Salsa is a Latin dance, associated with the music genre of the same name, which was first popularised in the United States in the 1960s in New York City. Salsa is a mixture of Cuban dances, such as mambo, pachanga, and rumba, as well as American dances such as swing and tap.
Salsa is one of the most popular Latin dances that is today practiced worldwide. Salsa dance emerged in the Central American country of Cuba during the late 19th and early years of the 20th century. This country's rich musical history enabled many Latin dances to thrive, grow, and morph into new forms, leading to modern Salsa dance and Salsa music by the 1920s. The contemporary Salsa as we know it evolved from several earlier Cuban dance forms, including Son, Son Montuno, Mamba, Cha Cha Cha, and was also enriched with Puerto Rican influences of dances Bomba and Plena.
After the initial burst of popularity in Cuba and Puerto Rico, Salsa quickly spread across Latin America and the United States, becoming one of the most popular Latin dances.
If you like Latin rhythms and want to spice up your life with something that will also keep you in great shape, then Salsa is the dance for you!
Join us on September the 5th, 2023. at 18:00 to take your first steps into the picante world of Salsa.
The course will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 18:05 - 19:00 in our dance studio at Karadjordjeva 5 in Belgrade, close to the Belgrade fortress - Kalemegdan.
Price: 3500 RSD / month (discounted to 2800 RSD in September due to Latin Dance Studio opening)
First class is free.
If you have been dancing Salsa, and you want to elevate your dance to the next level, don't think too much and join us on September the 5th, 2023. at 19:00.
Part of our course will be working on elements specific to LA salsa, which can not be found in Cuban salsa. The goal for all students is to enrich their dance with some new elegant elements.
The course will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 19:05 - 20:00 in our dance studio at Karadjordjeva 5 in Belgrade, close to the Belgrade fortress - Kalemegdan.
Price: 3500 RSD / month (discounted to 2800 RSD in September due to Latin Dance Studio opening)
First class is free.
We are proud to announce that for the first time in Serbia, there is going to be Cha-Cha and Mambo beginner/improver dance group! The dance from New York City which made Salsa the most popular social dance world wide since 1960s.
If you have been dancing Mambo, or you are a Salsa dancer and you are looking for new horizons, don't think too much and join us on September the 5th, 2023. at 20:00.
The course will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 20:05 - 21:00 in our dance studio at Karadjordjeva 5 in Belgrade, close to the Belgrade fortress - Kalemegdan.
Price: 3500 RSD / month (discounted to 2800 RSD in September due to Latin Dance Studio opening)
First class is free.
Salsa is a partnered dance where the lead takes the follower through a series of spins and turn patterns to music. Salsa's tempo ranges from about 150bpm (beats per minute) to around 250bpm, although most dancing is done to music somewhere between 160 and 220bpm.The basic Salsa dance rhythm consists of taking three steps for every four beats of music. Salsa dancers can also break apart to dance solo, known as "shines".
The two main styles of salsa are linear and circular. In linear salsa, dancers remain in their "slot", switching places from one side of the slot to the other, similar to West Coast Swing — New York-style salsa and LA-style salsa are both danced this way. The second salsa style is circular salsa. Here, dancers circle around each other, reminiscent of East Coast Swing. Both Cuban and Colombian salsa follow this circular pattern.
Incorporating other dance styling techniques into salsa dancing has become very common for both men and women: shimmies, leg work, arm work, body movement, spins, body isolations, shoulder shimmies, rolls, even hand styling, acrobatics, and lifts
Salsa dancing is an international dance that can be found in most metropolitan cities in the world. Festivals are held annually, often called a Salsa Congress, in various host cities aimed to attract a variety of salsa dancers from other cities and countries. The events bring dancers together to share their passion for the dance, build community, and share moves and tips. These events usually include salsa dance performers, live salsa music, workshops, open dancing, and contests.
Over the years, many different styles of salsa dancing have evolved around the world. Many of them are compatible with each other, but others are different enough to make dancing between dancers of different styles difficult.
Incorporating other dance styling techniques into salsa dancing has also become common, with dancers of one style incorporating styles and movements of others to create new fusions of dance styles.
"On 2" style salsa originated in New York and is often referred to as New York style. It is a linear form of salsa, where dancers dance in a slot, similar to LA style salsa. Unlike other styles of salsa, however, New York style is danced on the second beat of the music ("on 2"), and the follower, not the leader, steps forward on the first measure of the music. There is also often a greater emphasis on performing "shines" in which dancers separate themselves and dance solo with intricate footwork and styling — a phenomenon that likely has origins from Swing and New York Tap.
One of the most influential figures in New York style salsa is Eddie Torres (known as "the Mambo King"), who is credited with helping to formalise the on 2 salsa timing (based on mambo) and helping to popularise it by teaching it in dance studios in New York and through early instructional tapes.
New York style salsa emphasises harmony with the percussive instruments in salsa music, such as the congas, timbales, and clave, since many or all of those instruments often mark the second beat in the music.
Los Angeles style salsa (LA style) is danced "on 1" where dancers break forward on the first beat of the music, in contrast to New York style which is danced on 2. LA style salsa is danced in a line or "slot" with dancers exchanging positions throughout the dance, unlike Cuban salsa which is danced in a more circular fashion.
