Hot Salsa Lessons, Vol. 1 [DVD]

The DVD does what it promises: It will get you started with salsa. Starting from the very bottom you're guided through timing and rhythm (counting), the basic footwork and then LA style basics. Having this in place you'll learn three different moves (patterns) and that's it.It's generally well taught, repeating the moves and spelling out the details, or at least most of them. Some are left out. For example, they'll change between closed and open position without mentioning a word about it. You'll likely find that intuitive and not a problem, but a worse example: You'll learn a cross body lead, but not what the signal is - how does the lady know it's coming? You'll have to watch and figure out on your own. You'll also find the typical inconsistencies - when they do the moves fluently, they won't stick exactly to those details they have just spelled out. The beginner will watch the footwork and handwork closely and go: "That wasn't quite what he said?" This is both good and bad. Such inconsistencies are confusing to the beginner, but they're part of salsa. You can and will vary the same move somewhat once you become comfortable with it. Salsa is not for robots.Another thing to keep in mind is that this DVD will only get you started. You'll learn basics and 3 moves and be asked to buy the next volume (which hasn't been released as of now). So if you already know the basics and want to learn some moves, this is not what you're looking for. I had hoped it contained more, and after watching it I immediately ordered two other DVDs that should cover much more.Seems like a great buy for the very beginner. Just be aware that it won't take you far.

I have been dancing for 25 years and teach other partner dances. I've been learning Salsa recently and have been looking for good instructional videos. This one is excellent. The video really does start from the very beginning for new dancers by starting with the timing (rhythm pattern) of the dance and the basic foot work. It then progresses through the basic moves and culminates with a couple intermediate patterns. The instruction by the male teacher was very clear.One thing that I really appreciated about their teaching style was that the instructors always danced with very good clean form. We model ourselves after our instructors, so it's important that they are dancing the moves similarly to how they would dance it for real. Many instructors "dumb down" the steps to make it easier to see what is going on, but the disadvantage is that you then have poor movement as your model. This is exactly the problem with the video "New York Salsa: Beginner: Vol. 1". Those teachers take large exaggerated steps so that you can see what they are doing, but it looks bad and provides poor modeling. These instructors do the steps beautifully and use different camera angles, close-ups of the footwork, and slow motion to help you see what is going on.I also appreciated that the instructor mixed in technique pointers with each step. This is often left out of instructional videos.There was only one problem for me with this as a beginning video. There is no instruction on how to create the proper hip movements in the dance and what NOT to do. Many beginners either don't have much hip movement or look over the top exaggerated.Overall, I highly recommend this video. I just wish that they had an intermediate version. I'm already done with this one.

The DVD is fantastic, most of all because it covers everything, from basics to turns and patterns to try in the dance floor. I am puertorrican and used it as part of a series of salsa lessons in preparation for a formal dance in my university. Other hispanic students used it and thought it was extremely useful for teaching and learning. I highly recommend it. Hoping for Volume II to come out soon.

Although this DVD was useful for it's sidenotes, such as foot positioning, posture, etc. It did not contain much in terms of actual steps. I think that this DVD would be good for someone who has never been to a salsa club before, but maybe I should have skipped to a more advanced version. I also bought "The Quick & Dirty Guide to Salsa, Vol I" I am very pleased with it, and I am ordering Volume II today.

I bought both vol of Hot Salsa Lessons and I can only compare with part one of The Quick and Dirty (Q&D) Guide to Salsa.First the good things about Hot Salsa vol 1: the explanations are very clear, showing clearly the work with hands and feet for effective leading on the dance floor with the basic steps and turns. In contrast the Q&D guide to Salsa shows very little of hand work for good leading. This video gives plenty of time to practice between instructions, which are repeated several times for slow learners like me.Second, the things that I don't like about this video are the poor pictures, bad choice of colors and attires, the poor condition of the studio's floor that shows clearly on the close ups of the feet (couldn't they find a better place to shoot the video) and finally the girl helping with instructions could be a better dancer.Finally, I prefer the salsa style of Gigi and Pedro in Q&D and their video is of much better quality. This volume gives some good good clues for leading. I haven't watched vol 2 of Hot Lessons yet, as I said, I'm a slow learner.

It doesn't matter if you dance "on the 1" or "on the 2", you'll find this dvd helpful. My wife and I have been taking lessons for about 6-7 months now and we were looking to enhance our progress. The moves are very nice, clearly explained, and easily adapted to your own personal style.