History and Techniques of Salsa - Essay Example

The paper presents the history and the techniques of salsa dancing, following the evolution of the style up to the present. It also summarizes the main aspects of salsa dancing, referring to techniques as well as feelings and concepts. “Salsa Dancing: History and Techniques” it is an investigation of the development of the dancing style since early beginnings, the influences of the historical, cultural and social background on its evolution as well as its main style characteristics that can be observed nowadays. First, the history of salsa is presented according to major historical and cultural guidelines. Second, the paper unveils the basic salsa techniques and the main differences between the currently existing salsa styles. On the whole, salsa dancing is also described in the matter of personal feelings according to its sentimental and conceptual meaning. Salsa is a splash of scent and color in the modern torrential society entangled in its constant needs for utility and practicability. Salsa is not just a dance, it is also a feeling. It is a wonderful combination of movement and passion that reunites two partners in a dance about intensity, for salsa is a word that was addressed to musicians or to the band as a request to liven up the music. Born as a fusion of different Cuban styles somewhere between the 1950’s and the 1970’s, salsa has managed to win other the interest of the New Yorkers in the 1970’s, when the distinct salsa style came out on the East Coast and became very popular in a short period of time. Nowadays, salsa is a dance that has gain worldwide resonances. It is a subject of interest to all ages and it is also somewhat more accessible that other rigorous and complicated dance styles that require more patience and practice. Salsa is also a social dance and therefore it gives us the opportunity to socialize with different kinds of people and it makes us feel less isolated and more confident in our skills and capacities. In this paper, I will talk about the history of the dance and the techniques of the salsa dancing from observations driven out of my concrete experience and later crystallized into ideas through the practice of abstract conceptualization. Salsa is not an easy term to define, as it” is a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances. Each played a large part in its evolution” (Pretell, 1996). The rhythm of the salsa music is very engaging and it takes over one’s body in a minute, making it move, twist and turn with a vigorous force that comes from its rich historical, social and cultural background. This way, salsa represents the meeting point of the European and African popular music, as well as a powerful synthesis of the spirit of those many generations that have contributed to the development of its style. However, in order to have a concrete experience in learning about the history of salsa and the essence of its style, one should take a trip to Cuba, where music and dancing holds a special position in society and where the salsa style originated. Then, one should follow its trails back to New York City- the place that has invented the term of “salsa” and that has significantly contributed to its popularity. After the Cuban revolution of ‘19591, many musicians were exiled to the United States, a historical fact that stood as a milestone in the development of the salsa music and dancing style. In America, Cuban music and dance took a different evolution path than in their home country. In the 1960’s the Cuban rhythms already mixed up with jazz and Izzy Sanabria, a graphic designer at Fania studios, combined them under the same name for marketing and sales purposes. Still, many Cuban musicians did not agree with the term of “salsa”, advocating the idea that salsa didn’t actually exist, but in fact it was the same Cuban Son only covered up for commercial purposes. Nonetheless, before going any further with the presentation of the development path that the salsa style took in the United States one has to look back in history at the old ancestor of salsa in Cuba called the “contra dance”. The “contra dance” was danced in Versailles, France, at the end of the 17 century and was later adopted by the Spanish Court. Consequently, it was brought to the Caribbean during the Hispanic era of colonization. This European dance started to mix with the African rhythms that were used by African slaves during their religious rites. This process represented a very important feature in the development and creation of the salsa dancing style; however, it is not the only one. The immigrants from Haiti to Cuba had an important role in the creation of the salsa rhythms as well; they introduced the “contradanza criolla”, a mixture of the “contra dance” and African techniques of interpretation that ultimately fused with the already exiting combination of “contra dance” and African rhythms in Cuba. “The singing tradition and the rhythm of the drums are a central part of religious and social practices among the Africans. A relevant aspect is the shared musicality” (History of Salsa). This way, the polyrhythm2 became an essential feature of the salsa style. At the same time, during the 19th century, the method of composition in salsa varied according to the geographical location in Cuba. In the Eastern part, improvisation and simple chords were used by local musicians and the songs were performed at the local lower African class parties. In the Western Part, the music was more European and the orchestral structure was preserved similar to French and Spanish orchestras. This made the introduction of the jazz elements to Cuban rhythms easier in the 20th century, during the Batista dictatorship. Meanwhile, “the individualization of the dance paved the way for the introduction of African movements in the derivatives of the contra dance. The new dance received more approval among the colored communities than among the conservative governing elite” (History of Salsa).  