Improvers to Intermediate i2i Program | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

As of 18/03/2020 Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, all courses are suspended until further notice. Click for details

 i2i Deep Salsa | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

i.2.i. Deep Salsa
A new Improvers Plus level Salsa Rapido course.

This course is not and bunch of moves, styling or footwork. It’s for dancers who are looking to energise their salsa through looking at things in a different way.
It uses models and exercises that you will probably not be familiar with.
These will allow you to discover the underlying psychology and ways to change the way you dance or to recognise that no change is necessary.

Salsa Rapido® Method:
The ethos of Salsa Rapido is the same at all levels. It’s the Fast, Fun and Progressive approach to salsa.
In other words I want to get you better, faster, while having a heap of fun.
If you think teaching should be a dry, boring, authoritarian and pedagogical experience, be warned you’ll hate this!

Level
All Salsa Rapido® i2i Flavours salsa classes are not suitable for absolute beginners.
Improvers level is
My definition of an intermediate is someone who regularly dances freestyle salsa. If you're not there yet don't worry. Improvers level is inbetween Beginners and Intermediate.
As an absolute minimum I would assume you can lead/follow a Cross Body Lead / Dile Que No and can manipulate the foot work sequence into several popular patterns e.g. Mambo (Forward 'n Back), Rumba (Side Step).
I’m the first to admit that’s a wide group of levels but I’m working on the basis that those who dance in clubs should know enough to lead/ follow and can operate at ‘club speed’. Improvers can handle the info but struggle to implement things as fast simply because they haven't had enough ‘real time’ dancefloor experience.
If you’re not sure call me.

Itinerary:
11.30am -5pm at Salsa Soho, 96 Charing Cross Road,
Advanced booking only please.

What’s on the course:
What is an advanced dancer:
What motivates a dancer to go from Intermediate to advanced? Motivation
Getting the most from each dance.
Rapport.
The Buzzsaw of Tension Release.

Deep salsa:
Reactive leading - turning mistakes into opportunities.
Avoiding the blame game
The follower’s game - (trust me you’ll love it) Adv Body language

Moves:
The random move machine - Divergent thinking
Making the moves your own
Within his combos
Finding the state of Flow

Musical Interpretation to energise everything:
Find the beat
Making beats work for you
M.I. framework

 i2i Rueda Flavour | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

La Rueda De La Casino
This salsa course is a crash course into La Rueda De La Casino - the Cuban wheel dance. It introduces participants to the moves, the calls and the sheer fun of La Rueda. All of which are brilliant for freestyle salsa.
From a teaching perspective Rueda gives the student excellent ‘class pace’ or learning speed. Also it gives special awareness and a sense of fun.
It’s a must! Besides you've already done many of the moves wherever your style!

 i2i Spins Flavour | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

i2i Spins Flavour salsa course at bar Salsa!
The i2i Spins Flavour explores the salsa techniques, salsa moves and combinations based on various techniques for spinning (rapid rotation) including:
Spins vs turns
The natural mechanics of spinning in salsa
Best and worst practice
Hook Turns & spins
Travelling Spins
Multiple Spins various
Please note:

All Salsa Rapido® i2i Flavours salsa classes are not suitable for absolute beginners.
All i2i Flavours salsa lessons start with the compulsory Salsa Rapido® framework section which introduces/ reinforces core concepts of event led salsa dancing.

 Bar Salsa Soho | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

The Salsa Rapido courses are held at TWO locations depending on the date.
You can check the location here...
View Course Dates
Please go to the correct one :-)

Salsa! Soho:
96 Charing Cross Rd
Leicester Square,
London WC2H 0JG

Map Link
Tube: Leicester Square or Tottenham Court Road

Salsa! Temple
Temple Station,
Victoria Embankment,
London WC2R 2PH

Map Link
Tube: Temple

 Booking and Payment | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

Booking is required- In order to balance the numbers of men and women attending we insist on advance booking only via our on-line booking system.

Payments can be made via credit and debit cards using our on-line booking system, which accepts all major card types.
Our on-line booking system is as secure as possible.
In fact we no longer see your credit card details, ever!
Our system rounds up the details of how many people, how much to pay and which date etc. Then you and this information is sent to our payment company called Sage Pay who process your card details and then send you back to us.
The drawback with this system is that we cannot take your credit card details over the phone.

 What level am I | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

Am I a beginner or Improver
In ascending order the general levels are:
Beginner, Improver, Intermediate, Advanced.

