Salsa Refers to a Fusion of Informal Dance Styles - Essay Example

Please put here Please put your here Please put the of the here 17th June 2008 Salsa - as a dance, its history and culture Salsa refers to a fusion of informal dance styles having roots in the Caribbean especially famous in Cuba and Puerto Rico, Latin and North America. The dance originated through the mixture of a variety of dance forms like Mambo, Danzn, Guaguanc, Cuban Son, and other typical Cuban dance forms. Salsa is danced to Salsa music. There is a strong African influence in the music as well as the dance. Derived from the Spanish word for "sauce," the dance is aptly named for the flavor or "spicy" technique upon which it actually centers upon (Bachata Crazy.com). With room for both partners to strut their stuff, this method of dance is becoming increasingly popular throughout dance institutions and afternoon school programs not only across the United States but also the most of the other parts of the globe like India etc. Salsa dancing works with a kind of music which is basically designed with two bars consisting of four steps. Salsa dance is eventually designed for a world where leg and arm work with mesmerizing body movements give rise to passionate emotions and at the same time tend to be equally romantic. Salsa dance is actually a partner dance which is usually danced to salsa music. "The history of the Latin popular music known worldwide as "salsa" began centuries ago in the islands of the Spanish Caribbean, in a context of slavery and colonialism. Yet, it is inextricably tied to twentieth-century New York City and the growth of a thriving Latino community here. Its distinctive polyrhythm and vocal and instrumental call-and-response identify the Afro-Caribbean roots of Latin music -traditional and contemporary, sacred and secular (Salsaweb.com)". "Over the years, the sounds of salsa and the steps of the dance migrated to the U.S. as early as the 40s, where further cultivation took place in the New York City Latin population during the 1960 and 70s. Cuban and Puerto Rican communities throughout Latin America and the United States are responsible for shaping most of the steps we see today. The culture surrounding salsa also takes cues from the styles of mambo and rumba. The typical instruments accompanying salsa dance includes the thumping of congas, blaring trumpets, cowbells, timbales, and claves (Bachata Crazy.com)". Salsa dance is extremely simple and of course it is equally flexible in movements. Salsa dance is just like walking in any chosen direction and dancing on a particular spot both in straight lines or turning paces. "A step is when you put your foot down and moves your weight onto it, to be specific foot placement with weight transfer and a tap is when you put your foot down but don't move your weight onto it i.e. foot placement without weight. In many Latin countries, couples even choose which beat they would like to dance on, and it need not necessarily be the first beat (Yoe)". Both Salsa dance and music are actually believed to be originated for one another. The main purpose of existence of the renowned Salsa music has always been for dancing. "Its cooperative heritage has engendered a belief, in Latin America at least, that everyone else has an equal right to enjoyment on the dance floor (Yoe)". Both the Salsa music and dance have maintained their vitality by absorbing other influence over the decades. The dance of Salsa has got some similarities with actions like lindy - hop, hustle and swing. It has even proved capable of absorbing elements of ballroom Latin dance and Argentine tango. This fact itself sounds quite astounding to many of the lovers of Salsa. There is a lot of variation with the dancing of Salsa depending on the origin of the person dancing it along with the origin of the place from where the dance has been learnt from. At a basic level, salsa dancers from different origin can actually dance together. "British salsa is primarily anchored around the back basic; turns are executed on the second beat after a "wind-up" movement on beat one and are biased anticlockwise. North American salsa is built around the Latin basic and many early combinations contain turns to the right. Salsa from the Caribbean and Latin America is presented more commonly as a walk, resulting in a much more circular in movement and the turns being slower. Within this are the main stereotypes of the Cuban and Colombian style, which is having an action that digs deeper into the floor or one that travels lighter above it respectively (Yoe)". Though there are many interesting facts about both the dance and music of Salsa, about learning it and its origin and culture etc, Salsa dance has yet got certain problems with respect to learning it. For people who hail from Latin American culture and origin, Salsa is something which is acquired in a passive learning process. But for other, Salsa learning in the early stages is a structured process. Gradually, Salsa is taught as a series of steps and moves because it is more meaningful to the student. "But at some point, a different teaching angle should be used to offer the student an opportunity to look at the dance through a native dancer's eyes, thereby offering the student the best of both worlds. Often the final process is not carried out, either because its importance is overlooked, or because it is easier for the teacher to carry on in the old manner regardless (Yoe)". "A variety of salsa dance styles are seen across the globe; all of which hold their own characteristics when it comes to movement, step timing, step patterns, turns, attitude, and style of dress. With Cuban salsa dance styles, this approach is met with an "on 1" or "on 2." A vital element regarding Cuban style is known as the "Cuba step" or Guapea, which involves the leader completing a backward basic on 1-2-3 and a forward basic on 5-6-7. The follower will also do the same, which results in a mirroring effect of the two dancers. Some Cuban style salsa dancers will also incorporate circling around one another within their routine (Bachata Crazy.com)". Bibliography AOL Home Town. Latin Dance Story Shorts. 3 March 2000. 30 June 2008 . Bachata Crazy.com. History of Salsa Dance. 12 July 2007. 30 June 2008 . Salsaweb.com. History of Salsa. 13 Octorber 2004. 30 June 2008 . Yoe, Loo. Salsa : The dance. 23 May 1999. 30 June 2008 . Read More