Salsa refers to a fusion of informal dance styles having roots in the Caribbean (especially in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States), Latin and North America. The dance originated in Cuba through the mixture of Mambo, Danzó
n, Guaguancó, Cuban Son, and other typical Cuban dance forms. Salsa is danced to Salsa music. There is a strong Afro-Caribbean influence in the music as well as the dance.
Salsa is usually a partner dance, although there are recognized solo steps and some forms are danced in groups of couples, with frequent exchanges of partner. Improvisation and social dancing are important elements of Salsa but it appears as a performance dance too.
The name “Salsa” is the Spanish word for sauce, connoting (in American Spanish) a spicy flavor[1]. The Salsa aesthetic is more flirtatious and sensuous than its ancestor, Cuban Son. Salsa also suggests a “mixture” of ingredients, though this meaning is not found in most stories of the term’s origin. (See Salsa music for more information)
Rhythm and steps
Salsa is danced on a core rhythm that lasts for two measures of four beats each. The basic step typically uses three steps each measure. This pattern might be quick-quick-slow, taking two beats to gradually transfer the weight, or quick-quick-quick allowing a tap or other embellishment on the vacant beat. This is not to say that the steps are always on beats 1, 2 and 3 of the measure. (See Styles below.) It is conventional in salsa for the two musical measures to be considered as one, so the count goes from 1 to 8 over two musical bars.
Typically the music involves complex African percussion rhythms based around the Son clave or Rumba clave. Music suitable for dancing ranges from slow at about 70 beats per minute to its fastest at around 140 beats per minute though most dancing is done to music somewhere between 80-120 beats per minute. (See salsa music).
Use of space
Salsa is a slot or spot dance, i.e. the partners do not need to travel over the dance floor but usually occupy a fixed area of the dance floor, rotating around one another and exchanging places. Traveling is not ruled out but is more used in a staged salsa performance. In a social setting it is bad etiquette to occupy too much floor by traveling.
History
The history of “Salsa” dance is peppered with hearsay and contradiction. Although few would disagree that the music and dance forms originate largely in Cuban Son, most agree that Salsa as we know it today is a North American interpretation of the older forms. New York’s Latino community had a vibrant musical and dancing scene throughout the ’50s but found limited success with the ‘Anglo’ mainstream. In the 1970s, adoption of the term “Salsa” reduced the linguistic and cultural barriers to mainstream adoption of Latin music and dance[2].
The modernization of the Mambo in the 1950s was influential in shaping what would become salsa. There is debate as to whether the dance we call Salsa today originated in Cuba or Puerto Rico. Cuba’s influence in North America was diminished after Castro’s revolution and the ensuing trade embargo. New York’s Latino community was largely Puerto-Rican. Salsa is one of the main dances in both Cuba and Puerto Rico and is known world-wide.
Interpretations of what the salsa dance is
The late Celia Cruz, hailed by many as the queen of salsa, said that salsa does not exist as a rhythm, but that it is rather an exclamation for music such as guaracha, bolero, cha cha cha, danzon, son, rumba, etc[citation needed]. The famous Latin composer and band leader Tito Puente also argued that there is no such thing as salsa but only mambo, rumba, danzon and cha cha cha, etc. [3]
According to the late David Melendez [4], one of the first organizers of the East Coast Salsa Congress and a salsa dancer in New York since the 1970s, the word ‘Salsa’ first referred to the music. The term was coined in the 1970s by young musicians like Hector Lavoe, Larry Harlow, Ray Baretto, Willie Colon, who wanted a different name for the kind of music they were playing. The term ‘salsa’ was then popularized by Izzy Sanabria, owner of the Latin New York magazine, and Jerry Massuci, owner of Fania Records. Today, the term ‘salsa’ as we know it, has become synonymous with the dance, yet the dance suffers a “crisis of authenticity” whereby dancers are perpetually disagreeing over what qualifies and does not qualify as “salsa”.
Origin of the salsa steps
The dance steps currently being danced to salsa music come from the son, but were influenced by many other Cuban dances such as Mambo, Cha cha cha, Guaracha, Changuí, Palo Monte, Rumba, Abakuá, Comparsa and some times even Mozambique. Solo salsa steps are called “Shines”, a term taken from Tap dancing. It also integrates swin
g dances. Salsa can be a heavily improvised dance, taking any form the interpreter wishes. Modern Salsa has elements of Jazz, funk, reggae, hip-hop and samba.
Foundations
A neck drop is a flashy, performance-oriented Salsa move.
Basic step
The basic movement common across most salsa styles is to step quick-quick-slow over the 4 beat measure. Typically the quick steps are on beats one and two, and the slow step is actually a quick on beat three followed by pause or tap on beat four. That is you step left-right-left-pause/tap then right-left-right-pause/tap. Notable exceptions to this timing are Mambo, Power On2 and Colombian styles, which begin the three step sequence on beat 2; and Cuban styles, which may start the sequence on any count. New York Mambo is unique in starting on one and breaking on two – that is, instead of stepping forward on the first beat with your left, stepping in place with your right and then returning your left to where it started, you step in place with the left on the first beat, step back with your right and then return your weight to your left.
Break step
The Break Step is important in most styles of salsa. It serves two functions. First, the break step occurs on the same beat each measure and allows the partners to establish a connection and a common ground regarding the timing and size of steps. Secondly the break step is used in an open break to build arm tension and allow certain steps to be led. On which beat the break step occurs is what distinguishes different Salsa styles.
