Salsa is a hard dance- especially at first for the guys. Guys have to remember the routine, try and get the footwork right, while leading your lady on the right beat. My best advice for men starting out is practise your footwork to some music, several times each week. Then the feet start to take care of themselves and you can concentrate your brain on the rest of it. You really need to get out there twice a week minimum if you want to get on and improve quickly.
don't give up! You will have the odd bad week, but keep going and you will find the good weeks when you will suddenly improve and move up a stage.

Keep your steps small, move your legs, not your upper body. don't rock your shoulders, try and get your hips going. Push down with each step on the balls of your feet, don't bob up and down, keep it smooth and to the beat of the music. Learning to hear the music, keeping on beat and getting the basic steps right are the most important things for guys starting out.

You may have a head-start if you've had a dance background- ballerinas often end up as great salsa dancers, Lambada dancers that take up Salsa have a beautiful salsa body movement (footwork is completely different though). On the other hand, it is often difficult for people to cross over to salsa if they have done lots of modern jive, ceroc or Lindy Hop. You can spot them a mile off and it would sometimes be easier if they had no dance background whatsoever.
Ladies must learn to stay with the beat of the music and not to stop- no matter what the man does! I think that ladies starting out tend to look down at their feet more than the guys. Practise your basic footwork as much as you can- in the office tea room, the toilet, at the bus stop, and of course at home. Do it to music in front of the mirror if you can.

Looks and age are absolutely no clue as to which ladies will become great salsa dancers. There's plenty of sexy Latin clothing in the high street shops to make you look the part- but the rest is up to you.

You will probably be addicted by now and well hooked on the music. You will either go home afterwards and sleep like a log, or you will be lying there with some catchy Salsa sounds going round in your head, while trying to work through the moves you just learned in your head.
Do not just stick to one club, get out there and try some others, most of them are good or else they don't last very long. If you live out in the sticks, make the effort to go to a London, or a big city club once a month if you can. You've made some friends on the salsa scene- get to one of the great Pontins Salsa weekend which will push your dancing on a big step forwards. (Organised by Cressida Childs of Club Cubana).

After many years of Salsa, you will pick up and remember the routines easily, but its a really good idea to video yourself (and partner if applicable). You will then have a permanent reference to keep those valuable sequences that can easily be lost forever. Even if you just slowly go through it on video. Keep a written record of them if you don't have a camcorder.

Enjoy yourself on the dance floor, look at the lady you are dancing with and not at all the other girlies in the room. Be conscious of your bit of floor space, look over your left shoulder before you crash your lady into the couple behind you from a cross-body lead. Watch out for clumsy beginners, they are usually responsible for stomping their foot down the back of your ladies heel, she will look like she's just had an electric shock when that happens. Start off slowly with your new partner, get used to each other by doing some simple turns before you get too flash. Do not stop if you mess things up, smile and carry on if it goes a bit wrong. If you go blank, just come back to some close sexy dancing with some simple turns to give you space to think.

It is also a good to stand for a while in the clubs and watch the good couples on the dance floor to pick up some of the hot little moves and bits of styling here and there. Use the merengue as a way to relax and have fun on the dance floor.

So you're all dressed up and in a steamy Salsa club with your friends, lined up and hoping to be picked for a dance. don't just stand there- grab a guy for the next dance! Nearly all guys don't mind if you ask them, its perfectly normal these days. Maybe have your eye on the guys that are about your level or a bit higher. don't aim straight for the top guys there as they will find it tiresome if you cant keep up and you may start to lose it. don't aim too low as he will probably lose it himself and spend the whole dance pushing you off beat and plough you into other dancers. If you do get picked by a beginner, try and smile a bit, be as polite as you can, remember it is harder for the men starting out and we all had to start somewhere!
Watch the alcohol. You may find that one drink loosens you up, but any more than that and your spinning will suffer! You may find it useful to take a towel to wipe down if it gets really hot in there. You might need something to put your hair up with if it starts to get out of control.

