Arm and shoulder movements are also incorporated. This leads to a movement similar to walking, but instead of going forward all the time, the dancer goes back and forth. Pairs of dancers form a circle ("Rueda" in Spanish means "Wheel"), with dance moves called out by one person. The central feature is the footwork which has quick rapid steps and skipping motions. Salsa dance has similarly evolved and adapted over the years to better suit the tastes of different localities, leading to the creation of different regional styles of salsa. Generally, Salsa is considered to be of a Cuban origin, although many argue that it's more Puerto Rican than Cuban. How Does Tuition Reimbursement Work with Financial Aid? This Latin dance originated from the Dominican Republic. In terms of salsa dance history, it’s interesting to think that salsa is reasonably new, and yet it has musical roots that go back for centuries. To better merchandise their music, Fania called this new sound salsa. Sciences, Culinary Arts and Personal © copyright 2003-2021 Study.com. There are often devotees of each of these styles outside their home territory. Over 83,000 lessons in all major subjects, {{courseNav.course.mDynamicIntFields.lessonCount}}, Ballet Dance Terminology and Key Concepts, Contemporary Dance and Dancers in the United States, Square Dance Lesson Plan for Elementary School, Biological and Biomedical The Aztecs were one of the first peoples to domesticate the tomato. Hutchinson says salsa music and dance "both originated with Cuban rhythms that were brought to New York and adopted, adapted, reformulated, and made new by Dominican, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City, "Longtime dance instructor talks salsa, both 'Cuban style' and 'Miami style, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salsa_(dance)&oldid=1000509110, Wikipedia articles with style issues from July 2017, Articles needing additional references from August 2018, All articles needing additional references, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Secondary evolution during the late 1970s, Latin Puerto Rican migrants, contributed a lot to the New York salsa development during the "NuYorican" era of, This page was last edited on 15 January 2021, at 11:18. Salsa dancing is an international dance that can be found in most metropolitan cities in the world. In many Hispanic communities, it remains today the most popular style of dance music. Who invented salsa? Create your account. Put simply, salsa is a dance with Caribbean and African roots. I wanted to learn the most popular types of Latin dances and know where they originated from.. Types of Latin Dance. This first video explores the Cuban and African heritage of the music and dance. Salsa dance socials are commonly held in nightclubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outside, especially when part of an outdoor festival. If you came up to me about 6 years ago and were to ask me about the history of salsa, I would’ve thought that you were asking me about some spicy sauce and looked at you funny. Earn Transferable Credit & Get your Degree, Historical & Cultural Dance Styles Around the World, Latin Music: Rhythm, Dance, Instruments & Characteristics, The Nutcracker Lesson for Kids: Story & Ballet, Kathakali Dance: History & Characteristics, Elements of Dance: Space, Time, Levels & Force, Latin American Culture: Facts, Food & Traditions, History of Musical Theatre: Lesson for Kids, What Is Musical Theater? The key instrument that provides the core groove of a salsa song is the clave. These events usually include salsa dance performers, live salsa music, workshops, open dancing, and contests. The music got the label of 'salsa'. The són itself is a mix of African beats and the Spanish troubadour, writes Jamie Andrés Pretell in a brief History of Salsa Dance and Music. Colombian style does not execute Cross-body Leads or the "Dile Que No" as seen in other styles, but rather step in place and displace in closed position. Here the music is played and salsa dancers rule the night. succeed. As the music traveled to these new regions, … In the original Latin American form, the forward/backward motion of salsa is done in diagonal or sideways with the 3-step weight change intact. In the closed position, the leader puts the right hand on the follower's back, while the follower puts the left hand on the leader's shoulder. Salsa is danced shifting the weight of the body from foot to foot by stepping in harmony with the music. Movement number four is usually a shift in direction, and movement eight is the finishing movement of the step. 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. 