Customer Reviews

Salsa & Merengue 1-2-3 [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this video a few days ago and then read the comments on this product page and I was bit hesitant to open the video. However, it is great and in fact one the best that I own from the Josie Neglia series. The salsa moves are excellent, popular, but for advanced salsa dancers only. I found the moves to be great refreshers since I have been taken salsa lessons for almost 10 years now and dance regularly. These moves serve as refreshers for those who are salsa dancers and possibly instructors. If you are a beginner this video is not for you and in fact there's nothing on the box that says "beginner salsa" therefore I am not sure where the notion of this video being for beginners originated. Once again the moves are fantastic, common and will help you to break down the moves more if that's what is needed to perfect them.

The downfall of this video to me is the merengue section. The moves are simple; they are shown very quickly and demonstrated all together at the end. I also found that Josie and her partner are not good merengue dancers at all. They are definitely dancing out of time on the moves and I think considering that the salsa section was so advanced and strong they could have done a better display of moves in this section.

The setting and the space for demonstration in this video is excellent. It seems to be an empty nightclub dance floor, which gives them plenty of space to move and be natural. I emphasize this video is a great refresher of advanced salsa moves for those who are at an advanced level and beyond. I do recommend this purchase for "salseros".

Salsa & Merengue 1-2-3 is a video of Salsa combinations from basic to advanced. This video is better viewed after you have learned the steps in her Hot Salsa series. Please note forms/ patterns/ combinations like this are used to teach you how to flow from one move to the next without a break. Please do not use these patterns in a nightclub as many other people also know these patterns & they will may laugh at you. Please note the tempo of the Salsa music in her videos. If the music is faster remember to speed up the moves. I have read comments on the message boards about people using these forms to different speeds of music. The idea is to use these forms then change then to suit the music. Mix the forms up. Josie also includes some basic shines. Josie uses the same pattern to teach as her Hot Salsa video. Josie then teaches the basic Merengue techniques.

I read the reviews of this video and then bought it anyway because I'm not a total beginner and thought I would be bored with a lot of simplistic breaking down of moves and easy patterns. I was wrong! This is too hard for beginners of any level, even if you already know the basic step and a few turns. Most of the combinations are really complicated, and they provide only brief instructions.

The meringue section is a little better because the patterns are short and a lot easier to catch onto, but they offer no instruction for that section, just demonstration.

This video was a huge dissapointment for me. I want to learn salsa, but this video does not break down and label the steps. Sure, it teaches you great combinations, but when I teach these combinations to students in my physical education classes, I won't know the names of the steps. If she had told us the names of the steps and broke them down for us, this video would have been great.

As a beginner I am now taking salsa lessons and still very disappointed with this video. As per this tape if you're a beginner stay away. Good instructors always count "1,2,3,,5,6,7," while showing you the exact steps/footing. As an instructor Jose Neglia doesn't even know how to count - she says "quick, quick, slow,,quick, quick, slow". Not only is that really bad instruction, she furthermore often loses the tempo when she says "quick, quick, slow" which confuses the beginner even more. One more thing, she instructs the dance steps very quickly "quick, quick, slow" then demonstrates it very quickly. If you are a beginner there's no way you'll enjoy this tape.

This video is best when you learn from Josie Neglia's Dance Hot Salsa Videos 1&2 which break down every pattern count-for-count.
This video is great because it teaches leaders how to put a few steps together in a sequence to create flow.
My boyfriend memorized all the 8 combinations and uses them when we dance in the club. He liked it because he used to always get stuck when he danced in the clubs. He didn't know which step to do next so he would do the basic step over and over again until he remembered the next step. This video changed alll that! He learned these combinations (5 or 6 patterns put together) and now he looks SMOOTH!
I definitely recommend this video to leaders especially.

there are a lot of steps taught in this salsa dance lesson video but maybe because of time constraint and a lot of amalgamation involved, the method of teaching is way too fast for anyone to easily grasp. the steps are terrific if you are already an advance salsa dancer.
the only saving grace for me in this video is the bonus merengue lessons which are easier to follow and the bonus steps are really worthwhile to include in your repertoire. you will enjoy the merengue steps here plus i like the beautiful legs of the lady teacher.