Beginners:
If you have never had a salsa class before, or you have tried a couple of salsa classes you are a beginner. No expertise in another dance qualifies you for salsa although you can expect to find many aspects of the course easier.
An excellent natural definition of a salsa beginner is that you cannot keep the footwork sequence going consistently unless most of your attention is focussed upon it.
Improvers:
An improver has generally completed 6-10 classes (weekly 1 hour) and can consistently keep the footwork sequence going while thinking of other things. You will have experienced spins, turns and various combinations but probably have not mastered them or cannot remember them.
Usually improvers are not confident of dancing in a freestyle situation and lack practice.
The Improver level Course is called the i.2.i. "improvers to intermediate" and is a direct follow on to the 1-Day Intensive Course for Beginners
Click here to visit the i.2.i. FAQ
Minimum levels for i.2.i.courses:
All participants must be able to :

• Keep the footwork going whilst concentrating on something else.
• Manipulate their FWS to make a range of basic steps.
• Have experienced a range of moves.
• Lead or follow a 'Cross Body Lead' or 'Dile Que No'
• I strongly recommend that a minimum of four hours tuition has been completed prior to the i.2.i. Courses.

 Minimum level required | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

Please note that the Salsa Rapido i.2.i. program is not for absolute beginners.
It is a course to bring post beginners into the faster paced world of freestyle salsa.

Minimum standard guidelines
All participants must:
Be able to keep their footwork going whilst concentrating on something else.
Must have experienced a range of moves.
Must be able to lead or follow a 'Cross Body Lead' or 'Dile Que No'

I strongly recommend that a minimum of four hours tuition has been completed prior to joining the i.2.i. Program.
If you're still not sure contact me (daytime only please 07939012231).
More info on levels at What level am I

 i2i Travelling Flavour | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

i2i Travelling Flavour salsa course at bar Salsa!
Travelling – large movements across the dance floor give salsa an amazing dynamism. From the humble CBL or ‘Dile Que No’ to slides and glides there’s heaps of fun to be had moving off the spot. So break on through to the other side of the dance floor.
The i2i Travelling Flavour explores the salsa techniques, salsa moves and combinations based on various techniques of travelling (large movements across the floor) including:
CBL/ Dile Que No variations
Travelling on any beat in any direction.
Around the world / Guapea combos
Second beat based combos CBL On2 / Sacala

Please note:
All Salsa Rapido® i2i Flavours salsa classes are not suitable for absolute beginners.
All i2i Flavours salsa lessons start with the compulsory Salsa Rapido® framework section which introduces/ reinforces core concepts of event led salsa dancing.

 Why have waiting lists | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

We want to offer the best course possible and that means balanced numbers of men and women (see why have balanced numbers).
Please don't be put off by the waiting list as we nearly always offer places to everyone on the list.
Generally ladies book early (they're organised) and men book late! The waiting list covers the gap in the middle.
We also use the waiting list to make up for last minute transfers etc.

 i2i Core Moves for Improvers | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

i2i Core Moves for Improvers
Core moves does what it says on the tin. Short easy combinations of common moves that draw from all five categories of moves: spins, travelling, shuffling and turns, footwork patterns and garnish (no prior knowledge of these terms are needed).
These core moves form a comfort zone of competence. In short you can get out there and do some stuff! Leaders can lead some moves and followers have experienced enough of them to lose the fear of ‘hitting the breaks’ when confronted with an unknown move.
The moves vary in each session so repeat to get more moves and a real sense of your hard won progress.

The primary goals of this are to:
Experience core moves spanning all five categories of moves.
To fluidly connect simple moves into combos through ‘rapport’
To create awareness of, and tackle anticipation (aka back-leading) through attention and presence.


Along the way I’ll present a bunch of conceptual tools that allow dancers to fine tune their skills and apply them to many similar moves and therefore learn faster.
Apart from reinforcing the core Salsa Rapido concepts such as:
- The seven basic rules of salsa
- Understanding and dealing with errors
- Where style comes from and applying it
- Using ‘events’ to hone dynamic moves such as spins and travelling
- Building Rapport to tune into your partner and find Flow

 Am I an Improver | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

An improver has generally completed 6-10 classes (weekly 1 hour) and can consistently keep the footwork sequence going. You will have experienced spins, turns and various combinations but probably have not mastered them or cannot remember them.
Once you can dance free-style in a club you naturally become an Intermediate.
Please note that if you have reached that free-style level but have had a break from salsa of months / years you are just a rusty intermediate and you should not go back to beginners level.
If you are not sure call us or try one of our regular weekly classes and have a chat about your level.

