Pre-pandemic, some of my students, who I refer to as The Moms (including a few from our very own team here at The Mom Edit), and I were planning my first big student showcase. It included The Moms, a couple of guys/dads and our kids. All of my students were on board, and everyone was practicing very hard, almost daily, as the event drew close.

This dance to “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Alfredito Lineras was one of the main numbers in the showcase. It was a special routine for many reasons: It was one of the first salsa combos my Moms learned, and it was one of the first salsa combos my Kids learned and performed.

Learn The Routine: Cardio Workout & Salsa Tutorial To “Ain’t No Sunshine”

I had something special — a dance routine that my students both kids and adults enjoyed dancing, and a routine that both parent and child could dance together. In case you don’t know, it’s pretty special to share a dance with your kid. And it’s freakin’ awesome to perform on stage, to a song and routine you love, with your child!

We were set to perform on March 20th, 2020. No one in the studio had something like we did, let alone Philadelphia. I was so excited, and I knew this was going to be epic.

Days before our show, Shana pulled me aside and goes, “Babes, we need to talk.” Big sister Shana has entered the room and was ready to try to let me down easy. “The show is not going to happen. This COVID thing is a big deal, and they are going to shut down everything.”

I was initially in complete denial. “The show must still go on!” We’d worked so hard, and it was so close.

Well, we all know how that turned out. I’d say my students deserve a redo showcase in the near future…

Salsa For Beginners Part 1: Work Out, Practice, Perform

So here’s the routine almost three years later. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Maybe even try to learn it with your child or friend or partner. This combo is short and sweet, musical, and teaches you all the fundamental salsa steps in one routine.

I split up the combo into different videos so you wouldn’t feel overwhelmed (this is Part 1!) — I wanted us to ease into the salsa choreography. Salsa can be a very challenging dance because it’s fast, and there are lots of changes in direction. I wanted to introduce this to you in a way that your body can soak up the movement and speed in the easiest and least complicated way.

Practice the choreography in the videos below. First, you’ll drill basic salsa footwork in a 30(ish)-minute cardio workout. Then, try out the salsa tutorial to learn the footwork, and finally…perform the salsa dance routine. These are all beginner-friendly.

Outfit Details: leggings l bra l sneakers

Once you’ve aced the routine above, meet me over in Part 2 for follow-along drills, the second round of choreography and the complete combo!

Maybe if we get enough likes and comments, I’ll dig into my archives and show a video clip of the Moms and Kids dancing this very dance preparing for our show that never happened. Think there will be a redo? Should we have a redo? Shana, Linzi, Lex, Angela — what do you think? 😉

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xo,

Laurel

Hey, Pinners…