Salsa is a popular form of social dance that originated in the Caribbean.

The movements of
salsa have origins in Puerto Rican bomba and plena, Cuban Son, cha-cha-cha, mambo and
other dance forms. The dance, along with salsa music,[1][2][3] originated in the mid-1970s in New
York.[4] Different regions of Latin America and the United States have distinct salsa styles of
their own, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, Cali Colombia, L.A. and New York styles. Salsa
dance socials are commonly held in night clubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outside,
especially when part of an outdoor festival.
In many styles of salsa dancing, as a dancer shifts their weight by stepping, the upper body
remains level and nearly unaffected by the weight changes. Weight shifts cause the hips to
move. Arm and shoulder movements are also incorporated. Salsa generally uses music
ranging from about 150 bpm (beats per minute) to around 250 bpm, although most dancing is
done to music somewhere between 160–220 bpm. The basic Salsa dance rhythm consists of
taking three steps for every four beats of music. The odd number of steps creates the
syncopation inherent to Salsa dancing and ensures that it takes 8 beats of music to loop back
to a new sequence of steps.

Contents
[hide]

 1Origin
 2Description
 3Venues
 4Rhythm
 5Styles
o 5.1Afro-Latino style
o 5.2Colombian / Cali style
o 5.3Cuban style / Casino
 5.3.1Miami-style Casino
 5.3.2Rueda de Casino
o 5.4Los Angeles style
o 5.5New York style
 6See also
 7References

Origin[edit]

Students from Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City perform at Culture
Week
Salsa evolved from earlier Cuban dance forms such as Son, Son Montuno, cha cha cha,
Mambo and Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena which were popular in the Caribbean, Latin
America and the Latino communities in New York since the 1940s. Salsa, like most music
genres and dance styles, has gone through a lot of variation through the years and
incorporated elements of Afro-Caribbean dances such as Guaguancó and Pachanga. Different
regions of Latin America and the United States have distinct salsa styles of their own, such as
Cuban, Puerto Rican, Cali Colombia, L.A. and New York styles.
There is some controversy surrounding the origins of the word "salsa," which has been
ascribed to the dance since the mid-1800s. Some claim that it was based on a cry shouted by
musicians while they were playing their music. Others believe that the term was created by
record labels to better market their music, who chose the word "salsa" because of its spicy and
hot connotations. Still, others believe the term came about because salsa dancing and music is
a mixture of different styles, just like salsa or "sauce" in Latin American countries is a mixture
of different ingredients.
Salsa is different everywhere. For example, singer Celia Cruz described her music as a Cuban
style of salsa. Her music was aimed heavily towards the Afro-Latino communities. Her songs
represent traditional Cuban sounds and customs. In the United States, there are multiple styles
in different regions of the country.

Description[edit]
In many styles of salsa dancing, as a dancer shifts their weight by stepping, the upper body
remains level and nearly unaffected by the weight changes. Weight shifts cause the hips to
move. Arm and shoulder movements are also incorporated. The Cuban Casino style of
salsa dancing involves significant movement above the waist, with up-and-down shoulder
movements and shifting of the ribcage.
The arms are used by the "lead" dancer to communicate or signal the "follower," either in
"open" or "closed" position. The open position requires the two dancers to hold one or both
hands, especially for moves that involve turns, putting arms behind the back, or moving around
each other, to name a few examples. In the closed position, the leader puts the right hand on
the follower's back, while the follower puts the left hand on the leader's shoulder.
In the original Latin American form, the forward/backward motion of salsa is done in diagonal
or sideways with the 3-step weight change intact.
In some styles of salsa, such as the New York style, the dancers remain mostly in front of one
another (switching places), while in Latin American styles, such as Cuban style, the dancers
circle around each other, sometimes in 3 points. This circular style is inspired by Cuban Son,
specifically to the beat of son montuno in the 1920s. However, as it is a popular music, it is
open to improvisation and thus it is continuously evolving. Modern salsa styles are associated
and named to the original geographic areas that developed them. There are often devotees of
each of these styles outside their home territory. Characteristics that may identify a style
include: timing, basic steps, foot patterns, body movement, turns and figures, attitude, dance
influences and the way that partners hold each other. The point in a musical bar music where a
slightly larger step is taken (the break step) and the direction the step moves can often be used
to identify a style.
Incorporating other dance styling techniques into salsa dancing has become very common for
both men and women: shimmies, leg work, arm work, body movement, spins, body isolations,
shoulder shimmies, rolls, even hand styling, acrobatics and lifts.
Latin American styles originate from Puerto Rico, Cuba and surrounding Caribbean islands.
Venues[edit]
Salsa dance socials are commonly held in night clubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and
outside, especially if part of an outdoor festival. Salsa dancing is an international dance that
can be found in most metropolitan cities in the world.[5] Festivals are held annually, often called
a Salsa Congress, in various host cities aimed to attract variety of salsa dancers from other
cities and countries. The events bring dancers together to share their passion for the dance,
build community, and to share moves and tips with each other. These events usually include
salsa dance performers, live salsa music, workshops, open dancing, and contests.

