Foundations & Timing
01 · Term and function
What is Pause / Hold?
A deliberate no-step count while body rhythm, breath, and musical tension continue.
on1, on2
Lead, Follow
On1 · On2
02 · Positions, timing and variants
Starting point, direction and variants
Timing, role context and spatial orientation are described separately. Names and execution details can vary across salsa styles, schools and regions.
Hold · No step
Foundations & Timing
cross-style
on1, on2
03 · Technical execution
What matters in Pause / Hold
Pause/Hold means deliberately adding no regular step or new weight transfer on the relevant count.
The existing supporting leg continues to carry weight in a controlled way. A pause is therefore not the same as uncertainty about which foot is loaded.
Musical pulse, breathing, and body rhythm continue during the hold even though no new step occurs.
The body does not have to become completely motionless. Small natural reactions or styling may remain as long as they do not create an unintended extra weight transfer.
At the end of the hold, it remains clear which foot performs the next regular step. The pause preserves the stepping logic rather than interrupting it.
04 · Body knowledge
Body organization in Pause / Hold
During a pause, no regular new weight transfer occurs. The existing support organization nevertheless remains active.
Body rhythm, breathing, and musical orientation can continue through the pause even without a new foot placement.
Because no unintended extra step occurs, the free foot remains prepared for the next planned action.
05 · For beginners
Build Pause / Hold clearly first
Choose a familiar place without a regular step and resist filling that time with an additional weight transfer.
During the pause, identify which foot still carries weight and which foot remains free for the next action.
Can you keep the pulse moving and continue directly into the intended next step without reorganizing your feet first?
06 · Teaching and feedback
What to observe in a controlled Pause / Hold
No hidden additional weight transfer occurs during the pause.
The execution does not freeze; balance, breathing, and rhythmic readiness remain present.
Movement can continue after the pause without a corrective or collecting step.
07 · Continue learning
From Pause / Hold to related movements
A backward weight transfer followed by a forward reversal, keeping the body center controlled rather than drifting excessively away from the base.
Alternating backward break with a slight lateral opening, commonly used as a relaxed basic variation in social salsa.
A forward weight transfer followed by a clear reversal back toward the base position; the break is the functional change-of-direction point.
Salsa rhythm marked almost in place to train timing, foot pressure, and body movement without substantial travel.
Salsa basic rhythm executed with lateral weight changes, developing width, hip response, and side-to-side spatial awareness.
An added or anticipated weight transfer between primary counts, increasing rhythmic density within the regular salsa pulse.
An unweighted floor touch used as a rhythmic addition, embellishment, or preparation for a subsequent weight transfer.
Continuous walking steps within salsa timing, keeping each weight transfer distinct while shaping a deliberate pathway through space.
A complete transfer of body weight from one foot to the other, forming the technical basis of nearly every salsa step sequence.
Additional professional background
Book on learning, body knowledge and partner communication
The movement lexicon complements The Salsa Teaching Tree by Mathias Ellmann. The book connects movement, perception and partner communication with body knowledge, motivation, musicality and sustainable learning.
The Salsa Teaching Tree
A holistic orientation model for salsa learning and teaching that goes beyond collecting steps and figures and connects body organization, music, perception, decision-making and partner communication.
View The Salsa Teaching TreeConcept · Salsa knowledge · learning · partner communication
Mathias Ellmann
Mathias Ellmann develops the Salsa Movement Lexicon as a connection between dance technique, body knowledge, musicality, learning and partner communication.
Movement is not considered only in terms of which steps or figures are danced, but also how weight, timing, space, perception and connection interact.
Leading and following are treated as reciprocal communication: one person prepares movement possibilities and makes them perceptible, while the other responds through self-organized movement. Both roles remain perceptive, adaptive and autonomous.