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. Salsa is a Latin style of music that has many influences. The open position requires the two dancers to hold one or both hands, especially for moves that involve turns, putting arms behind the back, or moving around each other, to name a few examples. In recent years, this dance has also gained popularity in Europe and in Asia. The point in a musical bar music where a slightly larger step is taken (the break step) and the direction the step moves can often be used to identify a style. and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you. Salsa's tempo ranges from about 150 bpm (beats per minute) to around 250 bpm, although most dancing is done to music somewhere between 160 and 220 bpm. The lead dancer, usually the male, indicates when to do it. Due to the Revolution in Cuba, many musicians relocated to the United States, especially to New York City. Quiz & Worksheet - What is Salsa Dancing? They move so they both face in the same direction, being side by side. The origins of salsa date back to the 1900s in Eastern Cuba, where musical elements and rhythms from various styles were combined. Cali hosts many annual salsa events such as the World Salsa Cali Festival and the Encuentro de Melomanos y Coleccionistas. Weight shifts cause the hips to move. There are other aspects outside the Clave that help define salsa rhythm: the cowbell, the Montuno rhythm and the Tumbao rhythm. Miami-style has many adherents, particularly Cuban-Americans and other Latinos based in South Florida.[7]. Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course. It developed largely in New York City beginning in the 1940s and ’50s, though it was not labeled salsa until the 1960s; it peaked in popularity in the 1970s in conjunction with the spread of Hispanic cultural identity. Casino is popular in many places around the world, including in Europe, Latin America, North America, and even in some countries in the Middle East such as Israel. Not surprisingly, salsa’s origins are indirect, hard to trace, a mezcla. Though he did not create New York style salsa, Eddie Torres is credited with popularizing it, and for having the follower step forward on the first beat of the first measure, followed by another step forward on the second beat to change direction (the "break step"). 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. This article is about the dance. Cali is also known as the "Capital de la Salsa" (Salsa's Capital); due to salsa music being the main genre in parties, nightclubs and festivals in the 21st century. Salsa is a dance and a musical style with deep Caribbean and African roots. In all cases, only three steps are taken in each 4-beat measure (or 6 total over 8 beats). Eddie Torres, the King of Mambo Dancing, performed with Tito Puente, the Mambo King, and his mambo influence helped form modern salsa dancing. The trumpet, trombone, flute, and saxophone are brass instruments commonly used. This is going to be, frankly, quite difficult, because Salsa is a blend, a fusion of many different dancing styles of Latin and Afro-Caribbean origin. [citation needed]. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 83,000 Latin American styles originate from Puerto Rico, Cuba and surrounding Caribbean islands including the Dominican Republic, and then expanding to Venezuela, Colombia, and the rest of Latin America; The dance is one of the most sensual art form in the history of Latin American dances. 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. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Salsa dance socials are commonly held in night clubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outside, especially if part of an outdoor festival. Among the Hispanic community, these musicians found an ideal environment to develop their rhythm into what we know as salsa today; this was especially true in ''El Barrio'', also known as Spanish Harlem. This helps prevent dancers from hitting other couples on a crowded dance floor. Salsa is a Latin dance associated with the music genre of the same name which originated in the 1960s in New York City. The Side Aperture (Apertura Lateral): This is another couples-only movement, very similar to a movement in American styles called the Tap. The music got the label of 'salsa'. The most common percussion instruments are bongos, congas, timbales, maracas, and cowbells. Some dancers like to use the strong sound of the cowbell to stay on the Salsa rhythm. There are two distinct developments of New York salsa as a music and dance genre: These two developments create a fusion of a new salsa music and dance genre, different from its Latin American and Caribbean counterparts. Salsa music has its origins sometime in the 1950s to 1970s, with the truly distinct salsa style coming out of New York in the 1970s. Johnny Pacheco founded Fania record label in the 1960s and gave the name "Salsa" to a blend of different influences, rhythms and styles of Latin music in New York City, especially in el Barrio, Spanish Harlem, and the Bronx. 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. Salsa is generally a partner dance, popular throughout Latin America, and also in the United States, Japan, India, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Israel and Eastern Europe.Salsa has its origins in the Cuban Son and Afro-Cuban dance. 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While dancers can mark the clave rhythm directly, it is more common to do so indirectly (with, for example, a shoulder movement). 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.