Salsa is a very popular dance form in Latin America, the United States, and Europe. The word is the same as the Spanish word salsa meaning sauce, or in this case flavour or style.
According to testimonials from musicologists and historians of music, the name salsa was gradually accepted among dancers throughout various decades. The very first time the word appeared on the radio was a composition by Ignacio Piñeiro, dedicated to an old African man who sold butifarras (a sausage-like product) in Central Road in Matanzas. It is a son titled Échale salsita. Wherein the major refrain and chorus goes "Salsaaaaa! échale salsita, échale salsita." During the early 1950s, commentator and DJ "bigote" Escalona announced danceables with the title: "the following rhythm contains Salsa." Finally, the Spanish-speaking population of the New York area babtized Celia Cruz as the "Queen of Salsa."
Salsa is danced on music with a recurring eight-beat pattern, i.e. two bars of four beats. Salsa patterns typically use three steps during each four beats, one beat being skipped. However, this skipped beat is often marked by a tap, a kick, a flick, etc. Typically the music involves complicated percussion rhythms and is fast with around 180 beats per minute. (See salsa (music)).
Salsa is usually danced in pairs. In contrary to traditional ballroom dances, the pair does not "walk" over the dance floor, but rather occupies a fixed area on the dance floor.
Foxtrot
Waltz
Tango
Viennese Waltz
Quickstep
Rumba
Cha Cha
Eastern Swing
West Coast Swing
Samba
Mambo
Salsa
Merengue
Paso Doble
Bolero
Jive
Hustle
Theatre Arts
Country / Western
Wheelchair Dancesport
Most dance descriptions originate @ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
|