Rhythm[edit]

Dancing Salsa in Mexico

Salsa generally uses music suitable for dancing ranges from about 150 bpm (beats per minute)
to around 250 bpm, although most dancing is done to music somewhere between 160–220
bpm. Every salsa composition involves complex Afro-Cuban percussion based around
the Clave Rhythm (which has four types), though there can be moments when the clave is
hidden for a while, often when quoting Charanga, Changüíand Bomba. The key instrument that
provides the core groove of a salsa song is the clave. It is often played with two wooden sticks
(called clave) that are hit together. Every instrument in a salsa band is either playing with the
clave (generally: congas, timbales, piano, tres guitar, bongos, claves (instrument), strings) or
playing independent of the clave rhythm (generally: bass, maracas, güiro, cowbell). Melodic
components of the music and dancers can choose to be in clave or out of clave at any point.
However it is taboo to play or dance to the wrong type of clave rhythm (see salsa music). While
dancers can mark the clave rhythm directly, it is more common to do so indirectly (with, for
example, a shoulder movement). This allows the dancing itself to look very fluent as if the rest
of the body is just moving untouched with the legs.

2-3 Son clave

MENU

0:00

Problems playing this file? See media

help.

For salsa, there are four types of clave rhythms, the 3-2 and 2-3 Son claves being the most
important, and the 3-2 and 2-3 Rumba claves. Most salsa music is played with one of the Son
claves, though a Rumba clave is occasionally used, especially during Rumba sections of some
songs. As an example of how a clave fits within the 8 beats of a salsa dance, the beats of the
2-3 Son clave are played on the counts of 2, 3, 5, the "and" of 6, and 8.
There are other aspects outside the Clave that help define salsa rhythm: the cowbell, the
Montuno rhythm and the Tumbao rhythm.
The cowbell rhythm emphasizes the "on-beats" of salsa: 1, 3, 5 and 7 while the conga rhythm
emphasizes the "off-beats" of the music: 2, 4, 6, and 8. Some dancers like to use the strong
sound of the cowbell to stay on the Salsa rhythm. Alternatively, others like to use the conga
rhythm to create a jazzier feel to their dance since strong "off-beats" are a jazz element.
Tumbao is the name of the rhythm that is played with the conga drums. It sounds like: "cu,
cum.. pa... cu, cum... pa". Its most basic pattern is played on the beats 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8.
Tumbao rhythm is helpful for learning to dance contra-tiempo ("On2"). The beats 2 and 6 are
emphasized when dancing On2, and the Tumbao rhythm heavily emphasizes those beats as
well.
The Montuno rhythm is a rhythm that is often played with a piano. The Montuno rhythm loops
over the 8 counts and is useful for finding the direction of the music. By listening to the same
rhythm, that loops back to the beginning after eight counts, one can recognize which count is
the first beat of the music.
The basic Salsa dance rhythm consists of taking three steps for every four beats of music. The
odd number of steps creates the inherent syncopation to the Salsa dancing and ensures that it
takes 8 beats of music to loop back to a new sequence of steps. Different styles employ this
syncopation differently. For "On1" dancers this rhythm is described as "quick, quick, slow,
quick, quick, slow." For "On2" dancers this rhythm is "quick, quick, quick, pause, quick, quick,
quick, pause." In all cases, only three steps are taken in each 4-beat measure (or 6 total over 8
beats).

