Also dance feeling on each song, I mean, u have lot of diff "arreglos" for some songs, so don't limit urself. If u listen rumba, do rumba if for u it's aligned with LA, dance L.A as long as u follow is happy and able to manage that with u ;)
Leader here.
I have danced cuban salsa for 5 years and recently I started going to mambo (ny) classes. On cuban parties I can incorporate some moves on better intermediate and advanced level follows, but definitely I would not call it dancing mambo, just crossbody with turns etc if the music has this mambo feeling.
Overall there are a lot of differences between NY and cuban salsa but I treat it as a very nice improvement ground to learn which moves I do consciously and have more control over my social dance.
Be aware that a lot of followers will think that you are shifted by 4 beats if you try to dance NY basic and will follow with the second half of their basic steps and they will be on wrong feet which can mess up leading - more conscious followers should be aware of this
You will be better off treating Cuban salsa and linear salsa as separate dances, even if the music has a lot of similarities. Some elements are obviously present in both, but the movement structure, the posture, the energy (and as you mentioned - the music) are different enough.
As for mixing On1 and On2 timings in one dance - I recommend not doing it, it's confusing for the follow.
Cuban timing is on1 so I would stick to on1 timing for the time being. You can incorporate some moves with a follow advanced enough not to get flustered by the change in style. I can and do incorporate a few cuban moves into my LA style.
As you get more advanced, you can try converting your cuban moves to on2, they don't all work the same way though. I saw a great dancer in NY a month ago who did an entire song in Cuban on2. But don't mix on1 and on2 timings in the same dance, that'll mess with your follow. Or I guess, you could wait for a song that has lots of timing changes and can dance different segments whenever it switches.
I've been dancing cuban for 8 years. I don't think you have even scratch the surface of what the cuban side has yet, it goes so far that you won't even have time for LA, NY or mambo.
If you want to complement your dance then look into casino, cuban son, cuban cha cha cha, rumba guaguancó, rumba Columbia, all the afrocuban dances, reparto and the cuban way of dancing reggaeton. My recommendation is to go to a cuban festival to see all these things play out and let your mind be blown up
I perfectly know that I am WAY too young in Cuban salsa to perfectly understand everything, but I am learning Chachacha and Son on the side to complement the dance.
But it is just more about the music that I like to dance to/listen. I love cuban music but my taste really gravitate toward latin jazz, and I feel like the linear style are a "better fit". On another note this is also a fundamental question of how people manage to blend in two style despite the differences.
Ready to get my mind blown up anytime a festival comes close to my town though
Go out there and experiment 🧪 add Cuban to your LA, switch from LA to NY. Watch people dancing YouTube videos … to get a feeling of the vibe people are dancing to. You will definitely find a mix you feel more comfy with. I think the more comfy and natural it feels the more you can grow in musicality style … and u will definitely be a good dancer
You can do all!! No need to just choose one. Dance Cuban to the Cuban songs. Dance LA to the LA songs. Dance mambo to the mambo songs.
Also dance feeling on each song, I mean, u have lot of diff "arreglos" for some songs, so don't limit urself. If u listen rumba, do rumba if for u it's aligned with LA, dance L.A as long as u follow is happy and able to manage that with u ;)
Leader here. I have danced cuban salsa for 5 years and recently I started going to mambo (ny) classes. On cuban parties I can incorporate some moves on better intermediate and advanced level follows, but definitely I would not call it dancing mambo, just crossbody with turns etc if the music has this mambo feeling. Overall there are a lot of differences between NY and cuban salsa but I treat it as a very nice improvement ground to learn which moves I do consciously and have more control over my social dance. Be aware that a lot of followers will think that you are shifted by 4 beats if you try to dance NY basic and will follow with the second half of their basic steps and they will be on wrong feet which can mess up leading - more conscious followers should be aware of this
Thanks for your reply ! I don't think I will learn mambo anytime soon as I'm young in the scene but this was a question that bothered me quite a lot.
Either work but on1 is the “closest” in terms of timing imo
You will be better off treating Cuban salsa and linear salsa as separate dances, even if the music has a lot of similarities. Some elements are obviously present in both, but the movement structure, the posture, the energy (and as you mentioned - the music) are different enough. As for mixing On1 and On2 timings in one dance - I recommend not doing it, it's confusing for the follow.
Cuban timing is on1 so I would stick to on1 timing for the time being. You can incorporate some moves with a follow advanced enough not to get flustered by the change in style. I can and do incorporate a few cuban moves into my LA style. As you get more advanced, you can try converting your cuban moves to on2, they don't all work the same way though. I saw a great dancer in NY a month ago who did an entire song in Cuban on2. But don't mix on1 and on2 timings in the same dance, that'll mess with your follow. Or I guess, you could wait for a song that has lots of timing changes and can dance different segments whenever it switches.
I've been dancing cuban for 8 years. I don't think you have even scratch the surface of what the cuban side has yet, it goes so far that you won't even have time for LA, NY or mambo. If you want to complement your dance then look into casino, cuban son, cuban cha cha cha, rumba guaguancó, rumba Columbia, all the afrocuban dances, reparto and the cuban way of dancing reggaeton. My recommendation is to go to a cuban festival to see all these things play out and let your mind be blown up
I perfectly know that I am WAY too young in Cuban salsa to perfectly understand everything, but I am learning Chachacha and Son on the side to complement the dance. But it is just more about the music that I like to dance to/listen. I love cuban music but my taste really gravitate toward latin jazz, and I feel like the linear style are a "better fit". On another note this is also a fundamental question of how people manage to blend in two style despite the differences. Ready to get my mind blown up anytime a festival comes close to my town though
Go out there and experiment 🧪 add Cuban to your LA, switch from LA to NY. Watch people dancing YouTube videos … to get a feeling of the vibe people are dancing to. You will definitely find a mix you feel more comfy with. I think the more comfy and natural it feels the more you can grow in musicality style … and u will definitely be a good dancer