On1 and On2
This is a never ending topic people
continue to argue about.
What I am talking about here is just
my personal opinion of a comparison between LA style that breaks on1 and NY
style that breaks on2 (the Eddie Torres way). And, I am just referring about my
preference and not going to say something about “good or bad”. Also,
I don’t know about Cuban, Puerto Rican or any kind of styles other than
this and am not talking about those styles.
I don’t think it is just a matter of the count of the foot you break (step wide and change directions), but something much deeper.
Many on2 dancers talk (or you can find this on some web sites) that on2 dancing fits music more than on1 dancing. This is explained as the breaking point on2 (and on6) is designed as the timing when conga player makes the strong beats so called “Slap”, and that makes us feel it fit with the music. Well, it might be true that it is the reason they feel on2 better. But on the contrary, some can say there is always strong emphases on1 in any kind of music and we used to it so much that ones can feel on1 better. Also it is true sometimes the music emphasize on1 (usually by cowbell) more than on2 of conga or anything. I guess this is the reason why people tend to say “I enjoy dancing both on1 and on2. Both feel good to me. Don’t you notice some music fit with on1 and others fit with on2. You know it depends on the music. If I feel on1 in the music, I dance on1. If it’s on2, I dance on2.”
But whenever I heard either of these opinions, I say “ Yeah, you’re right!” But I am sorry…. It’s just a white lie. All are true to me from a certain point of view, but also doesn’t explain all. I notice the conga players make strong beats on2 in most of salsa music. But it is still possible to make emphasis on1 or on some other timings with my feet, just the other music instrument than congas do. Or, I notice some music is emphasized on1 though, I still can feel on2 (or 3, 4 or whatever I want to hear). Namely no matter what kind of music it is, I can feel on2. I just would like to feel on2. I like to feel on2 in any kind of music. I like the feeling that I feel when I am dancing on2. I just feel it!
A famous San Francisco dancer once told me something like this, “You know what? I switched on2 from on1. It is obvious to me the on2 fits better than on1 with music. On2 is just like counting on the back beats, like jazz musicians do. It gives us more swingy feeling or groovy feeling. Whereas, on1 is like counting on the top beat as you can see in rock music, which gives us stronger pulse though doesn’t give us the flow or stream of the rhythm.” This gave me a hint why I like on2 better. I like jazz music and feel that jazz feeling, which is more groovy nice sexy flow (that I feel). I think this feeling is essential or necessary in my dancing. I feel as if this flow could be stopped by emphasizing on1. This is only my preference, and I understand you may think in a different way.
By the way, the above-mentioned-theory “I enjoy both timings and dance either one depending on the music” is always heard from LA style on1 dancer. I have never heard of this from NY on2 dancer. I don’t know this is just only for me or for many people? The other day in Boston, a world-renowned LA female dancer stopped me as soon as we started dance on2, saying like “I am sorry, I don’t feel on2 with this music. Shall we dance on1?” I just said “Sure” with my perfect smile. But in my heart, I felt like “Excuse me. I am the leader and I feel on2 anyway. How could you stop me like that?” Well… I know, I know. I shouldn’t have felt in that way. I am sure she didn’t mean anything offensive or rude.
There is another reason why I like on2 better than on1. It is the way we step, not about the music. When I dance on2, the movement or flow of dancing stops at twice in a bar (8 counts) on 2 and 6, where we break (where we change the direction). But when I dance on1, I feel as if this stop happened 4 times, and I don’t like it. In addition to the breaking timing on 1 and 5, I feel my body stops at 3 and 7, where we are in the center of our pendulum move.
Either style, we go back and forth. But the difference happens when we are in the center of this back-and-forth move. In on1 dancing (this is the count 3 and 7 though), your both feet are getting together in place. This makes you feel as if you stop and sit there for a while. I feel like this stop terminates my body movement. But in on2 dancing, you are in the center on the count of 4 and 8 though, there is no step on these counts and your feet never get together side by side in any counts. So, those count when you are in the center, which could be widely interpreted as count 3, 4, 5, and 7, 8, 1 though, your body still continue to move (slightly though) and I can feel more flow. I think it makes me easier to feel the stream of the music and I makes me think like I want to put some tricky steps on those counts like I do in Cha-cha (Cha-cha moves happens on those counts). In short, I feel more flow in dancing on2. I feel more stop (pulse) in dancing on1. And, I like the flow type of feeling. This is actually the explanation that my mentor, April Genovese pointed out first, then I noticed this difference more clearly.
