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Leon Rose: Salsa London Style vol 1 (int/adv)

When I see salseros from London, I hardly notice any significant difference compared to US-based dancers, so I have often wondered whether London-style is a legitimate creature or a marketing ploy; this lead me to this DVD with some scepticism. It turned out to be a distraction; indeed this is an excellent DVD in its own right, whatever style it gets assigned to. Leon Rose is brilliant, explaining extremely well, speaking fluidly and precisely, and demonstrating with both elegance and swing. He goes through the material quickly, which is very entertaining, but does not leave any details out. Interesting, in particular, is the brief section on the hand hold, which contains some original ideas, and very neat is the instruction on how to lead multiple turns. What follows are a set of turn patterns, which Leon has the luxury to demonstrate with Susanna Montero On1 and Aisha On2. Both armwork and footwork are well explained and shown with counting and with music. London salsa immediately rings of SuperMario to me, one of my favourites, and indeed there is a lot of SuperMario in this DVD, both in the structure and in the flavour of the moves. This goes as a credit to Leon Rose rather than a criticism, since some turn patterns are really lovely. In summary, this DVD will not revolutionise your salsa, as I doubt London style could anyway, but if you are after solid technique, style (both male and female), a handy refreshing of some fundamentals and some nice new routines to play with, your money will be well spent..

Review by Fabio, SalsaIsGood

dvd available through www.salsa-videos.com