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Salsa is a general term for a style of partner dancing that is performed to Latin-American music. As a dance and musical style, modern salsa is younger than you might think. It originated in Cuba in the early 20th century, combining elements from several earlier dance forms. The word “salsa” translates to sauce and implies a mix of different influences. The word was commonly used as a cry during songs to spur the dancers and musicians into a more energetic and faster pace. The name salsa has been attributed to a marketing effort by record labels and producers who wanted to promote the spread of the genre. Once salsa music started to gain popularity in Cuba and Central America, salsa spread to the United States and from there to the rest of the world. Salsa dance styles developed as people expressed themselves to the music in different ways. For a long time, it was a street dance without any formal rules.  

Here are the 4 main styles of salsa dancing:

LA Style

Developed by the Vasquez brothers, this style is the most widely taught worldwide. Extremely popular, LA salsa is known for being sharp, flashy and acrobatic.

It is danced in line and uses the cross-body lead structure.

New York Style

This style uses the same linear structure as LA but is more relaxed and laid back with fancy turn patterns. This style is influenced by original mambo as well as ballet, jazz, tap and modern.

Cuban Style

Known as salsa cubana or casino, it is danced in a circular motion similar to East Coast Swing and features intricate turn patterns and body isolations. The dancers emphasise the movement of their hips and torso more than in other forms of salsa. It is usually danced in a couple but it can also be danced in a large circle where couples perform moves in unison to the instructions of a “caller”. This is called Salsa Rueda.

Colombian Style

Salsa caleña is very unique, using simple turn patters and very fast footwork. This type of salsa isn’t danced widely outside of Colombia but in the city of Cali it’s huge. They even have an annual salsa festival called Feria de Cali.

If you’re interested in salsa, there are many places in Melbourne to hear the music live and learn some moves. 

It can be a great way to complement your Spanish language learning. 

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