Before I get into this most of you know what this article is about from the title. For those of you that are unfamiliar the meaning of dancing on 1 or 2 check out Edie's article at http://www.salsafreak.com/steps.htm. Also, here is the disclaimer: I didn't write this article to offend anyone. These are just my opinions.

My wife Lory and I started dancing Salsa about three years ago. I'll skip the details of how we got started (that's another story). We wanted to learn salsa and decided to take some lessons. One of the local nightclubs offered a weekly Salsa class so we decided to start there.

The class was a six-week course taught by a local ballroom instructor. This class provided us with some instruction on the basics. When I say basic, I mean real basic! We learned a minimal amount of partner work and a few shines. My biggest gripe is that the instructor did not play much music while he was teaching. Music was played after the class ended. Because of this we had some difficulty dancing in time with the music when it was played after the class.

After several weeks we began to look for some instruction beyond this class. From watching dancers at the local clubs we were very impressed with a couple from New York, Tyrone and Myrna. They are both excellent dancers. We met them and became friends. We took some lessons from them once a week at their house and learned more from them than we did in the nightclub class. At this point we were hooked. We wanted more!

I read an article somewhere that advertised a Salsa instructional tape featuring Eddie Torres. I immediately ordered the tape. I remember the first time I watched the tape. I was very impressed but a little bit frustrated because this tape teaches you how to dance Salsa on the 2 (New York style) and we had learned on the 1. I later found out that there are several different ways to execute a Salsa basic. For example you can break on 1, 2, 3 or 4. There are a couple of ways to dance on 2: the Ballroom 2 and the New York 2. For more details on this check out http://www.salsafreak.com/steps.htm. At the time we were beginners and were happy to learn on 1 or 2 or anything. We just wanted to learn.

About that time we heard that Tito Puente would be making an appearance in Atlanta. At this time (in 1997), the Olympics were here in Atlanta and Tito was here to perform at an Olympic related event. I knew that Eddie Torres and his dancers sometimes perform on stage with Tito Puente. We thought that maybe some of Eddie's dancers would accompany Tito to Atlanta. We hoped that maybe we could schedule a couple of private lessons with some of his dancers while they were in town. I surfed the Internet and found a couple of phone numbers to call for information on Eddie Torres group classes in New York. A very nice lady answered the phone and said that a couple of the dancers would be here with Tito. She took my phone number and said someone would call me if they had time. I never received a return call from them. I figured the Olympic Park bombing might have scared them away or maybe they were just too busy to fit in the lessons.

Several months later we went to New York with Ty and Myrna. They were great guides for the New York Salsa scene. They took us to Copacabana, Latin Quarters and Flamingo. My feet have never been so sore. We had a great time. And the New York dancers! So many good dancers! To say I was impressed would be an understatement. This really motivated me to want to learn. We wanted to take lessons in New York, unfortunately it was time to come back to Atlanta and would have to wait until the next trip.

A few months later we planned another trip. I called the number listed for information on Eddie Torres's classes. The nice lady that I spoke to months ago remembered me. She explained that the dancers were in a very tight schedule in Atlanta but if we came to New York that she could arrange for some private lessons for us. I gave her the dates of when of our upcoming trip and she asked me if we wanted some private lessons with Eddie. I told her that would be great. During the conversation I discovered she is Eddie's mother!

When we went for our private lessons with Eddie. We arrived at the studio and met Elliott Lampert. He was working with Eddie Torres at the time. He wanted to know how were able to schedule private lessons with Eddie. I replied that Eddie's mother scheduled them. I found out later that Eddie does not usually teach private lessons, just group classes. He taught David Lee Roth some private lessons a few months before us. The reason he agreed to work with us privately was because of his mother. She asked him to do this for her. She remembered us and wanted to do something nice. What a sweet lady! Thank You!!

The lessons started and Eddie Torres asked us to dance for him. I don't get nervous if people watch me dance at nightclubs but this was different. Eddie Torres was going to watch us dance. Yikes!! The butterflies in my stomach felt more like humming birds! We were still dancing on 1 at the time and still just beginners, dancing less than a year. After watching us dance for a (long) few minutes, he asked us if we wanted him to teach us on one or two. He said he would teach us either way since we were taking private lessons with him we would be going first class and could have it any way we want it. . We decided to learn to dance on 2. It felt like starting over. I felt so awkward at first. In the beginning, I thought that it didn't feel natural. It seemed like dancing the basic inside out compared to dancing on 1. Still, I was determined to get it. The lesson went well, Eddie was very nice and made the lesson fun as well as a great learning experience for us.

For several weeks after the lessons with Eddie Torres we continued to struggle to with the New York 2 but I noticed the more I danced the easier it became (and the more I liked it). Then one night, after a few weeks of frustration, click…..a light bulb lit up. Wow! I could really feel the music. I realized that I never felt the music before until now. It's like a door was opened for me, a door I had been trying so hard to open. Maybe I was trying too hard before. But it seemed as if it just opened by itself. What a great feeling! From that day forward, I decided I would never dance Salsa on anything but the New York 2 again (and to this day I have not).

A couple of years have passed since we made the transition to the New York 2. We've taken lessons with Nelson Flores, Dellile Thomas and Glenda Heffer. They are all excellent dancers and teachers. As I told you earlier, I don't dance on the 1 anymore. It's the man's decision to start the dance and what to break on. I now avoid asking ladies who prefer to dance on 1. On one occasion a lady ask me to dance with her and said she noticed that I dance on the two. She asked if I would mind dancing with her on one. I answered that I would love to dance with her but it would have to be on two. I know, you're probably saying "jeez, what a diehard" (I guess I am a diehard when it comes to this). Sorry, I just don't enjoy dancing on 1 anymore. I would rather dance on 2 with a beginner than on 1 with an experienced dancer. Most of the ladies I dance with now can follow the guy regardless of what he breaks on. So, it's really not a problem.

As I stated earlier, no offense intended. I'm not saying that breaking on 2 is better than breaking on 1. Notice that I did not attempt to explain why I prefer 2 beyond saying that it feels better to me. Maybe breaking on the 1 feels better to you. There is no right or wrong here. The most important thing is to have fun. Salsa is a beautiful dance regardless of what you break on.