How to do a Basic Salsa Step for Men

Series Summary

Salsa is a Latin dance and musical style that was introduced to the United States during the Cuban and Puerto Rican immigration, between the 1940s and the 1970s. There is some debate as to the origins of salsa, but the rhythm is a fusion of traditional African and Cuban and other Latin-American rhythms, including the Mambo and the Rumba. Salsa dancing is one of the most popular dances worldwide, and because the rules of the dance allow for a lot of creative improvisation, many different styles have developed, including Miami style, Puerto Rican style, New York style, L.A. style and Cuban style.

In these free Latin dancing lessons on video, learn how to do beginner salsa dance steps and moves. Our expert dance instructors will teach about the history of salsa; then learn how to do basic salsa moves like the progressive, under arm turns, cross body leads, transitional steps and more. Spice up your Saturday nights; learn how to salsa dance the easy way—for free!

Video Transcript

"Alright guys. What we're going to do now is we're going to teach you the basic steps of salsa real quick. On the basic, we're going to be dancing on 8 counts, pausing on 2, on 4, and on 8. Let me demonstrate the going forward first. Nice and slow. It's going to go 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7. Again. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7. Let me do it turned around. We're going to go from here 5, 6, 7. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 1, 2, 3, 5, and stop. To break it down a little bit, arm first. We want to keep our arms right here. This is called our home base. When you're dancing you want your body to move your arms, not move your arms for them. Also, we're going to pause on 4 and on 8. It's going to be broken down right here. We're going to forward on 1. We're going to step in place with your right leg on 2 and come together on 3. Pause on 4. We're going to go back. On 5, step in place. 6, together, 7. Nice and slow. 1, in place, together, back, in place, together. Let me do it sideways for you guys. Again, we're going to go forward with our left foot on 1, in place, together, back, in place, together. Now, what we want to do is we want to eliminate this whole coming together aspect. We want our basic to look as smooth as possible. We're going to go 1, 2, step behind our foot, and then on 5, 6, 7, 5, 6, 7. Take a look. Nice and slow. 1, 2, step behind, back, step in front, 1, 2, step behind, back, step in front. Now guys, that right there is our basic. "