 Am I a beginner | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

If you have never had a salsa class before, or you have tried a couple of salsa classes you are a beginner. No expertise in another dance qualifies you for salsa although you can expect to find aspects of the course easier.
An excellent natural definition of a salsa beginner is that you cannot keep the footwork sequence going consistently. Please also see 'Am I an Improver' and the i.2.i. course level requirments

 i2i Essential Rueda for Improvers | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

i2i Imps Essential Rueda
La Rueda De La Casino the Cuban Wheel form of salsa
This salsa course is a crash course into La Rueda De La Casino - the Cuban wheel form of salsa where traditional rueda moves are called by the caller and danced simultaneously by everyone. It introduces participants to the essential popular moves of rueda, the calls and the sheer fun of La Rueda. All of which are brilliant for freestyle salsa regardless of regional style.
It’s a must! Besides you've already done many of the moves wherever your style!

Essential Rueda covers the core moves and skills required to join in.

Core Rueda moves:
- Pa'l Medio aka Adentro y Afuera
- Arriba, Abajo
- Casino / Guapea
- Enchufla
- La Prima
- Dile Que No / Dame (c.b.l.)
- Sombrero
- Vacilala
- Paseala
- Sacala
- Setenta

We will also cover many variations and extensions of these moves.
Rueda gives many useful core skills to salsa dancers including:
- A sense of fun and loss of pretentiousness.
- Presence and adaptability through letting errors go.
- Spacial awareness.

 i2i Smooth and Naughty | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

i2i Smooth and Naughty

I believe most people aspire to a smoother style where dancers seamless shift from one move to the next in complete balance with each other and the music.
Dancing in a smooth, fluid way looks and feels great, but that’s just the start of it:
- You can dance faster
- Dance in smaller space
- Dance to slower tracks
- Re vitalise you same ‘ol moves
There are several methods used in this course. Paradoxically, one way to get really smooth is to get crisp. Hitting that beat and timing events with precision. Another way is to draw upon the concept of Flow and Peak State.
Of course you never only dance smooth. So the Sharpening up serves a second purpose.

Sometimes we define rules by breaking them - Naughty! I group all the rule breaking techniques into a group of moves called Garnish, as in the pretty stuff on the edge of the dish.
It includes:
- Freezes
- Dips 'n drops (doing them safely)
- Six beat moves (multiple spins and footwork)
- Transition steps

There's loads of useful stuff on this course so come and enjoy :-)

 What If I need to pospone | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

Once booked, you are committed to coming and if you don't show no refund will be given.
However, if you need to postpone please call us (don't email) with as much notice as possible and we will do what we can to help. Our priority is to those attending the course regarding balanced numbers of men and women etc.
We do charge a fee for transferring a booking:-
Transfers with 3 days or more notice = £10 per person.
Transfers with 2 days or less notice = £15 per person.

 i2i Salsa Music and Psyc | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

i2i Salsa Musical Interpretation & Psyc

Partner dancing is expression through interactions with our partners and the music.

Interaction with the music is termed 'musical Interpretation' and our interaction with another human is psychology, hence Music and Psyc..

This course is not a bunch of moves, styling or footwork drilled through to a count.
It may bring up your thoughts feelings and beliefs that challenge you.

This course is for improver level and above salsa dancers who are looking to energise their salsa through looking at things in a different way. It goes to the heart of the question: Why do we dance? If it’s for fun, how can we have more fun and what stops us?
The answer is that it’s surprisingly easy to have better dances more often.
There’s also the opportunity to use salsa to build your confidence and resilience.

It uses models and exercises that you will probably not be familiar with but these will allow you to discover the underlying psychology and ways to change the way you dance or to recognise that no change is necessary.

Musical Interpretation: Using the music to inspire and influence your dance.
Often overlooked, musical interpretation is your best friend when you work with it and your worst enemy if you choose to ignore it.
There are two approaches to any discussion of musical interpretation: The first is deconstructive where we pull the music apart to understand how it fits together. The second is holistic where we explore how the music makes us feel and how it inspires our nuanced movements. This course covers both approaches including:

Salsa Timing: beats, bars and breaks
The Salsa Rapido holistic framework of musical interpretation (how to use the music)
Historical timeline of salsa music including salsa club sub-genres (bachata, merengue, cumbia, son, etc...)
The instruments of a typical salsa band and their rhythmic contribution.
Simple techniques that add musically inspired interpretations to any move.

