Link: Salsa dance styles – LA Style Salsa.
As the name implies, Los Angeles, USA has spawned it’s own characteristic style of Salsa, popularised by well known dancers like Josie Neglia, the Vasque brothers and the Salsa Brava dance troupe. LA style is exciting, elegant and sensual incorporati
ng suave “shine” footwork. It’s one of the most popular Salsa styles around the world today, with regular appearances of high profile LA style performers at huge Salsa events like the annual World Salsa Congress & Bacardi Festivals. What is LA style Salsa? It is a style that has borrowed extensively from other dance styles. It has been influenced by Cuban & New York style Salsa, Jazz, Swing and even Ballroom dancing. From these influences, the modern dancers of this style have further refined it to produce a distinctive range of turn patterns. Most LA style moves are based on the “cross-body lead”, where the man leads the woman across his body in a linear motion. This basic dance component is shared by other dance styles like Cuban and New York styles. All three dance styles share many other common turn patterns as well. For example, the Cuban style “Setenta” is also known as “Hammer-lock” in LA & New York style. How does LA style differ from other styles? To start with, it does not focus on the complicated arm movements normally associated with the basic Cuban style. Additionally, the LA style turn patterns are normally “in-line”, as opposed to “circular” in the Cuban style. LA style differs from the New York style in that the timing is more relaxed. New York style requires distinctly precise timing to execute all the checks and catches. Most importantly, however, is that many of the LA style moves are sexy and flamboyant, with lots of dips, spins, drops…enough to dazzle any spectator. Is LA style Salsa the authentic form of Salsa? We don’t believe that there is such a thing as an “authentic” style of Salsa. People from the streets of Cali, Colombia dance differently from those in the clubs of Havana, Cuba. Cubans who live in Miami dance differently to those from Cuba. People from all around the world make their own interpretation of Salsa music and create many styles of their own. There is a huge amount of creativity in the evolution that has made Salsa the diverse and rich dance form we know today. How about LA “Shines”? Yes, LA style has shines too! Shines are a spontaneous form of styling combining complicated footwork with intricate hand and body styling. Couples break away from each other in the middle of a dance to start their individual “shines”. Effectively a short break from a dance routine, “shining” allows dancers to express their individuality while complementing the style of their dance partner. Shines are most often used where the music breaks into a fast, pulsating conga beat! Why should I learn LA style Salsa? Basic LA moves are based on the cross body lead and rely on a strong foundation of basic dance principles. Learning LA style Salsa will therefore provide you with a strong grounding in the basic fundamentals of dance, allowing you to diversify into other styles later on (such as Cuban, Miami or New York styles).
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