What is Salsa?
Salsa is a street dance originating from Cuba, and is danced  there by the masses. You do have to move your hips but  the movement is natural and comes from having to shift your weight from one leg to the other and bending your knee slightly - a bit like walking on the spot. The thought of having to move your hips has put people off, however the hip movement comes from the natural steps of the dance, rather than the dance coming from the movement of your hips.

Another major aspect of Salsa is the music. This now comes not just from Cuba, but from Columbia, Venezuela, New York and Europe all have great Salsa bands. The music has a distinctive Latin beat and you may find it a welcome change to the UK's marketed band offering.

Salsa in Spanish means "sauce" and is used to spice up Latin food. Salsa - the dance can  be regarded as a hot spicy "sauce" of various Latin and Afro Caribbean dances such as the Cuban Son, Cha Cha Cha, Rumba and Mambo. Salsa has risen to the status of a world dance proving that anyone - regardless of cultural background - can learn and enjoy this exciting Latin dance.

                                                   

There are now two main forms of salsa, Cuban: where moves revolve around the dance floor and are freely expressed this is the original version. The second, Cross-Body: moves are performed in a more structured fashion on lines and spots. This version evolved when the dance was introduced into America . Cross-Body is now the most commonly taught and danced form especially in the UK and abroad, although Cuban can still be found in older salsa areas. I enjoy Cuban as it is more relaxed and less structured.

Salsa is a conversation between to the leader and the follower, you should not just go through the moves, you know, you should express yourself with the conversation of moves and with the music. As with any language, once you have got over the basics, the more you learn, the more you want to learn and practice. Also as with language you have to express yourself clearly, with clear signals so that your partner can understand what moves are coming. Salsa is a great way to socialise and meet people, what could be better than meeting new people while enjoying yourself, learning some more moves, having a laugh and all this followed by a drink.

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