Each point on the course is made through moves and exercises so you'll be dancing all day.
Feel free to call me and chat about it if you've any questions. 07939012231 Alastair

 Follow up | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

Hi everyone,
I hope you've recovered from the Salsa Rapido 1-Day Intensive for Beginners.
If you didn't make it get in touch and reschedule :-)

Options to follow up:
The next level is called the i.2.i Flavors courses, which are a series of four hour courses on Sundays 11.30-5pm at Salsa Soho.
Each one has a theme and it doesn't matter which order you do them.
They are designed by my for you so you are the right level :-)
Click Dates and Booking below for dates etc.
Use offer code 'b4' for £35pp.

Reviews
As a self employed teacher I rely on good reviews. Pls review the course (not the catering) via the link below.

Pls email any criticisms & suggestions, they're always welcome salsa@streetbeat.co.uk
If you'd like to say something nice especially on Google:
 Google Review and/or TripAdviser Review   

Videos
The videos are at Youtube
Please like share and subscribe.

to link to this page copy :
www.streetbeat.co.uk/Salsa-Rapido-Improvers-Day-Courses/Info::-Follow-up
Kind regards to all Alastair

 i2i Smooth Styling Flavour | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

Smooth Styling
"I believe most people aspire to a smoother style where dancers seamless shift from one move to the next in complete balance with each other and the music."
This course aims to:
• Polish your salsa leading and following skills and develop true free styling (as opposed to choreographed salsa)
• Take your salsa style somewhere new and different so you gain an objective view of where you want to go with your salsa style
• Deliberately take the genre of Salsa somewhere new and exciting.

Background:
For this course our starting point is London style salsa of the mid nineties, a fusion of Miami Cuban and Columbian. Most of the good male dancers were afro Caribbean and brought a fluidity and smoothness that reflected soul, reggae and funk.
By taking that smoothing of the moves and applying confidence and rapport it make the perfect dance for slightly slower rnb influenced salsa.

 i2i Musical Interp and Garnish | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

I've combined two course into one as they work so well together.
Musical Interpretation: Using the music to influence your dance.
Often overlooked, musical interpretation is your best friend when you work with it and your worst enemy if you choose to ignore it.

The course covers:
Salsa Timings.
The Salsa Rapido framework of musical interpretation ( how to use the music)
Historical timeline of salsa music.
Salsa club sub-genres (bachata, merengue, cumbia, son, etc...)
The instruments of a typical salsa band and their rhythmic contribution.

Garnish- the pretty stuff on the edge of the dish, and so it is for salsa....
A collection of salsa techniques that appear to break the rules including:
Freezes;
Dips 'n drops (doing them safely);
Six beat moves (multiple spins and footwork);
Transition steps;
The body language secrets of salsa dancing including Reactive Leading.
The terms may not be familiar to you but their effect on the dance is!
Learn how to use them and how others abuse them.

All Salsa Rapido? i2i Flavours salsa classes are not suitable for absolute beginners.
All i2i Flavours salsa lessons start with the compulsory Salsa Rapido? framework section which introduces/ reinforces core concepts of 'event led' salsa dancing.

 Alastair Sadler salsa teacher | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

Alastair Sadler has been teaching salsa since 1995 and has clocked up over 12,000 classes.
From the start he has developed and refined the progressive teaching method called Salsa Rapido.
Many of his projects have helped define salsa in the UK:
Salsa instructors forum (a workshop where instructors could exchange good teaching practice an ideas).
The One Day Intensive course (The world's first and most successful intensive course, still running weekly)
Salsa university (an all-dayer concept but weekly with 5 advanced classes in different styles)
In addition to teaching he runs The Streetbeat Salsa Co. and edited the Email Salsa News from 1999 -2007.
Salsa Camden - London's highly successful Rapido & Rueda venue where we ran the UK's first ever weekly Bachata course.
In 2001 he choreographed & performed a solo demo (with a mop and office chair) at several congresses and events throughout Europe.
His TV credits as performer and/or choreographer include Baby Father I & II, Casualty, Happiness, Auf Weidersehn Pet and the BBC Ident ( He was the big guy at the front in the white shirt!)

Since 2011 he has realised his love of comedy and performed Stand Up at The Edinburgh Fringe festival (2011, 2012)
I still have many new projects to run such as Liquida and teacher training courses.
It's all been possible through the support of my wife Felicity aka DJ Felicidad with whom I've been married to since 1994.