Styles[edit]

International Salsa Congress, 2004 at Bangalore

Video demonstrating salsa dancing fundamentals

Salsa's roots are based on different genres such as Puerto Rican rhythms, Cuban Son,
specifically to the beat of Son Montuno in the 1920s. However, as it is a popular music, it is
open to improvisation and thus it is continuously evolving. New modern salsa styles are
associated and named to the original geographic areas that developed them. There are often
devotees of each of these styles outside their home territory. Characteristics that may identify a
style include: timing, basic steps, foot patterns, body rolls and movements, turns and figures,
attitude, dance influences and the way that partners hold each other. The point in a musical bar
music where a slightly larger step is taken (the break step) and the direction the step moves
can often be used to identify a style.

Afro-Latino style[edit]
Afro-Latino style is very popular kind of salsa in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Haiti and Cuba. It
pretty much involves the same dancing as most versions of the salsa, but has a little bit of twist
added to it. The thing that separates it and gives its it own identity is that some of the songs tie
in an African language and certain African instruments that gives the songs different rhythms
Incorporating other dance styling techniques into salsa dancing has become very common, for
both men and women: shimmies, leg work, arm work, body movement, spins, body isolations,
shoulder shimmies, rolls, even hand styling, acrobatics and lifts.
Latin American styles originate from Puerto Rico, Cuba and surrounding Caribbean islands
including the Dominican Republic, and then expanding to Venezuela, Colombia, and the rest
of Latin America; Also, there exists the "Miami" style, which is a fusion of some Cuban style
elements with elements of various North American dances from the USA.

Colombian / Cali style[edit]

World Games 2013 in Cali, Colombia - Dancesport Competition - Salsa Sport, 1st Place - Gold Medal
World Champions

Cali-Style Salsa, also known as Colombian Salsa and Salsa Caleña, is based on geographical
location of the Colombian City of Cali. Cali is also known as the "Capital de la Salsa" (Salsa's
Capital); due to salsa music being the main genre in parties, nightclubs and festivals in the 21st
century.
The elements of Cali-Style Salsa were strongly influenced by dances to Caribbean rhythms
which preceded salsa, such as Pachanga and Boogaloo. Cali has the most salsa schools and
salsa teams in the world. Many of the competitions are held in Colombia.[6]
The central feature is the footwork which has quick rapid steps and skipping motions.
Colombian style does not execute Cross-body Leads or the "Dile Que No" as seen in other
styles, but rather step in place and displace in closed position. Their footwork is intricate and
precise, helping several Colombian Style dancers win major world championships. Cali hosts
many annual salsa events such as the World Salsa Cali Festival and the Encuentro de
Melomanos y Coleccionistas.

Cuban style / Casino[edit]