In addition, I would like to mention the style so called power on2 (step on 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8). You might interpret as this is just shifting each timing of LA on1 steps to one count behind. So, people sometimes say “this is more like on1 than on2 (ET style) even though they break on2”. Just like I wrote above, it has a moment to get both feet together in the center of the back-and-forth movement of your dancing slot. But I don’t think this style is closer to on1 than on2 (ET style). I found it is actually very similar to on2 (ET style). Do you notice the steps on 2, 3, 6, and 7 are exactly the same steps and timings between both “Power on2” and “ET on2”? Only the difference is on the counts 4 and 8 (of power on2, 1 and 5 in ET on2). So, when I dance this power on2, I step the counts 4 and 8 a little bit late, like 4.5 and 8.5, So that you can feel those as if they are little syncopated one on 1 and 5 in ET style steps. Actually many instructors in our ET on2 world counts these counts 1 and 5 with a little syncopated manner, just like 4.5 and 8.5 (both on-purposely and unconsciously). If you count in that way, actually you might be able to feel little more groovy feeling than usual (that is actually the bass player does in salsa music). So, those power on2 and ET on2 is very similar to me.
I still don’t know if I like on2 better either because it fits the music or I got used to it. I just like the way I feel when I am dancing on2. But don’t get me wrong. I dance on1 when I social-dance with somebody who feels on1 much better. This is because I would like to feel more conversation from my partner than from the music. I put my priority on adjusting myself to my partner rather than on feeling music better for me. I have been enjoying dancing on1. Just not as much as dancing on2 with NY people though.
Do I have a prejudice, a stubborn attitude to dance on2? Absolutely yes, I do. Why not? But I know a lot of people more stubborn than me.
I don’t think it is just a matter of the count of the foot you break (step wide and change directions), but something much deeper.
Many on2 dancers talk (or you can find this on some web sites) that on2 dancing fits music more than on1 dancing. This is explained as the breaking point on2 (and on6) is designed as the timing when conga player makes the strong beats so called “Slap”, and that makes us feel it fit with the music. Well, it might be true that it is the reason they feel on2 better. But on the contrary, some can say there is always strong emphases on1 in any kind of music and we used to it so much that ones can feel on1 better. Also it is true sometimes the music emphasize on1 (usually by cowbell) more than on2 of conga or anything. I guess this is the reason why people tend to say “I enjoy dancing both on1 and on2. Both feel good to me. Don’t you notice some music fit with on1 and others fit with on2. You know it depends on the music. If I feel on1 in the music, I dance on1. If it’s on2, I dance on2.”
But whenever I heard either of these opinions, I say “ Yeah, you’re right!” But I am sorry…. It’s just a white lie. All are true to me from a certain point of view, but also doesn’t explain all. I notice the conga players make strong beats on2 in most of salsa music. But it is still possible to make emphasis on1 or on some other timings with my feet, just the other music instrument than congas do. Or, I notice some music is emphasized on1 though, I still can feel on2 (or 3, 4 or whatever I want to hear). Namely no matter what kind of music it is, I can feel on2. I just would like to feel on2. I like to feel on2 in any kind of music. I like the feeling that I feel when I am dancing on2. I just feel it!
A famous San Francisco dancer once told me something like this, “You know what? I switched on2 from on1. It is obvious to me the on2 fits better than on1 with music. On2 is just like counting on the back beats, like jazz musicians do. It gives us more swingy feeling or groovy feeling. Whereas, on1 is like counting on the top beat as you can see in rock music, which gives us stronger pulse though doesn’t give us the flow or stream of the rhythm.” This gave me a hint why I like on2 better. I like jazz music and feel that jazz feeling, which is more groovy nice sexy flow (that I feel). I think this feeling is essential or necessary in my dancing. I feel as if this flow could be stopped by emphasizing on1. This is only my preference, and I understand you may think in a different way.
