Well organized and appropriately paced, dance instructor Cal Pozo's Salsa Merengue includes instructions and demonstrations for this classic Cuban dance. Using his standard teaching method, Pozo starts with an explanation ... more »and history of the dance and includes animated footprints stepping out the moves, the perspectives (front and back) of each partner, and finally, a full-out demonstration. He begins with the fundamentals of the "Cuban motion," as he calls it, which is "all in the hip." Mastering the merengue requires more than just memorizing the steps. The dance springs from this essential hip movement, and if you don't get a feel for it, you won't get a feel for the dance. Therefore, Pozo spends a good part of the tape slowly and clearly explaining posture and weight emphasis on the foot, to ensure that you'll be able dance the merengue without looking like a robot. One annoyance is the beginning of the video, an excessive eight minutes of people dancing the steps you are waiting to learn. Fast forward through once you've seen it the first time, and you are on your way to merengue. --Beth Massa« less
"I loved it! I learned to dance salsa and merengue with confidence. The lessons are each very short. If you are a fast learner, know a little already, and don't let the lady's shapely legs distract you you can whip through the DVD and be dancing in the clubs in an hour! The section for Merengue seems very short, but they packed a lot of steps in those lessons. Maybe they thought it was easier to pack it all up instead of breaking them into more sections. Here are the lessons covered in this DVD: * Intro: Salsa & Merengue * Latin Dance Basic Elements * Cuban Hip Motion * Dance Position * Salsa Steps - Basic Salsa Step Lesson: Male, Female - Salsa Quarter-Turn Lesson: Male, Female - Hip to Hip Lesson: Male, Female - Hip to Hip Combo * Salsa's Mambo - Basic Mambo Step Lesson: Male, Female - Underarm-Turn Step Lesson: Male, Female - Crossover Lesson: Male, Female - Crossover Combo * Macarena * Merengue - Basic Merengue Step Lesson: Male, Female - Merengue Turns Lesson * Credits * Promotional"
Very Very basic beginner's video
09/09/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This video is the most basic of the 56 Salsa/Mambo video's that I know of. It is a gentle introduction to Salsa,Mambo, Merengue. Best suited for people with no dance experience or two left feet. It is a good introduction to learning to dance from a video but if you are already going to classes you would learn these steps in your first class. I enjoyed this video."
Don't waste your money!!
swelmelz | pittsburgh | 03/08/2005
(1 out of 5 stars)
"this was the 2nd salsa "how to" dvd I purchased. The first one "the quick & dirty guide to salsa" was such a gem, I assumed I would have excellent luck once again with this dvd. The old "follow the footprints" is soooo dated. if you are serious about learning to salsa - this is NOT the one for you. this is the basic of all basics. If there was a rating option of zero,this video would win hands down. I threw it away - since I would feel guilty re-selling it to some poor salsa hyped sucker on amazon. really, it is that bad. i rolled the dice a 3rd time & got lucky with edie the "salsa freak" & al"liquid silver" espinoza. i know i am being a bit harsh - but I really do look at reviews when i'm not quite sure of what i'm buying. i appreciate the inside scoop, so i figure i will do the same."
Waste of Time
swelmelz | 01/07/2004
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Even if free, this is not worth the time to enter the order, Unless you want to learn the Macarena (does anyone do that anymore?) It shows just the basic steps, and that is it."
Craptacular
Erica | Sharpsburg, Maryland United States | 01/31/2004
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Never buy any DVD by Cal Pozo. I've accidentally bought two, since Cal isn't on the cover and I hadn't noticed that he would be the one doing the instruction. By the way, the cover of the DVD looks like it's a lot more lively than it actually is.
This is extremely stiff, and you will not be impressing anyone with your moves. Honestly, this looked horrible and my entire family was laughing hysterically for the first ten minutes because we could not believe that anything could be so boring, stilted, and lame. After that we fell asleep. Please, save your money."