Is having done ballet a problem for salsa dancers?

Question

I have been dancing salsa (and latin and ballroom) for about four years, purely socially. I mostly dance salsa and I keep coming across the same comment when dancing with new partners. They often ask if I do/did ballet. When I ask why they are asking they tend to shrug and say 'you can just tell.' I haven't danced ballet for 12 years but I'm getting kinda concerned that is affecting my style. What does anyone think?

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

I think it's more that when someone has done ballet, the techniques they learned are so strict that it tends to stay with them whenever they do any other kind of dance. They're like bad habits, you don't even realise you do it. Having done ballet, you would have learned the fundamentals of all types of dance, like posture and using your core muscles, which is probably what your partners are picking up on. It's not a bad thing, they're just picking up on your already formed dance habits. Also, you can usually tell when someone has done ballet, they just hold themselves differently. It just means that you probably know your body better than people that haven't had previous dance experience, which means you probably have slightly better technique.

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I just realised that I kinda rambled on a bit there, so I hope it makes sense. The long and short of it is, I don't think it's a bad thing that they notice that you did ballet.

Answer 2

ballet dancers have a very different technique to salsa

salsa is very loose and has alot of hip movements

where as ballet you are taught to keep your hips square and it is a very turned out technique as you should already know

you would be alot more uptight when dancing salsa becasue of this.

this would be why your partners know

Answer 3

Hi,

Being a ballet dancer, I believe you have a nice technique that you can use to your advantage, however, you should be aware of the fact that salsa has its own technique as well.

You need to keep your knees bend, stay grounded all the time, dont go up to relevee on your turns, etc. Once you applied these changes, you should be able to do the spins a lot more comfortably and have a better control on your body and your arm positions than an untrained salsa dancer.

So, my suggestion, just use your dance knowledge to get better in salsa.