By the way, the above-mentioned-theory “I enjoy both timings and dance either one depending on the music” is always heard from LA style on1 dancer. I have never heard of this from NY on2 dancer. I don’t know this is just only for me or for many people? The other day in Boston, a world-renowned LA female dancer stopped me as soon as we started dance on2, saying like “I am sorry, I don’t feel on2 with this music. Shall we dance on1?” I just said “Sure” with my perfect smile. But in my heart, I felt like “Excuse me. I am the leader and I feel on2 anyway. How could you stop me like that?” Well… I know, I know. I shouldn’t have felt in that way. I am sure she didn’t mean anything offensive or rude.
There is another reason why I like on2 better than on1. It is the way we step, not about the music. When I dance on2, the movement or flow of dancing stops at twice in a bar (8 counts) on 2 and 6, where we break (where we change the direction). But when I dance on1, I feel as if this stop happened 4 times, and I don’t like it. In addition to the breaking timing on 1 and 5, I feel my body stops at 3 and 7, where we are in the center of our pendulum move.
Either style, we go back and forth. But the difference happens when we are in the center of this back-and-forth move. In on1 dancing (this is the count 3 and 7 though), your both feet are getting together in place. This makes you feel as if you stop and sit there for a while. I feel like this stop terminates my body movement. But in on2 dancing, you are in the center on the count of 4 and 8 though, there is no step on these counts and your feet never get together side by side in any counts. So, those count when you are in the center, which could be widely interpreted as count 3, 4, 5, and 7, 8, 1 though, your body still continue to move (slightly though) and I can feel more flow. I think it makes me easier to feel the stream of the music and I makes me think like I want to put some tricky steps on those counts like I do in Cha-cha (Cha-cha moves happens on those counts). In short, I feel more flow in dancing on2. I feel more stop (pulse) in dancing on1. And, I like the flow type of feeling. This is actually the explanation that my mentor, April Genovese pointed out first, then I noticed this difference more clearly.
In addition, I would like to mention the style so called power on2 (step on 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8). You might interpret as this is just shifting each timing of LA on1 steps to one count behind. So, people sometimes say “this is more like on1 than on2 (ET style) even though they break on2”. Just like I wrote above, it has a moment to get both feet together in the center of the back-and-forth movement of your dancing slot. But I don’t think this style is closer to on1 than on2 (ET style). I found it is actually very similar to on2 (ET style). Do you notice the steps on 2, 3, 6, and 7 are exactly the same steps and timings between both “Power on2” and “ET on2”? Only the difference is on the counts 4 and 8 (of power on2, 1 and 5 in ET on2). So, when I dance this power on2, I step the counts 4 and 8 a little bit late, like 4.5 and 8.5, So that you can feel those as if they are little syncopated one on 1 and 5 in ET style steps. Actually many instructors in our ET on2 world counts these counts 1 and 5 with a little syncopated manner, just like 4.5 and 8.5 (both on-purposely and unconsciously). If you count in that way, actually you might be able to feel little more groovy feeling than usual (that is actually the bass player does in salsa music). So, those power on2 and ET on2 is very similar to me.
I still don’t know if I like on2 better either because it fits the music or I got used to it. I just like the way I feel when I am dancing on2. But don’t get me wrong. I dance on1 when I social-dance with somebody who feels on1 much better. This is because I would like to feel more conversation from my partner than from the music. I put my priority on adjusting myself to my partner rather than on feeling music better for me. I have been enjoying dancing on1. Just not as much as dancing on2 with NY people though.
Do I have a prejudice, a stubborn attitude to dance on2? Absolutely yes, I do. Why not? But I know a lot of people more stubborn than me.
Posted: Mon - December 26, 2005 at 02:35 PM
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Published On: Dec 26, 2005 06:34 PM
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Published On: Dec 26, 2005 06:34 PM