What is Salsa?

Salsa is both a dance and a music genre. Translated from Spanish, salsa means sauce. Like many sauces, Salsa is an exciting blend of Latin American, African, American and even European dances and customs. Salsa is a lively dance, a constant improvisation in a clear rhythmic form.

Some history

Originally, Salsa comes from the English group dance called Contradance, which French colonists brought with them to the Caribbean. By the middle of the 19th century, the dance had developed very rapidly. In Cuba in the 1930s, African drumming and dance traditions mixed with Spanish guitar music to form Son, the original form of Salsa. After the revolution in 1959, many Cuban musicians went into exile in America. This marked the beginning of a different development in the two countries. Thus, in the 70s, the musical style of Salsa was born. In the beginning, Salsa as a name and style was not accepted by the traditional musicians, the reproach of having spiced up Son for commercial purposes was great. Since this new music style caused a lot of sensation worldwide, Salsa was finally accepted. Of course, the development did not end there, but is subject to a constant cycle of renewal and change.

Salsa dance styles

There are different styles of how Salsa can be danced. These differ among other things by the timing. In Salsa, this is the point in time in the music at which an emphasis is heard. Salsa can be danced on the 1st beat (On 1), the 2nd beat (On 2) or even on the 3rd or 6th beat. The most common styles are Salsa On 1 and On 2. On 1 includes the styles Salsa Cubana, Salsa Puerto Rican and Salsa LA style. On 2 is the Mambo or also called New York style. A further subdivision results from dancing in circular figures as in Salsa Cubana and styles danced on the line as Salsa Puerto Rican, LA-Style or New York-Style. In the following videos you can see two of the most famous representatives of Salsa On 1 respectively LA-Style Fernando Sosa (left) and Adrian & Anita.

Examples of Salsa Linear Style On 1

Fernando Sossa (Tropical Gem)

Adrian and Anita

Which Salsa Style do I learn at SALSA JAM in the regular Salsa course program?

We teach Salsa On 1 Puerto Rican Style. This is the version of Salsa that is danced on the line. Salsa Puerto Rican Style is elegant, effective and offers a great variety of styles. Women have many options for styling. Since we are big fans of the Mambo, all our figures are also suitable for the On 2 danced New York Style.
 

Salsa New York Style On 2 (Mambo)

Mambo is another name for Salsa On 2 and originated mainly in New York, therefore also called New York Style. This style originated from the Salsa Puerto Rican Style and contains mostly the classic Puerto Rican elements. The music often sounds very light and jazzy and offers extended possibilities of improvisation and stylings for both men and women. The pioneers of the New York Style are or were Eddie Torres as a dancer and Tito Puente as a musician. Both claim that the mambo is the only correct form of salsa. Their theory is supported by the fact that most of the famous and international stars dance mainly On 2.

We are also big Salsa On 2 fans and can only warmly recommend these courses to expand your dance skills! The two most famous representatives of the Salsa On 2 respectively New York Style are

Adolfo Indacochea & Jessica Patella

Terry SalsAlianza & Amely