This bloke is the only one I've seen IRL or on KZfaq vocalizing what I have felt within for years

I definitely learn from seeing myself on video so I appreciate the instructors who record the choreo of the class in the end. That way I can return to the moves and repeat them by myself and/or try to improve the bits in my dancing I'm not happy with.

I do 3 things on the dance floor, 1) Have fun, 2) Connect to the Music , and 3) Make fun of when we do something wrong (I usually claim we invented a new move.)

Omg!! That’s me always at the dance floor!! I freeze!!

I started off trying to remember moves but in the end gave up the struggle and decided to learn by osmosis; by being more relaxed about it, going to plenty of classes and social dancing as much as possible the whole thing became easier over time and moves began to appear naturally by sheer repetition. If I wanted to learn a particular move I would write it on my hand in biro at the beginning of a social dance to remind myself and practice it once or twice with each person I danced with (being totally prepared to mess it up!). I found I could usually lead it after a week or two, and remember it too.

I absolutely agree... I can barely remember a move done at the beginning of the class by the end of the class. A lot of people consider me a real good dancer, but that is because I focus on not injuring my partner rather than the moves. I think being smooth is more important than doing a lot of fancy difficult moves. Thanks Ilias for this amazing reminder.

3:50 amazing. best dancing in video 2:10 another super dancing

So helpful!!! Thank you.

Thank you so much for this. It should be played before all lessons. Well said.

Thank you😊

Oh my, such awesome advice. These words will whisper in my ears everytime I go to social dance. Thank you❤

I'm always very envious of people that can dance, I've tried 3 times and just cant get it! I've been to beginner classes with loads of other people new to it and by the end they can more or less do it but I'm totally lost! I just cant remember the order of the moves. My dad was the same, back in the 1950's when everyone danced as a social thing at lot more than now, he couldn't pick it up, looks like I've inherited this, thanks dad! I think being dyslexic doesn't help, I have problems remembering numbers, spelling and my sense of direction is dreadful, I'm sure this is an obstacle to being able to pick up dancing. The strange thing, I'm not physically awkward or clumsy and people are surprised I cant do it!

Very smart advice!! Thanks a lot and hace a happy new year !

Excellent inspirational talk! However the answer to I Can't Remember My Salsa Moves is surely Learn Them So You Do Remember Them! And as you say, you learn by constant repetition. I'm a slow learner, but amaze myself with the number of moves I have learned by repetition, both in salsa and modern jive/ceroc. Of course we make mistakes and forget, and would love to reach the goal of being a competent dancer. But as someone in class said to me, it's probably more important to enjoy the journey, with all its pitfalls, to reach the destination of being able to dance well. PS the guys in the video know how to dance, and the girls not only know how to dance too, but look amazing too!

The arm rip couldn't be more true! I have a torn rotator cuff from having dislocated it in 2020- it was a dance injury

What i say to the people experiencing this problem is: just do your basic steps while enjoying the song

I agree with the muscle memory thing. I used to try all kinds of dumb methods to remember moves but the reality is I didn't really know them or the mechanics well I'm the first place. Also, my classes wouldn't really focus on the structure of the music or the dance. Which is a shame because being taught how to do a variety of closed position basic steps is a great way for a beginner (or anyone lol) to start a dance, add filler, and see how you connect with someone. Also for me, once I was taught (by another teacher) that there are only about 12 moves, variations and combo ideas were easier to conceptualize. Mind you I say all this but I still get upset with myself for being boring lol.

Little disappointed in your advice. Love your channel, so I expected more you hit one important sentence. “ I don’t remember how the move started” that is indeed true, if you can remember the first part of a long combo, the rest will be muscle memory. . We stopped dancing because of COVID, my Work and my wife work always conflicting with social dancing. We attended the Seattle Salsa Congress and writing notes and video taping the combo is the only way to remember while we are practicing it, and to even remember something I could do a few years ago. Sometimes I see some guy lead something and “oh yeah, I remember that, that is easy. And you should be reviewing last week’s class before moving on. Those are the lessons that people remember. That is where the series of classes is better than the one class stands on its own. Defiantly better for beginners. But salsa classes are mostly a lesson before a social dance teaching the basics and then one simply move. And the class is full of people with widely different skill levels. That is a challenge for the teacher and student.