The Styles of Salsa

The origin of salsa, the dance, stems from the same beginnings. The dances of the countryside, Contra-Danze and later Danzon, largely came as a byproduct of the settlers from England and France with a mixing of the Rhumbas of Africa. As the societies became more connected, the dance and music styles became more refined. Building upon the old, new forms of dance sprang up and saturated the countryside, eventually moving into modern times.

Largely influenced by Son, salsa is an 8 count step with 3 weight changes per 4 beats with either a tap, kick, or pause between them. Various styles exist in salsa with the primary two being On1 and On2 salsa.

To a novice, Salsa will look pretty much the same no matter what part of the country they are in. A few differences can be immediately identified between club dancing and stage performances, but for the most part it is a blur of hands, feet, and other body parts. However there are many variations underneath the surface of salsa, mostly dependent on geographic origin. The characteristics of a style include: the basic footwork, the frame or handhold, timing, moves, attitude, slight variance in music, and connection. Below we have identified the most well known styles of salsa.

New York Style

Instructor Eddie Torres popularized this style which emphasizes efficiency of movement, elegance, and body isolations. Alternatively known as dancing “On 2″, this label refers to the beat the followers break forward on and the leaders break back on. It is often referred to as Mambo, although this is somewhat of a misnomer as Mambo is always danced On 2 and has a slightly different beat. New York Style “On 2″ timing is firmly connected with the tumbao pattern of the conga drum and the bass guitar. Practitioners place great emphasis on “shines” by which both dancers separate and showcase their individuality through complex footwork and body movements; NY On2 Dancers are said to “dance with the beat”. The connection between the dancers and the music is strong enough to warrant a specific type of salsa music known as Salsa Dura (Hard Salsa). These are medium to fast tempo songs with a predominance for percussion and musicality. New York Style is the style of choice for most professional dancers at any Salsa Congress. The styling in the video below is awesome. And for those of you who think this is a choreographed routine, guess again. That’s all leadable stuff and it is amazing!

An example of New York Style Salsa (On2)

L.A. Style

On the opposite side of the country, L.A. Style reigns supreme. L.A. style focuses on theatricality, acrobatics, musicality, sensuality, and high energy. Danced On1, this style also has roots in Mambo but takes some styling from Swing. Compared to their NY counterpart, those who dance LA style are said to “dance to the beat”. Today this style can be seen on such popular shows as ‘Dancing with The Stars’ and ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ due to its flashiness and commercial appeal. The main proponents of this style are the Vazquez Brothers (Johnny, Francisco, and Luis), Alex Da Silva, Joby Martibez, and many others. The music accompaniment is often high tempo salsa songs sometimes to ridiculous speeds. While I feel the sensuality is somewhat stripped away in LA Style, the sheer complexity and excitement from their incredible routines is admirable.

An example of LA Style Salsa

Cuban Salsa

The basic step in Cuban salsa is known as Guapea, where the leader breaks back on 1-2-3 and does a forward basic on 5-6-7. A tap generally occurs on beats 4 and/or 8. The follower mirrors these movements. Cuban Salsa is a type of circular salsa whereby the partners move around each other. NY and LA salsa are linear styles of salsa where remaining in the “slot” is vital. This style of salsa is notorious for complex handwork and relatively simple footwork and does not have many fast spins. Male-centrality is characteristic of this dance meaning that the men (leaders) are doing all the fancy work (mostly handwork) and the ladies (followers) follow diligently. Conversely, in NY salsa especially, the follower is showcased. I think this guy’s style is phenomenal. Ladies please look at how different the follower dances in Cuban salsa versus LA or NY.

An example of Cuban Style Salsa

Rueda de Casino (aka Casino Rueda)

Cuban Salsa’s significant change in footwork allows for a group dance entitled Rueda de Casino. This is a multi-couple dance where a “leader/caller” controls the whole group by calling out names and giving hand signs of choreographed moves. To accomplish this dance effectively one must practice with a group or be well versed in all the possible variations of the moves and hand signs. An average level caller will know up to 300 moves. This video in particular is a routine that the dancers have practiced such that there is no “caller”, however in a social setting, you would see a “caller” waving his/her hands and yelling out names of moves.

An example of Rueda de Casino

Cumbia

Cumbia is a type of salsa predominantly danced in Latin and South America. Cumbia, like Cuban, is a circular dance where partners dance around each other. I like to refer to it as the Latin American two step just because it is a home style dance taught at a young age. The style has few advanced turn patterns instead partners form tighter connections simply rotating the frame (although I have personally seen some high energy Cumbia, which is fun to watch). Cumbia additionally has its own style of music that can be hard for beginners to differentiate, which includes slightly different percussion accents.

An example of Cumbia

Palladium (Ballroom Salsa)

Also known as Power 2, this style is most similar to LA Style, but it is danced “On 2″. The basic step is exactly the same as LA but the timing is 2-3-4, 6-7-8 with the breaks on 2 and 6 (instead of 1 and 5). This is the proper footwork used for Mambo dancers in ballroom competitions. If you pay close attention to the footwork in the video below you will see that it is On2 (Palladium). It can be hard to distinguish this style when the dancers are at such a high level due to the fact that they, for the most part, don’t do the basic by itself.

An example of Palladium Salsa

There are other styles of salsa out there like On Clave, Puerto Rican Style, Miami Style, and Cali Style (Colombia). I’ve even seen Texas Style. All these have subtle differences that may not be obvious upon first examination. We will be presenting more of these styles in future posts.

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