Anybody whom I've ever become close to in the dance community is familiar with my intense admiration for Magna Gopal. I discovered her early on in my salsa journey (around 2009) while scouring YouTube for videos of the best salsa dancers in the world. Upon finding this video, my jaw dropped and stayed that way for the entire 2 minutes and 21 seconds. There was something... different about the way she moved her body.
I couldn't describe it at the time, and it has taken me many years of intense observation to articulate what makes this woman so special on the dance floor. Although I could never crawl inside her brain and know exactly what she's thinking, I am in a fairly decent position to comment on her style as I have watched every video posted on her YouTube channel and observed her dancing in person on multiple occasions. Even today, over 7 years later, I still watch at least one clip of her dancing before almost every salsa event I attend for a heavy dose of inspiration. If you're interested in emulating this master, read on...
To begin deconstructing Magna's moves, I searched for video clips that were well lit, with mid-tempo music (the finer points of technique are harder to observe at faster tempos), showing her entire body so as not to miss any aspect of her movement, and showing her in context with other, "average" dancers. As inspiring as watching her solo acts can be, it doesn't allow for technique comparison, which is the main goal here: understanding what makes her different. Magna has a tendency to clear out the floor as other dancers naturally want to stop and watch her, so it was quite challenging to find such videos. See below for one example:
Ready for the breakdown? Here are the rules for dancing Magna-style, as I see them:
Musicality First Many salsa dancers are primarily motivated by looking sexy, both to their partner and those watching from the crowd. This is a valid reason to dance, but it's not the only reason... and it's certainly not Magna's reason. Instead, she crowns musicality queen of her dance universe. It is far more important to hit the "breaks"-- to be in full communion with the instruments, emulating the energy of the dominant musical voice of the moment-- than to wriggle her hips or chest. This results in a noticeable lack of Cuban hip action, resulting in a very unique look on the floor that is hard to put your finger on at first.
Comfort-Optimized Attire Because sexiness isn't the main goal, Magna doesn't think twice about dancing in jazz flats rather than the bedazzled, strappy Latin heels that are ubiquitous on the dance floors of today. Jeans and malfunction-free tops beat out mini dresses or any other garment that would restrict her movement or risk interrupting the dance. Her jewelry is elegant and understated rather than large and flashy, preventing potentially hazardous entanglements with her hair or her partner's passing hands. And, speaking of her hair, it is always neatly pulled back and kept away from her face for an unobstructed view. She anticipates everything that could go wrong wardrobe-wise and dresses around it, for the comfort and ease of both herself and her partner. Her thoughtfulness pays off in the form of utter fearlessness in movement, and that extra confidence is precisely what makes her effortlessly sexy, even in ripped jeans.
Conservation of Energy As trustworthy as it shows up in physical law, Magna can always be counted upon to follow the rule of Conservation of Dance Energy. This makes logical sense for a professional like her: when you're dancing for 5 or 6 hours straight, it's important to be able to maintain stamina until the end of the party. The only way to achieve this is to practice economy of movement. Where others would take three steps, Magna gets away with one. Part of this is balance and core strength, as you tend to fumble less when you're fully supported. Like any good comedienne who understands the power of the dramatic pause, Magna injects spaces between her movements that give her time to breathe (and her audience time to build up excitement for what is coming next).
Subtlety Less is more on the dance floor, and Magna knows this. Her embellishments, at least during the non-climactic sections of the song, are fascinating to watch partially because they're so quiet. It is too easy in salsa to believe that every move has to be flashy, but the reality is that the energy of a salsa song ebbs and flows. When the instruments are chill, as they are at least half the time, Magna is cool as a cucumber. You will never see her thrashing her arms around or doing head whips when the band is just starting to build anticipation. Even for those of us who aren't deeply familiar with the music of salsa, there is an intuitive perception of something wrong with that scene. While your average salsera counts it as a victory just to keep up with the lead, a master follower can pay attention equally to both the lead coming from her partner and the music-- they are both leading her, after all.
