Salsa (dance)

Salsa is a Latin dance, associated with the music genre of the same name, which was first popularized in the United States in the 1960s in New York City. Salsa is a mixture of Cuban dances, such as mambo, pachanga, and rumba, as well as American dances such as swing and tap. Salsa is one of the most popular Latin dances that is today practiced worldwide. Salsa dance emerged in the Central American country of Cuba during the late 19th and early years of the 20th century. This country's rich musical history enabled many Latin dances to thrive, grow, and morph into new forms, leading to modern Salsa dance and Salsa music by the 1920s. The contemporary Salsa as we know it evolved from several earlier Cuban dance forms, including Son, Son Montuno, Mamba, Cha Cha Cha, and was also enriched with Puerto Rican influences of dances Bomba and Plena. After the initial burst of popularity in Cuba and Puerto Rico, Salsa quickly spread across Latin America and the United States, becoming one of the most popular Latin dances. Salsa is a partnered dance where the lead takes the follower through a series of spins and turn patterns to music. Salsa's tempo ranges from about 150bpm (beats per minute) to around 250bpm, although most dancing is done to music somewhere between 160 and 220bpm. The basic Salsa dance rhythm consists of taking three steps for every four beats of music. Salsa dancers can also break apart to dance solo, known as "shines". The two main styles of salsa are linear and circular. In linear salsa, dancers remain in their "slot", switching places from one side of the slot to the other, similar to West Coast Swing — New York-style salsa and LA-style salsa are both danced this way. The second salsa style is circular salsa. Here, dancers circle around each other, reminiscent of East Coast Swing. Both Cuban and Colombian salsa follow this circular pattern. 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.