Back to Salsa Video Reviews Top Page

Salsa & Mambo Video Reviews

Billy Fajardo, Katie Marlow, Nelson Flores

Hustle to Salsa Turn Patterns Intermediate/ Advanced

Level: Intermediate/Advanced

Style: Hustle and salsa

Content: 6 turn patterns demonstrated first in hustle and then in salsa

General Comment: The idea is very good - to show the influence of hustle on salsa and to show that the same turn patterns can be taken from hustle and interpreted in salsa with little difficulty. The turn patterns are original, some are challenging and the hustle dancers execute them very well. They are worth practicing and remembering. However, in general I was disappointed with the production . I think they could have done so much more with this opportunity. I know it was filmed in a rush and that is fine - as professional dancers they can get away with it- but they could have spent more time in the editing and post-production. In particular the sound and even the lack of it is poor. The routines are shown first in hustle in silence, then broken down and explained in slow motion with a voice-over and then the same moves in the same format for salsa. It is a good idea to have a voice-over so that all the important details can be explained easily and without wasting the viewer's time. However they could also have overlaid some music if only to get away from the otherwise very cold and sterile mood. As it is it sounds like a sports commentary... More importantly the differentiation between hustle and salsa would have been starker and more useful if the music of that style was played while the couples were dancing. There is no explanation of hustle timing as a comparison and the differences between the styles are left to the viewer to realise as they are not pointed out.

Reviewed by Ally - OK

General Comment: You may have heard mythical tales according to which some Mambo moves comes from Hustle, but not really know what it means. If you are not from the US, you may not even be sure of what Hustle is anyway. All your anxiety can be put to rest with this DVD. Here a Hustle master shows a Mambo master (Nelson Flores) a few Hustle moves and Nelson shows them to you in Mambo timing. The idea is very good, because it clarifies that moves do not make the dance (as we at SalsaIsGood have been devotedly preaching), rather that a dance style materialises in 'how' those moves are danced. You will be able to pick a few good ideas; most of the moves are known to advanced dancers, but there are a few unusual variations you will be able to play with and use to seed more new ideas. Some warnings are due though. First, as openly admitted by the dancers in the intro, the DVD is made in a hurry, the explanations are minimum and the editing quite rough; to work out the details of the moves you will need some experience (both with dancing and with learning from a DVD) and the will to work your remote control hard. Second, the moves are not shown to music and only an approximate counting is given in the explanations.
As a result the difference between the Hustle and the Mambo version is not that obvious; that too will have to be provided by your experience.
In typical Nelson Flores' style, the funny finale confirms the overall informal approach of the production, which is however compensated by some quite impressive performance clips in the Intro. A good buy after all.

Reviewed by Fabio - OK