The two essential elements of this dance are the forward–backward basic step 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), leaving the slot open. The follower then steps straight forward on 5-6 and turns on 7-8, while the leader makes another 90 degrees counter-clockwise and slightly forward, coming back into the slot. In total, the couple turned 180° with the follower and leader switching places.
The "Vazquez Brothers" (Luis Vazquez, Francisco Vazquez, and Johnny Vazquez) are credited for the early development and growth of LA Style. Luiz Vazquez was the co-founder of Los Angeles's first salsa dance team, Salsa Brava. The Vazquez Brothers drew influence from stage dances such as tap dance and helped develop LA style's reputation for flashy moves and acrobatics.
Other prominent figures in LA style salsa include salsa promoter Albert Torres, who created the LA Salsa Congress, the first salsa congress in the United States and for many years one of the largest salsa events in the world. Later dancers such as Alex Da Silva, Christian Oviedo, and Liz Lira are also credited with developing the LA style of dancing as we know it today
In Cuba, a popular dance known as Casino was marketed as Cuban-style salsa or Salsa Cubana abroad to distinguish it from other salsa styles when the name was popularised internationally in the 1970s. Dancing Casino is an expression of popular social culture; Cubans consider casino as part of social and cultural activities centering on their popular music. The name Casino is derived from the Spanish term for the dance halls, "Casinos Deportivos" where much social dancing was done among the better-off, white Cubans during the mid-20th century and onward.
Historically, Casino traces its origin as a partner dance from Cuban Son, Cha Cha Cha, Danzón and Guaracha. Traditionally, Casino is danced "a contratiempo". This means that, distinct from subsequent forms of salsa, no step is taken on the first and fifth beats in each clave pattern and the fourth and eighth beat are emphasised. In this way, rather than following a beat, the dancers themselves contribute in their movement, to the polyrhythmic pattern of the music. At the same time, it is often danced "a tiempo", although both "on3" (originally) and "on1" (nowadays).
What distinguishes this style is the understanding and spontaneous use of Afro-Cuban dance vocabulary within a "Casino" dance. In the same way that a "sonero" (lead singer in Son and salsa bands) will "quote" other, older songs in their own, a "casino" dancer will frequently improvise references to other dances, integrating movements, gestures and extended passages from folk dances. This is particularly true of African descended Cubans. Such improvisations might include extracts of rumba, dances for African deities, the older popular dances such as Cha Cha Chá and Danzon as well as anything the dancer may feel.
The key instrument that provides the core groove of a salsa song is the clave. It is often played with two wooden sticks (called clave) that are hit together. Every instrument in a salsa band is either playing with the clave (generally: congas, timbales, piano, tres guitar, bongos, claves (instrument), strings) or playing independent of the clave rhythm (generally: bass, maracas, güiro, cowbell). Melodic components of the music and dancers can choose to be in clave or out of clave at any point.
For salsa, there are four types of clave rhythms, the 3-2 and 2-3 Son claves being the most important, and the 3-2 and 2-3 Rumba claves. Most salsa music is played with one of the son claves, though a rumba clave is occasionally used, especially during rumba sections of some songs. As an example of how a clave fits within the 8 beats of a salsa dance, the beats of the 2-3 Son clave are played on the counts of 2, 3, 5, the "and" of 6, and 8.
There are other common rhythms found in salsa music: the chord beat, the tumbao, and the Montuno rhythm.
The chord beat (often played on cowbell) emphasises the odd-numbered counts of salsa: 1, 3, 5 and 7 while the tumbao rhythm (often played on congas) emphasises the "off-beats" of the music: 2, 4, 6, and 8. Some dancers like to use the strong sound of the cowbell to stay on the Salsa rhythm. Alternatively, others use the conga rhythm to create a jazzier feel to their dance since strong "off-beats" are a jazz element.
Tumbao is the name of the rhythm that is typically played with the conga drums. It sounds like: "cu, cum.. pa... cu, cum... pa". Its most basic pattern is played on the beats 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8. Tumbao rhythm is helpful for learning to dance contra-tiempo ("On2"). The beats 2 and 6 are emphasised when dancing On2, and the Tumbao rhythm heavily emphasises those beats as well.
The Montuno rhythm is a rhythm that is often played with a piano. The Montuno rhythm loops over the 8 counts and is useful for finding the direction of the music. By listening to the same rhythm, that loops back to the beginning after eight counts, one can recognise which count is the first beat of the music.
The basic salsa dance rhythm consists of taking three steps for every four beats of music. The odd number of steps creates the inherent syncopation to the Salsa dancing and ensures that it takes 8 beats of music to loop back to a new sequence of steps. Different styles employ this syncopation differently. For "On1" dancers this rhythm is described as "quick, quick, quick, pause, quick, quick, quick, pause". For "On2" dancers this rhythm is "quick, quick, slow, quick, quick, slow". In all cases, only three steps are taken in each 4-beat measure (or 6 total over 8 beats).
* Text can be found on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsa_(dance)
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