Salsa as a Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Salsa as a Dance - Essay Example With room for both partners to strut their stuff, this method of dance is becoming increasingly popular throughout dance institutions and afternoon school programs not only across the United States but also the most of the other parts of the globe like India etc. Salsa dancing works with a kind of music which is basically designed with two bars consisting of four steps. Salsa dance is eventually designed for a world where leg and arm work with mesmerizing body movements give rise to passionate emotions and at the same time tend to be equally romantic. Salsa dance is actually a partner dance which is usually danced to salsa music. "The history of the Latin popular music known worldwide as "salsa" began centuries ago in the islands of the Spanish Caribbean, in a context of slavery and colonialism. Yet, it is inextricably tied to twentieth-century New York City and the growth of a thriving Latino community here. Its distinctive polyrhythm and vocal and instrumental call-and-response identify the Afro-Caribbean roots of Latin music -traditional and contemporary, sacred and secular (Salsaweb.com)". "Over the years, the sounds of salsa and the steps of the dance migrated to the U.S. as early as the 40s, where further cultivation took place in the New York City Latin population during the 1960 and 70s. Cuban and Puerto Rican communities throughout Latin America and the United States are responsible for shaping most of the steps we see today. The culture surrounding salsa also takes cues from the styles of mambo and rumba. The typical instruments accompanying salsa dance includes the thumping of congas, blaring trumpets, cowbells, timbales, and claves (Bachata Crazy.com)". Salsa dance is extremely simple and of course it is equally flexible in movements. Salsa dance is just like walking in any chosen direction and dancing on a particular spot both in straight lines or turning paces. "A step is when you put your foot down and moves your weight onto it, to be specific foot placement with weight transfer and a tap is when you put your foot down but don't move your weight onto it i.e. foot placement without weight. In many Latin countries, couples even choose which beat they would like to dance on, and it need not necessarily be the first beat (Yoe)". Both Salsa dance and music are actually believed to be originated for one another. The main purpose of existence of the renowned Salsa music has always been for dancing. "Its cooperative heritage has engendered a belief, in Latin America at least, that everyone else has an equal right to enjoyment on the dance floor (Yoe)". Both the Salsa music and dance have maintained their vitality by absorbing other influence over the decades. The dance of Salsa has got some similarities with actions like lindy - hop, hustle and swing. It has even proved capable of absorbing elements of ballroom Latin dance and Argentine tango. This fact itself sounds quite astounding to many of the lovers of Salsa. There is a lot of variation with the dancing of Salsa depending on the origin of the person dancing it along with the origin of the place from where the dance has been learnt from. At a basic level, salsa dancers from different origin can actually dance together. "British salsa is primarily anchored around the back basic; turns are executed on the second beat