We Love Salsa Dancing! Salsa Dancing, Music & Socialising

Hello and welcome to We Love Salsa Dancing!

If you’re an avid Salsa Dancer, a beginner, addicted to the music or have any kind of interest in dancing salsa then you’ve come to the right site!

You’ll find loads of info, tips, things to buy and a blog, where you can connect with other Salsa fans.

The Important Ingredients That Determine The Style Of Salsa

Salsa dancing is all about rhythm, music and movement. It involves a lot of footwork on the dancer’s part. The dancers do not move all over the dance floor. They take up a spot or corner of the dance floor and exhibit their skills in that fixed area. Various styles of Salsa dancing have been developed using different beats of music, and there are various other things that determine a particular style.

Step Timing

Step timing is defined as the way a dance step fits into the music. The timing of Salsa dancing is very important to make it fluid and graceful. The timings need to be perfect to get smooth and flowing movements from the dancers. There are a variety of options to choose from to get the perfect timing for your Salsa dancing.

Welcome!

Music

Music is perhaps the most important part of any style of Salsa dancing. In Salsa music, the rhythm and melody are always kept off beat from one and other. A four-beats-per-measure time signature is the most popular way of composing Salsa dancing music. The dancers use two measures, one to the left and one to the right, to complete one cycle of the basic steps.

Leader and Follower

The leader and the follower together form partners in Salsa dancing. Normally, the man is the leader and the woman is the follower. The leader guides the follower by giving her claves. These claves can be tugs, pushes or checks given at the right time during the dance. They are given to let the follower know when to take a particular action such as a dip, cross-body or turn.

Partner Contact

There are various points of contact between the leader and the follower that distinguish different styles of Salsa dancing. One popular style is the European Position. Here the man faces the woman, and there are four points of contact between the two of them.

They are as follows:

The leader takes the follower’s right hand in his left hand.

The leader places his right hand on the follower’s back.

The follower places the left hand on the leader’s shoulder.

The leader and the follower look in to each other’s eyes.

Other popular styles are the Razz MíTazz step, the Eddie Torres step, the Los Angeles Style, the Cuban style and the traditional Salsa step.

All these steps involve a lot of co-ordination between the partners. So, put on those dancing shoes and start practicing!