking for the best way to start, find an instructor that offers private salsa dance lessons. You'll be able to build a strong set of basic skills that you can take with you to dance clubs or group classes, which will make dancing more fun and also ensure that you aren't reinforcing bad habits that will impair your ability to dance like a pro.
