This videotapes goes over all of this information. When Dancing the Salsa Small Steps. Salsa and mambo steps are very small. Keep the feet beneath the body versus taking huge break steps. As the music gets faster, smaller steps must be taken.
Foot turn out.
Break steps should always have foot turn out. Never dance break steps in a pigeon toed fashion. Instead, hold the slow step for the complete duration of two beats of music and delay stepping to the first quick prematurely. That's true in that a step is not taken. However, on the 1 beat, the heel is lifted and the same hip drops, as the same foot is released in preparation for making the upcoming break step on the first quick.