Salsa is a Latin dance style associated with the salsa music genre that originated in New York City in the 1960s. Salsa involves the dancers shifting their weights by stepping into the centre to maintain 50/50 of their weight. The upper part of the body retains its level, and it nearly never gets affected by the weight change. There are several dance styles of salsa and below are the most common, easy and elegant common ones.
Colombian Style
The style began in Colombia. It is danced to a specific type of salsa music known as the Cumbia. Cumbia is similar to salsa rhythm, but it has a longer pause between the first and the last three beats. Cumbia instructional classes are very rare to find as these dances were mostly taught to family and friends.
Cuban Style
Cuban-style dance is rooted in Cuba. It has an Afro Cuban style body movement that has body isolations and frequent hip movements. The style does not have numerous fast spins, although they are very circular, and partners tend to move around each other while dancing. The hip movements are more noticeable, and they emanate from the pumping of the dancer’s knees.
Miami Style
This dance evolved from the Cuban salsa. It, however, has challenging and technical advanced styles of the Cuban salsa. The style replicates a pretzel-like pattern, and it requires a very flexible follower to execute the dance.
Puerto Rican Style
The Puerto Rican Style can either be executed by one person or two people. While dancing on twos, the rhythm you follow is the opposite of New York-style; the leader breaks forward on two or six instead of the follower.
Salsa Shines
Salsa Shines involves the leader breaking away from the follower, and each of them freestyles to the rhythms of the salsa beat. The dance has very complex arm, leg, and body movements.