RELAX! Stay on beat and let the man lead you. Do not anticipate anything. Keep looking at your partner as much as possible and grab whatever hand he offers quickly. Smile, feel the music and enjoy the dance. Remember that his lead may not be perfect, so be careful not to spin off in any direction. If you get a really good dance, try to stick in some ladies styling (but don't over do it and let it put you off). Keep your hips going and some firmness in your upper body. Your arms should be firm enough to feel his lead and remember to keep those arms up.

Try to smile, keep your footwork up and keep close, do not go swinging out like its rock 'n' roll. Keep your steps small when it gets fast, keep your legs tight and your elbows in when you spin. Try and do your spins over the four beats, do not put the brakes on until the mans arm comes down or you're wrapped right in. There is nothing worse than having to dance off-beat, my advice is to shove him back on beat yourself or just tell him as nicely as you can.

Congratulations- you're a great dancer and in demand. You now have a rare skill that you can keep forever. Even if you don't dance for weeks, you will get right back into it after just a few dances and all your hot moves will come back to you pretty quickly. You will probably be well into the music and the whole scene by now. You will still have the odd off-day, but most of the time you should own the confidence to dance with the best of the ladies in the room and do a real good job of it. Quite a good way of testing your nerves is to have a go at the odd competition. Sometimes the best way to attack a competition is to just run out there and do it, rather than plan and worry about it too much.
You will probably be travelling quite a distance to do advanced workshops and check out other clubs you've heard about. Your biggest irritation in the clubs now will be that the music they are playing is naff, the floor is too slippery, or there are not enough hot girls in the room to go round.

Remember a few important things: Feel the music, speed things up and slow it down to the music. Anticipate the breaks and drops (but don't break her back). Be careful when dropping improvers (or she will break your back). Offer your hand in good time, the push or pull of your lead should be bang on time and should have the right amount of power to execute your routines. Do not expect the girl to do what you want if you give a weak lead. Although you will put the girl off her spins and so on if you are too rough, its often just that flick of the wrist thats needed.

Your timing should now be pretty much spot-on and you should be travelling yourself. Keep it close and sexy on the romantica, but not too close. Salsa is a sexy dance, but most girls don't like too much nob-grinding. Its up to you guys to protect the lady you are dancing with, so keep an eye on other dancers around you.

No one will notice when it goes a bit wrong if you just keep those feet going and get on with the next move. Give her nice tidy spins with your hand over the centre of her head and bring that hand down quick to stop her. don't forget your fancy footwork and shines. Show it off, smile and just enjoy yourself!

Ooh you hot thang! You now just want to get out there to enjoy as much good dancing as you can. don't be afraid to ask the men for a dance. It is kind of up to you ladies to get a dance with the top guys in the club, but don't expect to get asked if you are sitting down and looking miserable.
The regular advanced girls in any club will always be in demand, irrespective of how they look. But from a typical mans point of view, appearance and body language go a long way towards getting you up on the dance floor, if you are not well known in that club. Age or size are not what matter. Its dark in there and the first thing the guy will see is the hair, the look and the body language. You can be dancing all night if you dress the part and look like you mean business. They will all want a dance with you once they have seen what hot stuff you are!

You know what to do, you've just got to do it. Obviously try to relax, stay on beat and let the man lead you. Do not anticipate anything. Look at your partner as much as possible and grab his hand as quickly when offered. You will dance much faster if you keep your legs tight and stay on the balls of your feet. Remember not to dehydrate, keep drinking water or soft drinks.

It can really knock a mans confidence if you look like you are just going through the motions. Do smile, feel the music and enjoy the dance. You are experienced enough to work out pretty quickly what level he is, so you should be able to compensate and improvise a bit to stop him from making you look crap. Just get through the bad ones as best you can, remember to keep those arms at waist height, don't be rude to him, you could put him off for life. The world of Salsa needs to keep all the men it has and to encourage more, (pretend to feint if you really have to get away!).

If you have found a good dancer- go for it! Use all your styling, head rolls, body-waves and so on. Get those hips swinging, use some shines, flick your hair and touch your own body if you want everyone to see that you are the sexiest girl in the room!

Courtesy Salsaambiente