Salsa

    Listening to today’s salsa, one would hear indistinguishably a combination of cumbia, of rumba, a bit of guaracha, a slight bit of merengue, of boogaloo; and many old styles found in between modern beats. To the untrained ears, these are nothing but part of the overall music-making; the same unfortunate ears fail to see how the dance’s variety spells of certain unfamiliarity.
    Salsa, a Spanish term which literally means sauce, particularly that of a spicy sauce of tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers, has poignantly come to mean a popular music in Latin America origin characterized by rhythm, jazz, and a subtle touch of rock. Considered to belong to one of the most celebrated dance genre of today, it is enjoyed by people both exhibiting a taste for Western music and non alike throughout differing continents.
    The salsa dance is a popular dance form in Latin America, United States and several European countries like France, Portugal, and Italy. It is danced handhold in pairs, the each partner occupying a certain portion on the dance floor. Typical salsa music is fast, on an average 180 beats per minute or a range of 160 to about 220 beats per minute. Also, the music is indicative of complex percussion based on clave rhythms
    The salsa dance has the fundamentals of Cuban mambo. It is danced over a pattern of eight counts, with three steps for each four beats, skipping a beat. The skipped beat is usually marked by either a tap or a kick. The recurring basic movement is the stepping on the beat of the music. This so-called “basic-step” pertains to the forward-backward motion, where it has the leader step forward, replace, and then step backward on counts 1-2-3. He would then step backward, replace, and then forward again on counts 5-6-7. The follower executes the same pattern in a reversed manner.
    The pair can opt to choose from among the varying basic steps: forward break, back break, or side break. In as much as it has variations on its basic steps, the salsa dance also exhibits differentiation on its styles - Cuban, Colombian, Los Angeles, New York, Puerto Rican, Rueda – each a unique manifestation of how the culture of each place influence every dance style’s formation.
    Salsa rueda or rueda de casino, was developed in Havana, Cuba in 1950s. Dance partners would form a circle or rueda as termed in Spanish, their moves generally include a lot of rapid swapping partners as called out by a single person. Major Rueda de Casino groups are Casino.com, with world-renowned choreographer Yanek Revilla, Cuban All Stars, Luceros del Son, Rhumbanana, and Salsa Racing, with choreographer Henry Herrera. Together with the dance’s growth, especially in Latin American countries, Latino artists Marc Anthony and Gloria Estefan have successfully made their way into the American pop market.
    Different styling techniques are seen in the salsa dance. Depending on whoever is performing, the dancer can incorporate footwork, hand styling, shoulder shimmies, spins and rolls, the works, to add up to the dance’s overall spice. The richness of its variations and styles only reinforced its dynamism as it continue to evolve, seeking to become a perfect blend that will live up to the world’s taste.