Salsa Dancing

Guide Note

Salsa refers to a combination of informal partner dance styles with roots in Latin America, the Caribbean and North America. Salsa dance is accompanied by salsa music and is performed in clubs worldwide.

Fast Facts

1. Origins: Latin America, Caribbean, Africa and North America
2. Major styles:
   1. Cuban Style
   2. Los Angeles Style
   3. New York Style
   4. Columbian Style
   5. Power 2 Style
   6. Puerto Rican Style
   7. La Rueda
3. Partner dance with a leader and follower
4. No special equipment is required

Salsa Dancing Tips

1. Salsa is a spot dance—meaning that you don't travel across the floor. You and your partner stay in one spot.
2. The hip movement you see salsa dancers doing is sometimes called "Cuban motion." If you do your footwork correctly, your hips will follow naturally. You don't need to force it.
3. Leaders should not pump their left arm up and down while dancing.
4. Step on the ball of your foot first, then the heel.
5. The faster the music, the smaller your steps should be.
6. Don't grip your partner too tightly, and never press against your partner's thumb.
7. Look at your partner's face or where you're traveling to in a turn. Never look down.
8. Some salsa clubs or studios offer free, introductory lessons. Look at your local dance studio and club listings for more information.

The term "salsa" has been, at turns, derided as a generic marketing term and used to define a specific Latin Jazz movement that took place in New York in the 1970s.

Some ethnomusicologists have cut through the debate by describing salsa as a mixture of Spanish and African music, filtered through the music histories of Cuba and Puerto Rico, and adapted by Latin jazz and Latin popular musicians for Latino populations with diverse musical tastes. ^[1]

The basic step is performed over eight counts—two measures of four beats each. There are typically three steps per measure with a single count hold. Where that hold comes—on the first, second, third or fourth beat—depends on the type of salsa dance being performed.

The leader's part:

1. Stand in a closed hold facing your dance partner with your feet together.
2. COUNT ONE: Step forward on your left foot.
3. COUNT TWO: Transfer weight back on your right foot without moving it.
4. COUNT THREE and FOUR: Bring left foot back, next to your right foot. Hold for one beat.
5. COUNT FIVE: Step back on your right foot.
6. COUNT SIX: Transfer weight back on your left foot without moving it.
7. COUNT SEVEN AND EIGHT: Bring right foot back, next to your left foot. Hold for one beat.

The follower's part is reversed.

For full instructions on how to dance salsa, visit Mahalo's page How to Salsa.