I have just recently learnt Salsa and at a Ballroom the instructor played three fast salsa's that even the more experienced dancers could not keep up with. How do you dance a fast Salsa.

cdroge. How do you dance to a fast Salsa. Don't. Go and sit down and then tell the music presenter if he plays at more than 120 bpm he is wrong. Just as you would if a Cha or a Rumba was not played at the recomended tempo. That's what I would do.

Salsa is recorded in several different " styles-- notably, Romantica ( sometimes called Monga ) Dura and Descarga .Add to this Cuban " Son " and all the variations by different countries ( Cuba-- Panama-- Venezuela- Colombia-- PR and NYC etc. )

As you can begin to see- the music is very very complex.

Fast ( descarga ) is not wrong-- but IS wrong for a beginner-- on the other hand-- the very slow tempos are more difficult to interpret .-- mid range is what i teach to my beginners, and the variety is endless.
Romantica, by the way, does NOT mean slow, its the type of Singer associated with the style .

Most Son is a very good pace for beginners and the music is the original form ( Son Clave )-- if your DJ knows anything about music he will have some . If not-- I can reccomend several .
I should add-- that Cuban Son is a style that defines a break on "2" rhythm to the trained ear -- but 1 will work .

Terence.Wouldn't it be better to do what i suggested.I'll add to that. If the Salsa is played faster than a Cha then in any situation it is not acceptable. In a night club it could be downright dangerous. i dont think any of us are trying to set any land speed records are we.

My friend-- have been teaching Salsa/ mambo for 50 yrs-- it is NEVER easier to produce the desired foundational work with too slow a tempo-- the recordings i use, are fairly universal in their acceptance-- and is always more acceptable to the beginners ( I introduce various speeds, and they always go for the mid range )

the common mistake today? many people " Teaching?" salsa, that have no music or dance background-- hence the wrong musical choices . .
from a technical standpoint , all slower dances require more control and salsa is not designed ( for the beginner ) to handle the slower speeds like Cuban Son.

I would tell the DJ to slow it down. Also, learn the names and artists of your favorite songs so that you can request them. It sounds like the DJ did not understand the need to provide more moderately paced music. Maybe he was used to working at latin clubs. Only very experienced salsa/mambo dancers in the clubs can effectively dance to the fastest music. However it is personal choice, no matter how experienced the dancers, as to the speed of music they prefer. I do not enjoy the fast music, for one because I enjoy ballroom Mambo and all the hip motion and other technical aspects that become practically impossible to execute with very fast music. Other dancers like to fly though their CBLs and spins and dips, which is fun to watch, but for this writer is not as sweet as nicely executed figures and technique to moderately paced music. Oh, and by the way, Salsa/Mambo music is typically faster than Cha-cha music. It is the slower tempo of cha-cha music that allows the additional syncopated cha-cha steps to be inserted. Dancing Salsa/Mambo to most cha-cha music is too slow. Thanks!