Salsa

Salsa is an interesting and popular dance type danced by all ages (especially for those in their 20’s and 30’s) and is originally from Cuba.    It is known for its flashy moves, infinite variety of hand and arm patterns, tricks and spins, and fun social approach.   There are Salsa competitions too, where Salsa is taken on a somewhat more serious level.

In some circles of dancers, Salsa is referred to as a ‘Latin Dance’, making it confusing to Ballroom dancers who think of Latin dance as including only Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba, Jive, and Paso Doble.    The American Style dancers have also recently adopted Salsa as one of their satellite Rhythm dances.    This has led to some people thinking (or declaring) that there is a Street (Club) Salsa and a Ballroom Salsa.    This is a controversial topic, of course, which has led to the formation of various cliques and different camps claiming that their way is the right way.    However, Salsa is not a standardized dance.    Because of that, it often borrows from other formal styles such as Ballroom/Latin, Ballet, Theatre Arts tricks and lifts, Jazz, and more.   It all depends on who is dancing it and what their interpretation of the dance and music is.    So the term ‘Ballroom Salsa’ may not really make sense, and the lack of clear standardization of Salsa is both an opportunity to be creative and a subject of criticism.

This is all just more evidence of the evolution of dance existing as a never ending conglomeration of new styles, old styles, dead styles, your own style, your mama’s style, and everything in between.

Most of the time Salsa is danced as an easy going social club dance, so therefore should be stylized in a somewhat relaxed way rather than a formalized way (as in Ballroom and Ballet).

There are several types of Salsa commonly danced today.    These include Salsa on 1, Salsa on 2, Cuban Salsa, Columbian Salsa, Puerto Rican Salsa, and many others.    The most popular style is ‘Salsa on 1’, often referred to as L.A. style.    At John Howardson Dance, we emphasize the L.A. style. 

The information given here is very general.    If you have further questions, feel free to contact us by email or phone.

 

 

Tel: 1-855-543-2623               or just simply               1-855-JH-DANCE

Email: info@johnhowardsondance.com