Salsa is characterized through a diversity of styles. The dance itself can be performed differently depending on the country and geographic area. By origin Salsa refers to Cuba. Later it became widespread in Puerto Rico and on the Caribbean Islands.
One of the most distinctive features of Salsa is represented by the beats in the music. The beats in the music should be always accentuated. It is worth mentioning that Salsa is a partner dance. The man takes the role of the leader and consequently the woman has to follow him. The man sets the tone and the rhythm of the dance and at some definite moments he lets his partner understand with the help of pushes and checks how to step and how to move further.
The initial position of Salsa assumes face to face contact. The man holds his partner’s right hand in his left hand. His right hand is placed on the woman’s back. As to the woman’s basic position she has to put her left hand on the man’s shoulder. Both partners look each other in the face.
The next basic moves run as follows. The dancers have to take account of four beat measure. During each four beat measure three weight transfers (steps) are performed. The duration of the “break step” exceeds the other weight changes. Having performed six weight transfers, the partners set about the next step cycle. A great attention is paid to the position of the arms. The position of the arms can be open and closed. In open position the dancers hold the hands in order to perform moves which include turns, going around or rolls. The close position represents face to face contact.
As it was mentioned above Salsa can be performed differently which means that there are a great variety of styles like Los Angeles Style, New York Style, Cali Salsa Style, Miami Style Casino.
As Los Angeles Style regards it has some common features with Mango, Swing and Argentine Tango.
While performing it the dancer pays attention to two main aspects. These aspects are forward or backward basic. The man begins the performing by taking a step forward, and then he steps with his right foot turning 90 degrees counter-clockwise. The woman takes a step forward, and further she makes a turn. During this time her partner turns again 90 degrees counter-clockwise. This is the main principle of performing Los Angeles Salsa Style.
Thanks to its vigorous and inflammatory rhythms nowadays Salsa is famous not only in the Latin America where it appeared but also in the whole world.
