Are you an On1 salsa dancer and want to switch to dancing On2 salsa? In this article I will give you some of my simple tricks to make your transition smoother and easier.

Many people consider dancing On2 to be more difficult than dancing On1. I think there is truth to that statement, especially at the beginning of your dance career. What makes dancing On1 easier, in my opinion, is that in the beginning, as you learn to count the music, it is often easier to recognize the first beat of the music and therefore emphasize it. Often times, the singer of a salsa song begins singing at the beginning of the phrase of the music on count one. In many salsa songs, the core of beats 1, 3, 5 and 7 is emphasized a lot with instruments like the cow bell, which makes dancing On1 and emphasizing the 1st and 5th beats of the music often much more easy.

However, once you learn to count the music, in my opinion it is very easy to dance to both On1 and On2. And if you’re already dancing On1, switching to salsa dancing On2 can be a breeze. Here’s why.

Once you learn to recognize the first beat of the music, you simply need to change your steps and practice emphasizing the second and sixth beats of the music. The way I switched from dancing On1 to dancing On2 literally almost overnight was by simply recognizing the first beat of the music in a song, stepping in place, and then moving forward into the second beat of the music.

For many, the hardest part of learning to dance salsa is usually learning to count the music and recognize the rhythm, but once you have learned to count the music, dancing On1 or On2 becomes very easy. Think about it, there are thousands of beginning dancers who mastered the On2 dance in New York or Puerto Rico from the beginning. There is no reason why you can’t do it too, especially if you already know how to count music. Just make a mental note of how you want to dance to the music and practice your On2 steps over and over again. Even the same complicated turning patterns that you have learned in On1 will soon be easy to perform in On2.

Of course, there is something to be said for your habits and your ability to adapt to change. For example, a while ago in a salsa club I tried to dance with a big fan by breaking forward in the fifth beat of the music (RicaSalsa style). And although I consider myself capable of switching from LA style dancing (On1) to New York style (On2) and vice versa quite easily, since I had the intention to step forward in the fifth beat and go back to the first beat of the music. . On several occasions I found myself stepping forward in the sixth and backward in the second beat of the music (dancing salsa in the New York style).

But I think at this point I could easily switch to emphasize the fifth beat of the music as well just by practicing. If you think about ballroom dancers, they master many different types of dance and have to be able to switch from one form to another in an instant. In the end, it is practice that makes the difference.

For additional help, there are also many software programs that allow you to break down the different instruments and rhythms that can be very helpful in increasing your understanding of the different salsa rhythms. Obviously, salsa DVDs, group and private classes will always be of great help to develop you as a dancer, whether you dance On1, On2 or both.

And there you have it, some of my easy tips for changing the rhythm from salsa On1 to On2.