Main article: Cuban salsa
In Cuba, a popular dance known as Casino[7] was marketed as Cuban-style salsa or Salsa
Cubana abroad to distinguish it from other salsa styles when the name was popularized in the
1970s. Casino is popular in many places around the world, including in Europe, Latin America,
North America, and even in some countries in the Middle East such as Israel.
Dancing Casino is an expression of popular social culture; Cubans consider casino as part of
social and cultural activities centering on their popular music. The name Casino is derived from
the Spanish term for the dance halls, "Casinos Deportivos" where a lot of social dancing was
done among the better-off, white Cubans during the mid-20th century and onward.
Historically, Casino traces its origin as a partner dance from Cuban Son, Cha Cha Cha,
Danzón and Guaracha. Traditionally, Casino is danced "a contratiempo". This means that,
distinct from subsequent forms of salsa, no step is taken on the first and fifth beats in each
clave pattern and the fourth and eighth beat are emphasised. In this way, rather than following
a beat, the dancers themselves contribute in their movement, to the polyrythmic pattern of the
music. At the same time, it is often danced "a tiempo", although both "on3" (originally) and
"on1" (nowadays).
What gives the dance its life, however, is not its mechanical technique, but understanding and
spontaneous use of the rich Afro-Cuban dance vocabulary within a "Casino" dance. In the
same way that a "sonero" (lead singer in Son and salsa bands) will "quote" other, older songs
in their own, a "casino" dancer will frequently improvise references to other dances, integrating
movements, gestures and extended passages from the folkloric and popular heritage. This is
particularly true of African descended Cubans. Such improvisations might include extracts of
rumba, dances for African deities, the older popular dances such as Cha Cha Chá and Danzon
as well as anything the dancer may feel.
Miami-style Casino[edit]
Developed by Cuban immigrants to Florida and centered on Miami, this dance style is a fusion
of some elements from Casino with lots of elements from American culture and dances. The
major difference of Miami-style from other North American styles is the "Atras" or "Diagonal",
back breaking steps performed backwards diagonally instead of moving forwards and
backwards as seen in the New York style. Dancers do not shift their body weight greatly as
seen in other styles. Instead, dancers keep their upper body still, poised and relaxed while the
feet execute endless intricacies. The dancer breaks mostly On1.
A major difference of Cali Style and Miami-style is that the latter is exclusively danced on the
downbeat (On1) and has elements of shines and show-style added to it, following repertoires
of North American Styles. Miami-style has many adherents, particularly Cuban-Americans and
other Latinos based in South Florida.
Rueda de Casino[edit]
Main article: Rueda de Casino
In the 1950s Salsa Rueda or more accurately Rueda de Casino was developed
in Havana, Cuba. Pairs of dancers form a circle ("Rueda" in Spanish means "Wheel"), with
dance moves called out by one person. Many of the moves involve rapidly swapping partners.
"Rueda de Cuba" is original type of Rueda, originating from Cuba. It is not as formal as Rueda
de Miami and consists of about 30 calls.[citation needed] It was codified in the 1970s.[citation needed]
"Rueda de Miami" originated in the 1980s from Miami, is a formal style with many rules based
on a mix, and is a hybridization of Rueda de Cuba & North American dance styles, with some
routines reflecting American culture (e.g. Coca-Cola, Dedo, Adios) which is not found in the
traditional Cuban-style Rueda.

Los Angeles style[edit]

Basic step for LA style, with leader's steps in blue

Salsa show dancing

The Los Angeles salsa style (LA style) is danced strictly on 1, in a slot \ line, using elements of
various North American and stage dances. This helps prevent dancers from hitting other
couples on a crowded dance floor. It is strongly influenced by the Latin
Hustle, Swing, Argentine Tangoand Latin Ballroom dancing styles.[citation needed] LA style places
strong emphasis on sensuousness, theatricality and acrobatics.[citation needed] The lifts, stunts and
aerial works of today's salsa shows are derived mostly from LA style forms with origins in Latin
Ballroom and Ballet lifts.[citation needed]
The two essential elements of this dance are the forward–backward basic step and the cross-
body lead. In this pattern, the leader steps forward on 1, steps to the right on 2-3 while turning
90 degrees counter-clockwise (facing to the left), leaving the slot open. The follower then steps
straight forward on 5-6 and turns on 7-8, while the leader makes another 90 degrees counter-
clockwise and slightly forward, coming back into the slot. After these 8 counts, the leader and
follower have exchanged their positions.
Albert Torres, Laura Canellias, Joe Cassini, Francisco and Luis Vazquez, and Rogelio Moreno
are credited for the early development and growth of LA Style.[citation needed] Later dancers such
as Alex Da Silva, Edie Lewis, Joby Martinez, Josie Neglia, Katia Vaz, and Johnny Vazquez are
often credited with developing the LA style of dancing as we know it today.[citation needed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsa_(dance)