Class Overview
Our weekly classes are held at Tracie’s Latin Club:
St. Barnabas Hall, Lodge Road, Southampton SO14 6QS
We cater for all levels from Absolute Beginners to Advanced (see below for details of levels). Partners are very welcome, but not necessary as we rotate partners.
Our main Salsa classes (Cross Body style) run every week at 8.15pm on both Wednesdays & Thursdays – for all levels. On Thursdays we also run an Advanced On2 class.
Our Cuban Salsa classes run once a fortnight at 7.15pm on Wednesdays – from Level 2 upwards.
Our Bachata classes run once a fortnight at 7.15pm on Thursdays – for all levels.
Our Specials classes include things like Cha Cha, Body movement & styling, Footwork, Musicality, On2 conversion, Technique (e.g. Pivots & Spins), and Pachanga. These run once a fortnight at 7.15pm on Thursdays, in mini courses of 3 classes of the same topic, on the alternate weeks between Bachata classes – from Level 2 upwards.
We also have great gift vouchers available to purchase for any of our courses or individual classes – which is a fantastic gift for your loved ones.
Upcoming 7.15pm classes
Wed 18 Sep: Cuban Salsa classes
Wed 2 Oct: Cuban Salsa classes
Wed 16 Oct: Cuban Salsa classes
Wed 30 Oct: Cuban Salsa classes
Wed 13 Nov: Cuban Salsa classes
Wed 27 Nov: Cuban Salsa classes
Wed 11 Dec: Cuban Salsa classes
Thu 12 Sep: Bachata Classes
Thu 19 Sep: Specials class: Feeling the Music L2/3 (part 1 of 3)
Thu 19 Sep: Specials class: Styling with Elaine & Rob L4/5 (part 1 of 3)
Thu 26 Sep: Bachata Classes
Thu 3 Oct: Specials class: Feeling the Music L2/3 (part 2 of 3)
Thu 3 Oct: Specials class: Styling with Elaine & Rob L4/5 (part 2 of 3)
Thu 10 Oct: Bachata Classes
Thu 17 Oct: Specials class: Feeling the Music L2/3 (part 3 of 3)
Rough Guide to our Class Levels
Salsa Classes (Cross Body Style) 8.15pm
Levels 1 & 2 are only available by enrolment on a 6 week course for our 8.15pm Salsa classes (unless by special arrangement e.g. for someone visiting Southampton for a short period). All other levels are on a drop-in basis.
Absolute Beginners : 6 week course
This is only available as a 6 week course which starts assuming you know nothing, and helps you to be able to dance basic salsa confidently on the social dancefloor.
Over the 6 weeks you will learn the salsa step patterns for side and forward basics, mambo step, crossovers, and right turns. You will also learn partner connection, how to lead & follow, and some salsa turn patterns in partnerwork, such as Lady’s Right Turn, Men’s Right Turn, Cross Body Lead, and Reverse Cross Body Lead.
Our Level 1 courses are offset by 3 weeks between Wednesdays & Thursdays, so that a new course starts every 3 weeks.
Beginners Plus : 12 week course (in two 6 week courses)
Most people will come to Level 2 having completed our Level 1 course, but if not, you would need to be confident with all the material in Level 1 (please contact us before booking a course if you have not completed a Level 1 course with us).
For Level 2 there are two 6-week courses (2A & 2B). Before progressing to Level 3, you need to complete at least one of each Level 2 course (both 2A & 2B), but it doesn’t matter which you do first. Both courses include some of the same material to revise, but every week includes material which is NOT covered by the other course.
Therefore, Level 2 is for a minimum of 12 weeks (two 6-week courses), which will take you from the basics to having a repertoire of 50 salsa moves! Not everyone learns at the same rate, so it may be appropriate to repeat one of the courses to assimilate everything with confidence.
Our Level 2 courses are offset by 3 weeks between Wednesdays & Thursdays, so that a new course starts every 3 weeks.
Improvers : drop-in class
Level 3 is available as a drop-in class, but you must be competent with all the Level 2 material before attending – your teacher will be able to tell you if you are ready.
By this level, there are many, many possible permutations of salsa moves, so it would be impossible to cover everything within a 12-week course, but our teachers mix it up so there is plenty of variety, whilst ensuring that essential core techniques are covered. Therefore there is no specific number of weeks to complete before progressing to Level 4, but usually it would be for a minimum of 12 weeks, assuming regular attendance and plenty of practice!
Intermediate – Advanced : drop-in class
Most people will have been dancing Cross Body Salsa for 9 months to a year before attending our Level 4 classes, but it is dependent on achieving the appropriate standard, rather than length of time.
They are run as drop-in classes, but it is particularly important to be confidently competent with Level 3 standard, as Level 4 includes more in the way of spins and fast changes of direction, which depend on secure foundation technique from Levels 1-3. It is not fair on the rest of the class if someone is not yet ready, and is in danger of causing an accident – to themselves or to someone else. If you haven’t attended before, please check with one of the teachers first.
Advanced (with On2 timing) : drop-in class
On2 timing uses different beats in the music for the break steps in the salsa step pattern, giving a different feel to the dance. It means the leads and moves happen with a different part of the music.
Level 5 is a drop-in class, but attendance at our Level 5 classes is dependent on two things:
1. Being confident with maintaining On2 timing for at least Level 2 moves (we run mini courses for On2 conversion as part of our Specials classes)
2. Being confident with Level 4 standard (usually having done at least 12-18 classes of Level 4 on a regular basis)
Cuban Salsa 7.15pm
Before taking any of our 7.15pm classes, it is recommended that you have some experience of the basics of Salsa, and have completed at least the Level 1 Beginners Course from our 8.15pm classes.
This Level is for those who are confident with the basics of Cross Body Salsa, but who are new or fairly new to Cuban Salsa. The amount of previous salsa dance experience will vary for those starting Cuban Salsa, so progression to the next level will depend partly on that. Please check with your teacher before moving to the next level.
This Level is for those who are confident with Cuban Salsa, so the level does not necessarily correlate with your level of Cross Body Salsa. Please check with your teacher before attending this level for the first time.
Bachata 7.15pm
Before taking any of our 7.15pm classes, it is recommended that you have some experience of the basics of Salsa, and have completed at least the Level 1 Beginners Course from our 8.15pm classes. However, we do offer an Absolute Beginners class for Bachata, so if you are only interested in Bachata and not Salsa, it is possible to attend without having done a Salsa Beginners course. In this case you may need to spend a little more time in the Level 1 Bachata class than others who have some previous Salsa experience.
Our Beginners class is for those with no Bachata experience. If you have plenty of Salsa experience, you may only need to do one class at this level before being able to attend the Improvers Level, whereas if you are new to dancing any latin style, you may need to attend several classes to be secure with the basics of timing, partner connection, and lead / follow technique.
Our Improvers Class is for those who are confident with the basics of Bachata. At this level you will learn changes of timing and step patterns (and how to lead & follow those changes), more turn patterns and more body movement. The Advanced class is a significant step up from this level, so you should be completely confident with everything at this level before considering progressing to the next level.
Our Advanced Class focusses on the Bachata Sensual style, and involves a lot of body movement (particularly for the ladies). Leading and following these moves requires a solid technique and good flexibility. Please check with our teachers before attending this class for the first time.