When I suggest to students that they learn both leading and following, one of the most common comments I hear is that it confuses them to learn both roles. This is certainly a fair point and learning both roles at the same time may result in neither one of them being picked up correctly. The obvious confusion is the fact that leaders start on their right foot while followers start on their left foot. Additionally, many other aspects are equally difficult to reconcile such as the difference in pressure points or the fact that leaders are supposed to think of the next move while followers should not anticipate anything. This certainly makes it hard to learn both of these structures simultaneously and it can be highly confusing and maybe even counterproductive to learning certain moves. However, I have equally met many people to whom it was helpful to learn both roles at the same time and who found it much easier to differentiate between the different roles this way. Ultimately, it is completely up to the individual how and when they want to switch roles and the level system we have created at Tiempo España Dance Academy allows people to go back to the beginner’s class at any point and learn the opposite role. We do not pressure anyone into trying this out nor do we suggest the timeframe when this should be done but we simply recommend to everyone who comes to their first beginner’s class that they should try out both roles as part of their salsa journey.
While I understand that it may be confusing at first, having struggled with this myself for many months, I truly believe that any dancer hugely benefits from becoming proficient at dancing the role they normally do not occupy. For leaders, it is helpful to understand how it feels to be led by other people so that they can reassess their own signals, their pressure points, musicality etc. Similarly, for followers it is very helpful to understand how to lead moves to be able interpret signals better and follow them more easily or even support leaders in key moments such as tornillo’s etc. In other words, it increases the general awareness of both followers and leaders around the dance buying them some crucial time that they can use in any dance to perfect their respective moves.
