Focus: Beginners & Improvers – Your way into Social Dancing
Walking into your first salsa social can feel exciting… and at the same time absolutely terrifying…
The music is pumping, the room is buzzing, and then you look around and see dancers spinning, styling, laughing like they’ve been doing this forever. If you’re a beginner, that moment alone can make you want to hide behind the wall—or head straight back out the door.
But this is why at OnSalsa, we always offer Complete Beginners and Improvers workshops at our party nights so that you instantly feel included right from the moment you come in. There will always be a smiley face at the registration desk to make you feel welcome.
So Why Does This Happen?
Why do Beginners & Improvers feel intimidated?
Most beginners compare themselves instantly to others. Well let me tell you something, you’re not just watching people dance, twirl, and do complicated turn patterns (combination of moves) – you’ re watching confidence.
What you don’t see is:
- How long those dancers have been learning (1, 2, 5 years?)
- The mistakes they made (and still make – but fun overrides it all)
- The nerves they once felt walking into their first social (and we’ve always felt nervous once)
Beginners often think:
- ” Everyone is watching me” [FALSE – everyone is busy having fun]
- “I’m not good enough yet” [Stop here and don’t think like this – My advice to you is: can you walk? yes? so join our beginners workshops at our parties which are the perfect ice breaker]
- “I should wait until I’m better” [well…. you cannot tell me that staying home is more fun than coming out, having a go and having a drink? and if you make mistakes, does it really matter? of course NOT
Social dancing is not a performance, a show. It’s the opportunity to practice what you’ve learnt in a friendly party vibe environment where we all gather to have fun.
What can we do to help?
An awful lot! OnSalsa as a dance community plays a big part in making you feel welcome, connected and meeting as many like minded people as possible.
- We create a welcoming vibe (hope you felt welcomed when you arrived as a friendly environment goes a long way)
- We always encourage all our OnSalsa students to dance with Beginners (one lovely dance can change your entire night)
- Giles and Rosa do not believe in mistakes, we believe in learning whilst having fun. If we miss a lead or if the lead was unclear, it is not a big deal! No-one is perfect so practice is key and then all will eventually become instinctive
- At OnSalsa, we encourage progress, not perfection. Confidence grows from watching and doing, not from waiting and not doing.
At OnSalsa, we truly believe that if you can walk, you can dance. We all started somewhere, right? Socials are the perfect setting where class moves turn into dancing and lots of fun…. and this is exactly what will happen when you step onto the dance floor.
SO COME TO SOCIALS AND LEAVE YOUR NERVES BEHIND
If you’re a beginner or improver reading this:
- You don’t need more moves
- You don’t need more classes before you’re “allowed” to dance
You just need one brave moment
- Say YES to one dance
- Smile, relax and listen to the music
And that’s how you can start building confidence
And one day, sooner than you think (trust me),
YOU will be the dancer that someone else is watching, wondering “wow, how do they do this? how do they make it look so easy, so fun?”
MY BEST ADVICE TO YOU IS:
Stay for the Social after your weekly Tuesday class, practice with other students, ask us, your teachers, to dance with you and let the magic happen. We are here with you on this amazing dance journey to guide you, help you and make your confidence grow on the dance floor.
See you all on the dance floor 💛