Body Isolations Magna takes the word "isolation" to a whole new level. It is as if she focused all of her energy like a laser beam into a single muscle group and then just stayed there for awhile to play, delighting like a child in the infinite number of ways she can always dream up to move her body. For example, watch Magna's upper body as she executes her fancy footwork, and you will notice it's strikingly quiet. With the arms being positioned for balance, the shoulders aren't engaging in gratuitous rolling and the chest is still. A second later, she could decide to plant her heels and put her focus on her upper body, holding the lower constant. The point is, a body isolation from Magna is exactly that: a purity of focus on a single part or region of the body, seeing the expression through fully before moving on to the next.
Heel-Floor Contact Speaking of planting her feet, notice how she actually puts her heels down often, allowing her weight to spread over the entirety of her foot over the course of the evening rather than just the balls of the feet, as many dancers do. The latter is a perfect prescription for packing it in early with painful callouses; the former, a surefire way to make it to the last song.
Modified Basic Step Magna's basic step looks very different than the typical one. This took me a while to figure out, principally because she rarely executes plain ole' basic steps. Continuing with the theme of conservation of energy, Magna tends to optimize her basic step for maximal travel during beat 2, and economy of movement during her rock steps. Broken down further, her basic looks like this:
2 - begin execution of spin or traveling step
3/4 - deceleration while continuing main move execution
5/6 - full arrival on opposite end of slot and rebalancing
&7 - syncopated rock steps
8/1 - watch for lead/prep step
This modified basic accomplishes several things:
(1) It allows her to maintain a smoother, more contiguous look with her steps. What looks more elegant to you: the swing of a pendulum clock accelerating quickly through its vertex and then gently gliding to an infinitesimal stop at its apex before turning around and doing it all over again, or the jerky motion of the second hand of your standard kitchen clock as it marches onward, abruptly marking out equally spaced, spasmodic steps?
(2) It lends visual interest, as not all the steps are the same length.
(3) It allows her to get where she's going with great speed, carrying through cross-body leads to land on the other side of her partner in record time and conveying a polished, energetic, and controlled look.
(4) It gives her more time to collect her weight and rebalance herself during the latter half of the basic, and keeps her feet directly underneath her for longer, imparting stability.
(5) This extra pause, in turn, gives her more time to watch for the next visual cue from her partner.
The average salsa dancer takes much larger, evenly spaced steps on 2-3 and 6-7. This tends to tire folks out quickly and make their footwork deteriorate as the dance goes on.
The Power of Eye Contact Many beginner dancers learn that making direct eye contact during a dance is creepy and to be avoided. At some point, however, you learn that making eye contact is an important part of following, as your partner communicates a certain type of energy through facial expressions. Keeping your head up and eyes forward is also good for balance, so it's a win/win. By watching her partner's eyes and face, Magna can better respond to her leader's energy at any given moment. A shocking number of advanced dancers don't do this, and they pay for it in the currency of missed cues.
Partner Mirroring Speaking of responding to his energy, Magna intently watches her partner for opportunities to mirror his movement (while injecting a little personal style on top, of course!). If the lead doesn't interpret the music in some playful way, she will (nondestructively) inject her own stylings but her default is to respond to the lead's energy first. This is why it's so fun to watch when Magna gets paired with a person equally as musical as she. His listening and interpretation translates directly into her body in a way that feels good and makes sense for the music, and the energy exchange is synergistic and awesomely exciting to watch!
Personal Bubble Maintenance That famous scene from Dirty Dancing where Johnny declares "This is my dance space, this is your dance space-- you gotta hold the frame!" applies here. Magna expertly manages the space between her and her partner, doing so by keeping a slight tension in her arms and keeping her core muscles engaged. Other dancers will collapse inside the personal space of their partner or expand too far out, making it difficult for the lead to maintain a comfortable reach with his/her arms. Magna ensures that she is never out of reach for the next move, and always at a comfortable distance for the man to execute his setup.
