Joel Salsa is a great place to learn salsa if you don't mind repeating classes and are proactive at learning. The price is consistent with most dance schools in Manhattan at $15-20 a class and the instructors do care about your lea. The downsides are the huge class sizes (40+ people for a pair of instructors at the beginner levels), the lack of practice opportunities, and the short 1 hour instruction time.
I'm an intermediate on1 salsa dancer who's taken group classes with different instructors in LA, Austin and private lessons in Mexico and Guatemala. After moving to NYC recently and out of the dance scene for a year, I decided to take up salsa on2 and start over at level 1 of the beginners class.
I noticed that the amount of material covered per class is immense. When they say it's a boot camp, it really is a boot camp! They go over about two normal classes worth of materials in one hour. I'm not sure what the rush is, but maybe you'll feel more accomplished at the end of level 1 after just 1 month. By week 3/4, it seems like half the class is lost at any given moment. Unfortunately, they don't enforce the levels so people who should be repeating 1 are sometimes struggling in 2 and slowing down the class.
The class is only an hour long, which means you spend the first 5-10 minutes getting settled and taking attendance, 15 minutes for warm-up and review, 20 minutes on new footwork, and only 15-20 minutes left for partner work. You may be introduced to a new turn, use it five during class, and still be expected to know it by next week. Personally, I find 1.5 hour classes or 1 hour classes followed by practice sessions more helpful.
I do love how all the instructors put footwork and musicality first. Without the footwork, you can't progress pass the simple turns. I still struggle sometimes with the salsa beat as well so I really appreciate the emphasis on the conga beat for on2.
If this is your first time at salsa and you came with two left feet, here's what you need to do at Joel Salsa to succeed:
* Pair of comfortable shoes that don't grip the floor. No snow boots, hiking shoes, stiletto heels, etc. There are salsa shoes but you can get by with sneakers for a while.
* Attend every single class, twice! They offer the same classes twice every week so go to both.
* Practice at home. If you don't have a partner, practice the footwork. Footwork is the most important part of salsa and I notice people in level 2 still struggle with a basic turn from week 1.
* Ask questions and clarifications, grab the instructor at the end of class if you aren't clear on something.
* Go to practicas. Joel doesn't have a beginner specific practice session, but Piel Canela Dance School across the street does.
* Occasionally take private lessons. I know they're expensive, but it's the only way someone will point out your mistakes. In NY, its about ~$100 an hour but if you find yourself in Latin America, private instructions are sometimes only $10-20 an hour.
* Don't feel bad about switching instructors or dance schools. Different instructors emphasize different things and have different teaching styles. It's to your benefit to learn from the many excellent instructors available to you in NYC.
If you're a guy, know that there's something called "salsa hell". It's very real, just google it. You are basically useless on the dance floor until the end of Joel's level 2 curriculum. Even then, unless you are amazingly good looking, few ladies will want to dance with you and your limited dance moves. This will continue at least until you have enough moves and experience to combine everything into a cohesive lead. From my on1 experience, this took me no less than 3-4 months of classes at least 2x a week with the occasional private lessons to get to a place where I'm able to flow through the different patterns and lead effortlessly. I hope you're not looking to pick up girls with salsa or any other partner dance, because you've found the hardest and most painful way to seduce women known to mankind.
If you came from a different dance school and you want to know which level you're at:
Level 1: Basic footwork, left turn, right turn, partner left turn, partner right turn
Level 2: Fancier footwork, cross-body lead, cross-body lead with inside turn, cross-body lead with outside turn
While the instructors and class materials at Joel Salsa are great, the execution of the lessons and the learning environment are less than ideal. I understand that Joel and Maria need to make money, but this place feels a bit too commercialized for me. Expect to receive lots of marketing emails/texts when you sign up but do check out their free supplemental videos online.
I probably won't be continuing after level 2 just because Piel Canela's unlimited classes plan seems like a better deal personally. They have a lot more classes and dance styles to choose from and I'm much more likely to go there 3-4x a week. read more
