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What does Salsa mean?
Salsa means "sauce" in Spanish. Meaning "the sauce of life", a good blend of
strong ingredients that meets the needs of life: Dance, music, passion for life,
physically contact, sensuality etc.
The Salsa music:
Salsa has many instruments but is based on a clave-rhythm and has 8 beats.
Depending on style you can dance to the bass, drums or the congas. The "cow-bell" is
another prominent instrument that is marked on the 1,3,5 & 7 beat.
The history of Salsa:
The name "Salsa" arose in New York
and was considered as the new version of the Cuban Son and the modern kind of mambo
(origined from the latin-jazz)
and other similar rhythms with roots in Latin-America, f.ex. Puerto Rico and Cuba.
However, there are many divided opinions about who owns the "rights" for the
origin of the Salsa.
Salsa is a wide name for many different genres and ways in which you can dance and
listen to the contagious latin american music where the Clave is the
main instrument.
IT is the music that tells us how we "best" match & move to and with the music.
Depending on the type of salsa you can danceto f.ex. the bas (Son), the cow-bell
(Cuban Salsa on "1" or L.A. Salsa), congas (N.Y.Salsa/Son/Cha-Cha-Cha) etc.
The cow-bell marks every second beat (1,3,5,7).
When Salsa back then arose and got its name Salsa in New York the Cubans
at first didn't want to know of the name Salsa but prefered to call it Son
as it to them was Son.
Although the Son was slightly slower than most Salsa music is today.
Salsa dance styles:
TOday Salsa has many different styles and variates from location to loaction
but yet has similar guidelines:
The common features are that all styles are danced with 6 steps on the counts
from 1-8.
And the most important differences people talk about are the 2 styles:
1) Cuban Salsa - where you dance around each other in a circle
and where one of the most important steps is the "di-le-que-no".
You dance in an angle to each other (unless you dance in a closed position).
2) "Crossbody" Salsa
- where you dance "on a line" and where one of the most important steps is
the "cross-body-lead" (replies to the Cuban "di-le-que-no").
The "crossbody" Salsa is danced "face-to-face" with eye contact.
The term "Crossbody" is being use in Denmark as the collective name for all the
latin american genres:
L.A. Salsa, N.Y. Salsa, Puerto Rican Salsa, London style etc. and just symbolises
that you use the crossbody-lead-step as a guideline.
Abroad "the crossbody style" term is not so commonlu used
but is often just refered to as "dancing on 1 or on2".
"Crossbody" Salsa is the most danced salsa dancestyle in the world today
(and the salsa style danced on most salsa congresses worldwide).
As a lady you have most freedom to express yourself in this style.
What is the difference between L.A. and N.Y. Salsa?
The difference is primarily the rhythm in which you dance.
In addition to that the L.A. Salsa is typically quite show influenced
with lifts/dips etc, you move with longer steps on the floor
and the break in the dance/the music is heavyer.
A typical worldknown L.A. Salsa dancer is Johnny Vasquez.
N.Y. Salsa is danced with smaller steps but instead with more
body moves and steps taken from the Cuban Rumba and the Guaguanco.
You break with the conga-rhythm and the dance seems more fluent and often
less stressing. Typical N.Y. Salsa dancers are Juan Matos and Frankie Martinez.
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On which "beat" are we dancing?
Salsa L.A. Style/On1:
is danced "on 1": 1-2-3, 5-6-7.
Salsa N.Y. Style/On2/Mambo:
is danced "on 2" (also called "contra-tiempo"= against the rhythm):
Eddie Torres Style:
You step on 1-2-3, 5-6-7,
the rhythm is accentuated on the på 2 and 6 count (with the conga).
Puerto Rican Style:
You step on 2-3-4, 6-7-8, the rhythm is likewise accentuated on the 2 and 6 count.
(This style is NOT danced in Denmark and is not so worldknown as the Eddie Torres Style).
Salsa Cuban style (also called Casino):
is danced on "1": 1-2-3, 5-6-7 (occasionally with extra step on the 4 and 8 counts)
or on "3": 3,4,5 og 7,8,1 etc.
Often in Denmark dansed on 1, many Cubans dance on "3".
Son:
The Cuban Son (the forrunner of Salsa as we know it today) is danced "contra-tiempo"
(like the N.Y.Salsa), on 2,3,4, 6,7,8 accentuating the 4 and 8 count.
The music from the group/the movie Buena Vista Social Club is a typical example of Son.
Rueda De Casino:
A kind of "folk dancing" where you dance Cuban style in a circle with 2 or multible couples.
A "leader" of the circle leads and shouts out "callings" which everybody in the circle
executes all at the same time
and change of partner often happens after each variation. All the "calling" are in Spanish.
Salsa in the heart and soul:
Salsa is a dance that attracts many as it's informal, rhythmical, happy and very social.
Today most of the world has adopted the salsa and it has become an international language.
Go abroad and you will almost always be able to find a place to dance salsa -
and soon you will have new acquaintances.
After some times knowledge of the salsa universe, time and time again you will
be enthusiasticly surprised by the huge music history, the latin culture and the many
dance styles and deep rhythm knowledge that underlies and surrounds the salsa.
Salsa has found it's way to the heart of many people worldwide -
and yours might be the next?
Salsa gives us all we human beings need: lots of exercise/healthy lifestyle,
laughter, joy, sensuality and an outgoing social life.
This is why for many people this is not just a side passion but a whole lifestyle!
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