How to learn salsa

Yep, how to learn salsa, not how to dance salsa (you can't learn that from a website). I was a slow learner and I made quite a few mistakes while I was learning, so I think I'm qualified to give some advice on this.

1 Look for a teacher who puts plenty of repetition in the class and who concentrates on getting the basics right. Avoid anyone who teaches long sequences. Contrary to what some teachers would have you believe, you can be a good salsa dancer even if you can't memorise long sequences, and you can have a great memory for long sequences and still be a crap dancer.

2 Try different classes, even if you like your teacher. Being amusing and charismatic doesn't necessarily make someone a good teacher. Some teachers are good at teaching some things but have blind spots about others.

3 Go more than once a week if you can, and practise at home. Like learning a language, the more practice you get, the better - so practise the basic steps at home until they come naturally

4 Avoid any teacher who makes women lead because of a shortage of men. Leading and following are very different and you'll just get very confused. (Though when you've reached intermediate level, you can learn a lot by swapping roles.)

5 Listen to salsa in the car, at home, everywhere. Practise listening for the 'one' and getting used to the rhythm. If you don't have the basic rhythm right you'll never be a really good dancer.

6 Take your teacher's advice on which level you should be in. Don't go in the intermediate/advanced class before you're ready (particularly if you're a man). I did it; I didn't learn anything and just managed to annoy my partners.

7 Get out and dance. Don't leave it too long before you start free dancing. This is particularly true for women: once a woman's got the basics, a decent sense of rhythm, and the ability to follow, she will probably learn a lot more on the dancefloor than she would in trying to follow men who can't lead in the class.

8 If you encounter a man in the class who can't lead, don't lead him. You won't learn what the move feels like to follow, and he won't learn what it feels like to lead it.

9 Don't try and learn everything from videos: there's no substitute for the interaction you get in a class. I know one individual who's learnt everything from videos: he's got some flash moves but he can't dance in rhythm.

10 If you're a man, expect learning salsa to take a long time and don't be discouraged. It took me weeks to get the basic step and a year to develop an acceptable lead. Some people can learn much more quickly - being a musician or having a martial arts background seems to help – but for us mortals it's a slow process.

I'll add some more points to this if I think of them.