Went out to a salsa bar for the first time last Saturday. Had a great time. I wasn’t expecting the brain freeze. I had all the confidence in the world walking in the door; I know enough moves, I practice, I could care less about what I look like (My face was painted to look like cheese from an earlier ballroom dance)….but then I start doing my basic and all of a sudden I remember nothing!!! It is definitely a different enviornment. I didn’t realize how often you would be bumping into other people. Still a blast and I look forward to going again soon.
Do any of you have suggestions for breaking a mind freeze. I am thinking of going with a set pattern just to get the ball rolling.
Tom 10:24 am on October 27, 2008 |
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There’s a current thread on the Don Baarns Unlikely Salsero Facebook Group called - Remebering Moves, which might be useful to have a look at, beyond that there are a few threads on salsaforums.com
Giving the moves or patterns names, practising them, and having a list or similar to remind you of ones you have done/know if reminded can help. For starters, you could play around with twinning moves together, to see how the different couplings work perhaps? Or create a pool of moves and see how they can all link together.
e.g. some close hold moves, open hold moves, moves from a female right turn, moves from a male right turn, moves from open breaks etc. Keeping on going in a mind freeze can help, and the better you get the more moves you’ll still have if you have a brain freeze. A few set patterns could help too
donv69 12:15 pm on October 27, 2008 |
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LOL!! That used to happen to me all the time and still does now. I’ll dance with a girl and only remember 5 moves. Then at the end start remembering other moves I could have done.
You need to learn one dance at a time and add one move at a time. Plus this is your first time at the club, you need to go regularly and it will come.
Tom 4:34 pm on October 27, 2008 |
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Yeah - first time at the club - congratulations for going, and don’t sweat the small stuff - it’ll come to you and you’ll feel at home there soon enough
Marco 9:48 pm on October 27, 2008 |
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@donv69
That line about “at the end start remembering other moves I could have done.” So true.
Thanks for the encouragement Tom…I will have to have a look at that thread and site..come up with a game plan.
As to feeling at home…I’d feel a little more comfortable if they stopped rolling out the merengue and bachata songs. I can only deal with that for so long before I reach for a mohito.
donv69 4:18 pm on October 28, 2008 |
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@Marco
I have just added two new moves to my repertoire that I remember and now do. They’re not patterns, just direction changes. They simple and easy to remember.
Don Baarns 2:55 pm on December 22, 2008 |
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@Tom: Tom has it right… When I started out I wrote down sets of moves, and reviewed them on my breaks. I’d say “oh yea, I didn’t do that move…” and I’d try to find an appropriate place in the next dance to include the move. The real key to eliminating brain freeze is simply doing enough social dancing.
After dancing a few years, I still keep a running list of new moves I want to add. I name the moves if an instructor didn’t and before going to the club I review my “moves of the night/week”.
The ladies don’t know it, but they are all getting to practice my new combo with me. Simply add one or two per week (or more if you can), and in a couple months you’ll be well on your way.
Also note I’m a huge fan of sets of moves which have minor variations. I love moves which all start the same way, but then have 2 to 4 alternate endings.
A simple example is a single turn. Once you are comfortable leading doubles, you want to mix and match. Even when dancing with a follow who can do triples and more, they never know if I’m going to do a set of singles or the next time it will be a double or triple. More advanced follows often enjoy singles and “simple” moves because it gives them time to style.
That is just one example, so the point is watch for moves that compliment your current set, and mix and match pieces of your existing materials.
Let me know if any of this helps.
Don Baarns
http://www.UnlikelySalsero.com
Marco 4:42 pm on December 22, 2008 |
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@Don -Knowledge is power so everything is helpful!
Since my original post I have tried to simplify the complexity of moves. (I was trying to jump from stage 1 to stage 12 salsa moves.)
In line with small variations, a DVD I rented from the library (Edie the Salsa Freak’s Salsa Sylabus) taught a “family of moves.” This was profound for me to lead the same outside turn and do it about 5 different ways. It is great to just be able to fall back to an emergency set of moves while you are trying to search your brain for the next “showstopper.”