By this time, Fidel Castro came to power, but the American economic sanctions against Cuba could not stop the style from escaping to new centers of development such as Colombia, Miami and the last, but not the least, New York. Here the Latin music style abandoned the traditional development path of pre-Cuban revolution and opened up to new influences from jazz, rock and fusion and became extremely popular on the East Coast. Furthermore, if you are listening to salsa today, you will find in it a bit of meringue, of cambia, of guacharo- a congregation of the rhythms of different songs. It is, after all, a very sound reflection of a country with controversial history and diverse cultural background. Salsa is currently on the agenda of almost all dance schools and it is a social dance that takes its deserved place in clubs and at parties of any size and location. Its main feature is to bring people together and engage them in an irresistible, spicy, hot rhythm. I took a concrete approach to the matter and I enrolled in a salsa dance program and learned the basics at first; then I took the liberty of practicing and improvising in order to understand the individuality and the essence of the dance. However, for the purpose of further explanations, I will define the terms of “concrete experience” and “abstract conceptualization”. Concrete experience is a learning style introduced by David Kolb3 and refers to the ideas that people acquire after being involved in a new experience; abstract conceptualization, on the other hand, is the process through which people create theories to explain the observations based on their new experience. So, if one wants to learn salsa, here are a few guidelines derived from my practical experience through the process of abstract conceptualization. First of all, it is necessary to be able to count to eight. At the beginning, I started by listening to salsa music, looking for the classic rhythm of 4/4 and count the beats in order to indentify the flow of those two four beat rhythms. Understanding the music and getting a good hold of the rhythm is a very important step in the learning process; if one is able to master the music it will surely be much easier to master the steps. Salsa dance patterns involve a pause on the fourth beat, using the first three beats for the steps, while the fourth beat is mainly used for transferring the weight of one foot to the next. Generally, it is not difficult to learn salsa dancing, but one should learn the basic patterns individually and only after that they can put the combination together with a partner. My practical experience has proven this to be an easier and faster way to learn the correct steps. After mastering the basic patterns based on the four-beat music, I could move on to the next seven fundamental steps in learning to dance salsa. The lead always starts dancing with the left foot which has to step forward on the first count. On the second count the right foot steps in place and on the third count the left foot comes back to the center, next to the right foot. Keep your toes relatively pointed towards the floor and tilted towards the outside of the line that you dance along. The forth count is reserved for the pause or, alternatively, one can tap the right foot. It is a matter of personal comfort and style, and the way each of us feels the music. The next steps will come as a diagonal mirror reflection of the first steps. At the count five step with the right foot behind, step in place with the left and then bring the right one back to the center and pause; also, remember a full weight transfer is required for each step. I realized that salsa rhythms can be very alert so it is usually much better to practice for yourself on slower rhythms and practice on the fast music only after you have been able to master the basic steps. The partner’s steps follow the same principle only in reverse and the partner is stepping back with the right foot while the lead steps forward with the left foot. On these basic steps could be built many derivative combinations using turns, half-turns, the cross-body-lead, the enchufla, the inside turns, the gancho and others. Actually, the specific of salsa dancing consists in the turns, as salsa puts much more emphasis on the turns and the way they look than other dance styles like Mambo, for example. Also, in the Cuban salsa style, the cross-body-lead is very important and the moves don’t emphasize on a straight line like in the North-American Style. On the other hand, in the Cali Salsa Style, developed in the Colombian city of Cali, dancers execute the steps with greater speed, they don’t concentrate on transferring the body weight and they don’t execute the cross-body-lead. In New-York the dance is on two, but in Los Angeles the main beats are one and three, with a great accent on the cross-body-lead as well. Still, from my own experience, complicated combinations with long turns won’t come up until the intermediate/upper level in the salsa learning process, so, beginners should usually learn four to five combinations of steps form a sequence and practice it with a partner. At the same time, the best way to practice is to switch partners and work on the combinations with different people for short periods of time in order to be able to lead and feel the lead as well. I found that another good exercise is to improvise based on the salsa music, which also represented a way to test my ability to feel the rhythm. If you want to add some spiciness to the dance, you can also include hips in your dancing routine, although it is not that easy at the beginning so you should practice them independently for a couple of times. In the end, “add a touch of grace in every swing, clap and turn in your movements and you actually develop a coordinated body and general deftness. You can also try wide variety of salsa dance styles according to unique step patterns, music and beat.” (Learning The Basic Salsa Dance Steps, 2009). Even if salsa is accessible to the masses, it doesn’t mean it is not a serious dance style. On the contrary, there are many local salsa competitions as well as a world annual salsa championship held in Las Vegas since year 2000 (City). All in all, salsa is an incandescent mixt of different dance styles, which makes it very appealing to the public and very popular among people of all ages. It lights up the dance floor with its spectacular moves and turns and it also lights up conversations and social interaction, which is a major advantage for those who know how to dance it or for those who start to learn it. The hot salsa rhythm makes our hips involuntarily sway and turn to the beat, becoming more than a movement, but a sentiment. As it is a synthesis on many dancing styles, it is also a reflection of the historical context that made cuban and puerto-rican musicians continue its development in New York after decades of febrile incubation in their home land. At the end of the day, salsa is about bright colours, freedom, play, desire, emotion, romantism, independence and once they decide to learn it, everybody manages to find a piece of what is representative of their personality in the dance. This is the miracle of it. Reference List Boggs, V. W. (1992). Salsiology: Afro-Cuban Music and the Evolution of Salsa in New York CIty. Greenwood Press. Concrete/Reflective/Abstract/Active – David Kolb. (n.d.). Retrieved 04 21, 2010, from cortland.edu: http://web.cortland.edu/ History of Salsa. (n.d.). Retrieved 04 21, 2010, from Salsa in Cuba: www.salsa-in-cuba.com Learning The Basic Salsa Dance Steps. (2009). Retrieved 04 22, 2010, from Worlwide Salsa Comunity : www.salsacrazy.com Pretell, J. A. (1996). History of Salsa Dance and Music. Retrieved 04 21, 2010, from Centralhome: http://www.centralhome.com Read More