 History of i2i salsa courses | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

Sept 2013 launch of Salsa Rapido i2i Flavours.
This upgrade solves several problems: Currently I offer one opportunity to do the i2i Beginners Consolidation per month. Which means people have to wait up to four weeks for the course and if they miss that one it's two months! I also want to create a learning environment where people are learning peer to peer. i.e. a supportive and friendly group with experienced and less experienced participants. Once participants have attended any one of the i2i courses they can do all the other flavours for half price, within six months.
Extended to full day 11- 11.30am. This will mean a proper lunch break.
The first part of the day is effectively the old Beginners Consolidation course. My much loved/hated exercises designed to ram home the fundamental Salsa Rapido concepts and skills now renamed Salsa Rapdio Framework.
After lunch we add in the flavour of the day. La Rueda, Smooth Styling, Musical Interpretation and Big moves. (I'm thinking of adding to this list)
For the i2i flavours I'm aiming for reasonably balanced numbers rather than the precise balance we have on the beginners.
I'm currently working on the notes and video clips for the course :-)

Jan 2008 sees the launch of the i.2.i. course (improvers to intermediate) and chance to develop the content of the B.C.B.
There is too much content for a single day, so a themed course can cover much much more within the i2i.
I wish to maintain each sessions independence so dancers can get a lot from just one session, but even more with several. The themes will help to focus on specific areas in detail, whilst maintaining the Salsa Rapido method's foundation course status.
When the 1-Day intensives were established in 2002 (we believe these were the first regular full day courses in the world) The B.C.B. Beginners Consolidation and Beyond was created. Since then hundreds of dancers have been propelled into club competence. The most common feedback is 'When I went back to my local club, loads of people said wow what a difference!'

1998 - Alastair ran a 10 week course titled Deep Salsa for intermediate dancers in London's West End (Later repeated in Sweden on a non-Salsa Rapido influenced scene)
The course was designed to explore and test a number of concepts. The main objective was to discover the differences between an average follower and an advanced follower, and the leading, following and style techniques that enabled dancers to achieve advanced level.
The conclusions were both startling an obvious, and they formed the basis for the Salsa Rapido Framework and affected the Salsa Rapido curriculum at every level.

 i2i Terms and Conditions | The Salsa Rapido i.2.i.

Terms and Conditions for Salsa Rapido course bookings.
These Terms and conditions are designed so that your course runs smoothly within the best environment possible.

Please do not contact me via email as they often get missed, call me (office hours) on 07939 012231

Transfers: Once booked you are committed to the date of the course. If however, you wish to transfer to a later date or put your booking on hold we can do so. Transfers do attract a transfer fee. These transfer fees are dependent on how close to the date of your booking you make the transfer. Transfers can only be made via the telephone within office hours (Mon. to Fri.) prior to the course. Transfers with 7 days or more notice = £5 per person. Transfers with 3-7 days notice = £10 per person. Transfers with 2 days or less notice = £15 per person.
No-Shows: No-Shows is the term we give to those people who do not arrive at the course at the given time and have not contacted us by 5pm on the day before the course to transfer. No-Shows are not refunded or made alternative offers, as their actions disrupt the balance of the class.
Refund Policy: We will only refund in the unlikely event of The Streetbeat Salsa Co. cancelling the course. No further compensation will be offered.
Health and Safety: We expect all participants who have physical or mental problems, which may affect their performance or the performance of others to seek professional medical advice prior to booking and inform the instructors prior to the course.
Should any problems occur during the course, participants must immediately stop and inform the instructors immediately. The Streetbeat Salsa Co. accepts no responsibility for injuries etc. sustained during the course.
Exclusions: Participants may be asked to leave with no refund for the following reasons:
Dangerous, Disruptive or offensive behaviour;
Poor personal hygiene;
Inappropriate dress likely to cause injury;
Apparent alcohol or drug use, before or during the course;
Inappropriate level i.e. to far above or below the stated level of the course.
Any breach of the above terms and conditions:
Copyright: The Streetbeat Salsa Co. reserves all rights to the material presented at the course. N.B. The verbal content is scripted and therefore subject to copyright. No recording or photography of the course is allowed.
Photography and Filming: These terms and conditions also include your agreement to the filming/ photographing of the course and you hereby give all consents necessary for the reproduction, exhibition and use of the material recorded. The Streetbeat Salsa Co. are entitled to cut and edit the film as we deem fit.
Changing partners: Changing Partners is essential and non-optional. See FAQ 'Do I need a partner?' for details.
We look forward to seeing you on the day.
Alastair Sadler - The Streetbeat Salsa Co.