Knowledge of the Music As a professional dancer, Magna gets to listen to salsa music full time as part of her job. This has resulted in her being intimately-- almost freakishly-- aware of what is coming up next in the song. Magna doesn't just hit the "big" breaks-- she catches all the teeny tiny ones along the way, too. Anyone familiar with salsa music could tell you that the structure tends to repeat, allowing you to anticipate to some degree what is coming next just by listening to what came before. But Magna separates herself from the crowd by not only remembering the easy, repetitive parts, but also the finer details of the instrumental solos, even in the live versions of a song!
The only way to respond to the music like Magna is to study it. You may not have the time she has, but you can still listen to salsa music in the car to and from your dance events, during your work commute, or while doing the dishes or practicing in front of the mirror at home. It adds up, believe me!
Body Tension There isn't a muscle in Magna's body that isn't taut and buzzing with at least a little bit of energy when she dances. Magna's energy seems to start in her core and flow outward, radiating through her arms and legs such that her limbs are always on high alert. Like any other professional athlete (and I would argue she is one), she can turn on a dime at a moment's notice. Other, average dancers look loose and lazy in their limbs because they're not maintaining the same level of body tension. They're not looking at their partner the way a professional tennis player faces her opponent: knees slightly bent, muscles engaged, ready for anything.
Willingness to Play Magna isn't afraid of messing up or looking silly-- and this is precisely why she never does. Like many other instances in life where you let go and stop caring, you tend to enjoy more success than if you were strongly attached to a specific outcome. It would never occur to her to hold back a certain movement just because she has never seen it executed before. In fact, most of her moves have never been executed before in quite the way she carries them off. She just lets the music flow through her body and tell her what to do, no matter how it looks to the crowd. Piano sounding a flourish? Twiddle your fingers in the air while doing a little foot shimmy. Why? Why not?!
Flow You will never see Magna stop dancing. While other women may halt their feet, stopping abruptly to wait for their partner to finish a spin move for instance, Magna's feet will keep moving to position her well for the next lead, or at least come together to close and restore balance. She doesn't wait for her partner-- ever. If he's busting a move, she finds a way to complement it and keep dancing. Anything less looks like a discontinuity, and a dance floor abhors a discontinuity the way nature abhors a vacuum.
Body Awareness Magna knows what her body can and cannot do. This, I suspect, is from years of practicing at home in her living room or at the studio, experimenting with different ways of moving her body until she felt comfortable with certain types of movement. This gives her the freedom to execute totally unique jumps, blazing fast footwork, and dramatic lunges that most wouldn't dare-- all because she knows the limits of her body and stretches those limits every day. Yet another answer to the question "What makes her look so different?"
Mindfulness This one is less of an observation and more of a memory from our lesson together back in 2013, where she related to me that she tries to be active in all things on the dance floor rather than a passive participant. Meaning: when a spin works better than the one before, she immediately tries to deconstruct why. If she misses a lead, she seeks to understand in the moment. Like a dance guru, she meditates on her performance with a level of detachment that allows her to analyze while staying perfectly present.
I know what you're thinking... WHAT?! Granted, the number of simultaneous tasks going on at any given moment on a dance floor are numerous, with some being critical for personal safety, so it's definitely not easy to analyze the success of your following ability in real time. Part of Magna's brilliance is the simple fact that she can do this at all, let alone at such a deep level of critical thought while paying attention to the music, the ongoing lead, the effort to avoid crashing into the people around her, etc.
IN CONCLUSION...
With all of that said, I know that Magna would cringe to think that others were trying to copy her rather than develop their own personal style. For an art form like dance, it is counterproductive to attempt to be anyone other than yourself. This is actually the message I think Magna conveys best: by having the courage to be unapologetically self-expressed on the dance floor, she serves not only as an inspiration but also as a glowing example of self acceptance.
Emulate Magna to learn the rules, and then break them in your own beautiful, daring, unique way. After all, there can only be one Magna Gopal... and only one you.
