Salsa is the Kung Fu of Dance

What is Dance? Dance is an art form that refers to the movement of the body in a rhythmic fashion to music. Dancing can be social, ritualistic, spiritual, and expressive in nature.

What are Martial Arts? Martial arts are art forms focusing on the movement of the body as well as conditioning to maximize ability and are often linked with spiritual and ritualistic devotion.

Over the years, I have noticed a number of students have progressed rapidly, while others seemed to lag behind, playing catch up. At first I assumed these dancers just took it more seriously than the others. It wasn’t till I started befriending these students that a common theme emerged about their history: Martial Arts. Just about every one of the better dancers, at some point, had taken Martial Arts classes. Having a history in Martial Arts myself, it was astounding to finally notice the similarities.

Kung Fu and Salsa are fluid and graceful but full of energy and intensity. Both require focus, understanding of your surroundings, and knowing when to act. But when most people think of Salsa or Kung Fu, an image of high energy, high impact flips, dips, tricks, and spins is what arises. To those who really know either art, they realize it’s not what you see in the movies or on “Dancing With The Stars”. These styles have both active and passive characteristics. The explosive energy of salsa and kung fu is illuminated in its flashiness; something that takes a lot of stamina to execute. These include the more active moves like flips, tricks, and other high energy techniques. Conversely, the martial art Tai Chi is similar to the smoothness possible with salsa. This style identifies with the natural movements of the body.

No one style of salsa (L.A. Style, New York Style, Cuban Style, Texas Style, etc.) is an exact match in either extreme; moreover no dancer is an exact match but rather a coloring of both. On1 L.A. Style Salsa has a distinct high energy flavor; showcasing the fastest, most energetic, most awe inspiring moves. On2 New York Style is characteristically a smooth natural graceful dance. The moves are “flowy” and follow the feel of the music. The moves are deliberate but malleable forming into something new with little effort.

How do they Relate

Together they have very similar attributes. Choreography in dance is equivalent to Forms in martial arts. Both take a systematic approach, exploring the most relevant moves to epitomize the style. Furthermore dance and martial arts are social. In salsa you could call it “social salsa”, “couples dancing” or just “dancing”. In Martial Arts this would be sparring. Leading and following exist in both areas just with different terms. The terms of Social Salsa are that one person is the leader for this song and then we break. In Sparring the leader and follower roles fluctuate between aggressor and defender.

Looking at Influence on Society

Take a look at pop culture. Martial Arts and Dance have been intertwined for years in some cases centuries. Most recent is the advent of break dancing and hip hop. Originally gaining notoriety in the 70s and 80s the music form nurtured a dance style. But where did these moves come from; what was the inspiration? A particular category of films became every increasingly popular throughout the 70s and that was Kung Fu. Many of the traditional moves of Shaolin Kung Fu that had existed for about 1500 years were adapted and transformed into a new form of self expression. Look at any old Kung Fu movie and guaranteed you’ve probably seen one of the moves on “So You Think You Can Dance”. From the windmill, to the twist, to the aerial, numerous moves have been re-purposed.

Martial Arts and Dance History

Let’s take a further step back; in fact quite a ways back. Some time after the colonization of South America, African slaves developed a martial art system that masqueraded as a dance. This art form is known as Capoeira. Slave masters forbade slaves from practicing martial arts lest they rise up and overtake them. As a result a “dance” was created. Being a dance, music plays a large role for the players (for all intensive purposes, players are “fighters”) in the Roda, basically the ring. The tone, speed, and energy of the music can heighten the players’ interaction.

Now this isn’t just some theory I made up or an exercise in semantics but can be exemplified by the lives of many martial artists/dancers. The most well known Martial Artist and Dancer of all would be Bruce Lee. In 1958 Bruce Lee was the Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong. If you know anything of his work, you know that he was a premiere martial artist and arguably the best. Another well known actor who dabbled in dance is Jean Claude Van Damme. He came from a ballet background but realized that his abilities could easily be remodeled for the big screen. The remodel was to integrate martial arts.

More than Meets the Eye chechuchooo*

Just as in martial arts, Salsa is more than its flashy reputation. There is a connection with the dance; a way to explore and exemplify life. While much of salsa we see on TV is high energy, high impact flips, dips, and tricks, that is only one area of salsa. The explosive energy of salsa is illuminated in its flashiness; something that takes a lot of practice to make it work. This style can be equated to Kung Fu. Explosive energy, showcasing what the human body can do. On the opposite end of the spectrum, salsa can be more akin to Tai Chi. Methodically placed movements that demonstrate natural and smooth actions. In Salsa as in Kung Fu, there are many styles; L.A. Style, N.Y. Style, Cuban Style, Texas Style, London Style, etc. None of these styles exactly matches high energy versus natural and smooth. Instead they exhibit a coloring of both. On1 L.A. Style Salsa has a distinct high energy flavor; showcasing the fastest, most energetic, most awe-inspiring moves. On2 New York Style is characteristically a smooth, natural, and graceful dance. The moves are “flowy” and follow a natural course; deliberate but malleable forming into something new with little effort.

And now for the money

So you may be asking how does this relate to me and what should I do? Think about what the professionals do both in martial arts and salsa or other forms of dance. They practice, they dance with many people, they find great teachers, they STRETCH which is extremely useful, but most importantly they believe in what they are doing. What does that mean? It’s about state of mind. A martial artists after years of training understands his/her body, knows how to move even the most seldom used muscles, can listen to their body and anticipate reactions but more than that can focus into becoming the supreme definition of a martial artist. A Salsero y Salsera must listen to their bodies and understand how it moves, but you also have to believe in it. Don’t think “Ok now im dancing salsa and salsa is this this this and my teacher said this this this.” Those are good pathways to follow but the destination is of your choosing. Don’t get stuck in the rut of learning one style only. Test yourself with new things then analyze what you like. What is your style of salsa? Is it smooth and sultry? Is it high paced and energetic? Is it somewhere in between? Or have you created something brand new?

P.S. When all is said and done remember Salseros y Salseras this is a dance for enjoyment not for bodily harm. Never force a follower into a move….EVER! This is not a dictatorship. Acting like a DICtator will quickly lead to you being ostracized. Relax and have fun. But don’t get lazy, you have a job to do; Do it well.

*if you couldn’t figure out what “chechuchooo” is, it’s the sound the Transformers make when they transform. Plus that was a quote from Transformers. Whatever, shut up. I’m a dork…. :-P

How do you feel? Do Martial Artists REALLY make good dancers? Let us know.

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