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Question:

I'm 12, and started dancing when I was 3!. I had to stop last year, and this year!.!.because dance and school CLASHED!. I really really miss dancing!. Even now, when I hear music I have to dance!. I did ballet, tap, jazz, hiphop, lyrical, and acro!.!.!.and I want to start again but I don't know!.!.!.I also want to do something different!. I really want to swing dance, and tango/salsa!.!.!.!.I talked to my mom about swing dancing but she wasn't really listening!. i told her about the other dances and she said she will see what she can do!.

I have no idea what to do!. Any help!? I know there is really not a specific question in here!.!.!.but I was just wondering if there is absolutely any information anyone could give me about these dances!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I have never danced swing or tango but I dance salsa and I love it!. The nice ting with dances like salsa,swing and tango is that they are couple dances in which there is a real connection between the leader and follower unlike most dances today where you dance by yourself, maybe facing your partner but generally the dance is not built around partner moves!.

Here is some basic information about salsa as well as some videos to help illustrate!.

Salsa, both the music and the dance, developed from the Cuban music/dance styles of son and guaracha!. Some peopel will say "salsa is just a new name for mambo" but this isn't really true!. Mambo moves are not used much in salsa dancing and mambo music had a period of popularity in the 50s but very little salsa music today is mambo!.

In the 40-50s Cuban music was very popular in the world and son, mambo, chachacha and bolero (called rhumba by ballroom dancers) spread to the US, particularly New York, and the rest of the world!. In 1962 the United States imposed an embargo on Cuba and from that point forward there was much less intercultural exchange between musicians/dancers in the US and Cuba!.

In New York the Cuban, American and Puerto Rican musicians began mixing son and guaracha with jazz and the music was called latin jazz!. They also began mixing in elements of the Puerto Rican music styles plena and bomba sica!. At some point in the 1970s, the name "salsa" came into use in the US, although salsa is not actually a rhythm, but it was a good marketing tool for selling the music!.

In Cuba the music went in a somwhat different directions!. They also mixed it with jazz but also with afro-cuban music such as afro-cuban rumba (not the same as ballroom rhumba) and afro-cuban religios music!. They even mixed with elements from pop and funk!. For a long time the Cuuban musicians rejected the name salsa as a commercial name that had been placed on son, and they continued to call the music son!. But in the 80s they began to accept it as a marketing tool as well!. In the 90s a more funk-based salsa developed in Cuba that included variations on rap as well!. It was called "timba" which is a word that means something that is very "tasty"!. So sometimes Cuban salsa is called timba instead of salsa!.

So what happened to the dance you are beginning to wonder!?
Son, chachacha and mambo are all danced contratiempo, i!.e!. on the up beat!. They are based on a rhythm called the "clave", which means the "key"!. It is a synchopated beat that covers two measures!. The music has 4 beats per measure but you pause on the first beat and dance 2,3,4 5,6,7!. Some people refer to this as quick, quick slow!.

Here is a video of a couple dancing son!. You can clearly see that they are dancing contratiempo and not stepping on 1 or 5!. instead there is a drawn out body motion!. also you can see both the dancing in a straight line as well as rotation that later developed into the major charateristics of the US versus Cuban style salsa!.
http://www!.youtube!.com/watch!?v=iI7TDQxMA!.!.!.

All salsa is danced quick, quick, slow but unlike son, most people dance salsa on1 i!.e!. 1,2,3 pause 5,6,7 pause!. There are two schools of on2 in New York these days!. One is refered to as Palladium style because it is danced contratiempo like the original dancers did at the Palladium club!. The other is usually called New York on2 or sometimes Eddie Torres on2 because he is the music teacher that really got the style to spread!. NY on2 is still danced 1,2,3 5,6,7 but the first step is more or less in place and it is on2 that the dancer takes the "break step"!. So they start on1 but break on2, whereas son, chachacha, mambo and palladium style on2 both start AND break on 2!.

Another style that is very new but has gained popularity rapidly is called LA style!. It is danced on1 and is very flashy using lots of acrobatics!. It was invented by 3 brothers who moved from Mexico to LA!.

One shared charteristic of NY and LA style is that they dance along a straight line, that is to say that the direction of motion of the moves is essentially "in the slot"!. Thus most turns are 360 degrees as your partner stays in their same spot during your turn!. This leads to the use of "spins"!.

Another shared trait is "shines" these are solo steps that the dancers perform when they split apart and dance separately!. You can find whole DVDs dedicated to nothing more than "shines" or these types of step patterns!.

You have already seen contratiempo on2 with son!. Here is an example of people dancing salsa NY on2 !. You may not really be able to see the break step so well when they are doing turn patterns!. At about 1:50 you can see them doing "shines"!.
http://www!.youtube!.com/watch!?v=BTIhekjRE!.!.!.

Here is a video of LA stylsa salsa with clips of each of the Vasquez brothers dancing!. Notice the acrobatics (dangerous in a crowded club) and the general "showiness" of the style!.
http://www!.youtube!.com/watch!?v=9vbYn9iJ7!.!.!.

Just as Cuban music developed difWww@QuestionHome@Com

you should go back with lyrical,and hip hop,jazz,tap,ballet:)Www@QuestionHome@Com