Salsa (dance)
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Salsa_dancing.jpg
According to testimonials from musicologists and historians of music, the name salsa was gradually accepted among dancers throughout various decades. The very first time the word appeared on the radio was a composition by Ignacio Piñeiro, dedicated to an old African man who sold butifarras (a sausage-like product) in Central Road in Matanzas. It is a son titled Échale salsita. Wherein the major refrain and chorus goes "Salsaaaaa! échale salsita, échale salsita." During the early 1950s, commentator and DJ "bigote" Escalona announced danceables with the title: "the following rhythm contains Salsa." Finally, the Spanish-speaking population of the New York area baptized Celia Cruz as the "Queen of Salsa."
Salsa is danced on music with a recurring eight-beat pattern, i.e. two bars of four beats. Salsa patterns typically use three steps during each four beats, one beat being skipped. However, this skipped beat is often marked by a tap, a kick, a flick, etc. Typically the music involves complicated percussion rhythms and is fast with around 180 beats per minute (see salsa music for more).
Salsa is a spot dance, i.e., unlike Foxtrot or Samba, in Salsa a couple does not travel over the dance floor much, but rather occupies a fixed area on the dance floor.
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History
Salsa music is a fusion of traditional African and Cuban and other Latin-American rhythms that started in New York, somewhere between the 1940s and the 1970s, depending on where one puts the boundary between "real" salsa and its predecessors. The dance steps currently being danced on salsa music originate from the Cuban Son, but has influences from many other Cuban dances such as Mambo, Chá, Guaracha, Changüí, Lukumí, Palo Monte, Rumba, Yambú, Abakuá, Comparsa and some times Mozambique even. It also integrates swing dances. There are no strict rules of how salsa should be danced, although one can distinguish a number of styles, which are discussed below.
Steps
The basic movement occurring in the dance patterns of the various salsa styles is the stepping on the beat of the music. Salsa is best grouped in pairs of 4-beat patterns counted "1-2-3-...-5-6-7-...". The leader (male) starts on count 1 by stepping with the left foot. On count 2 and 3, he steps with right and left, respectively. On count 4, he pauses or makes an optional tap with the right foot. On counts 5, 6, and 7, he steps with right, left, and right, respectively, again followed by a pause on count 8. As a standard, every step must be taken with full weight transfer. The follower (female) part is identical, but with left and right reversed. In all patterns and styles, the leader starts with the left foot and the follower starts with the right foot.
Basic Step
The term "basic step" normally refers to a forward-backward motion. On counts 1, 2, and 3, the leader steps forward, replaces, and steps backward. On count 5, 6, and 7, he steps backwards, replaces, and steps forward again. The follower does the same, but with forward and backward reversed, so that the couple goes back and forth as a unit. This basic step is part of many other patterns. For example, the leader may dance the basic step while leading the follower to do an underarm turn.
The following variants of the Basic step may be used, often called breaks.
- Forward break: Starting from any foot, step Forward, Replace, In-place, counting 1,2,3 or 5,6,7.
- Back break: Starting from any foot, step Backward, Replace, In-place, counting 1,2,3 or 5,6,7.
- Side break: Starting from any foot, step Sideways, Replace, In-place, counting 1,2,3 or 5,6,7.
On One and On Two
Salsa danced according to the above description is called Salsa on One, or briefly, "On One", because it starts on the first count of the 8-beat rhythm. If first step (with the left foot) occurs on count 2 or 6, it is called "On Two". The pause can also occur on different counts relative to the first step with the left foot. The most notable "On Two" style is the New York style (see below). Another "On Two" style is the Mambo style.
Some consider dancing "on two" to work more closely to the clave rhythm, the most basic rhythm of salsa music, as the steps start on the first tick of a 2-3 son clave. However, dancing "on one" hits just as many beats in the clave and hits the first tick if the music is using a 3-2 style son clave. In short it's a matter of personal preference which counting to use, and most people prefer the counting of the style they were taught first when they began dancing salsa.
See also: Description of "On Two" on salsanewyork.com (http://www.salsanewyork.com/ourdancemusic.htm#DEFINITION)
Salsa styles
Cuban style
Cuban-style salsa is "on one". An essential element is the "cuba step", where the leader does a backward basic on 1-2-3 and a forward basic on 5-6-7. The follower does the same, thereby mirroring the leader's movement. Another characteristic of this style is that in many patterns the leader and follower circle around each other.
Colombian style
This style is common in Latin-American countries. The leader and follower do most of the movements while standing in place. It stems from the Cuban style. As such in many patterns the leader and follower turn around each other.
Los Angeles style
The two essential elements of this dance are the forward/backward basic as described above, and the cross-body lead. In this pattern, the leader steps forward on 1, steps to the right on 2-3 while turning 90 degrees counter-clockwise (facing to the left). Then the follower steps forward on 5-6, and turns on 7-8, while the leader makes another 90 degrees counter-clockwise. After these 8 counts, the leader and follower have exchanged their positions.
LA style salsa is also known to be the most flashy style commonly danced.
The Vazquez brothers are widely credited with developing the LA style of salsa. Luis still teaches in LA. Here is a link to his bio: http://www.massalsabrava.com/bio.php
New York style
This style is similar to Los-Angeles style, but it is danced "On Two": the steps start on count 2 or 6, instead of count 1. When started on count 6, it is also called Ladies style. Although salsa dance originated in New York, the style currently known as "New York style" developed in the 1980s, notably driven by dance instructor Eddie Torres.
Puertorican style
This style can be danced as "On One" or "On Two". If danced as "On Two", it is always danced on count 2, and not on count 6 as in Ladies-style NY.
Rueda style
Main article: Rueda de Casino. In the 1950s Salsa Rueda (Rueda de Casino) was developed in Havana, Cuba. Pairs of dancers form a circle (Rueda in Spanish), with dance moves called out by one person. Many of the moves involve rapidly swapping partners.
Shines
Normally Salsa is a partner dance, danced in a handhold. However advanced dancers always include shines, which are basically "show-offs" and involve fancy footwork and body actions, danced in separation. They are supposed to be improvisational breaks, but there are a huge number of "standard" shines. Also, they fit best during the mambo sections of the tune, but they may be danced whenever the dancers feel appropriate. They are a good recovery trick when the connection or beat is lost during a complicated move, or simply to catch the breath.
See also
External links
- Open Directory Project: Salsa (http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Performing_Arts/Dance/Latin/Salsa/)
- Knowledge section of salsaloco.com (http://www.salsaloco.com/knowledge.htm)
- History of salsa music at latindance.com (http://www.latindance.com/history_of_salsa.htm)
- Mambo, salsa, cha cha cha history at StreetDance Australia (http://www.geocities.com/sd_au/mambo/sdhmambo.htm)
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