page_title: Salsa (dance)
section_title: Styles
hierarchical_section_title: Salsa (dance) / Styles
caption_attribution_description: English: India International Salsa Congress Bangalore event on 2004
context_page_description: Salsa is a Latin dance associated with the music genre of the same name which originated in the 1960s in New York City. Salsa is an amalgamation of Cuban dances that were popular in the ballrooms and nightclubs of Havana by the end of the 1950s, as well as American jazz dances. It was primarily developed by Dominicans and Puerto Ricans living in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Different regions of Latin America and the United States have distinct salsa styles of their own, such as Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cali Colombia, L.A. and New York styles. Salsa dance socials are commonly held in nightclubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outside, especially when part of an outdoor festival.
  In many styles of salsa dancing, as a dancer shifts their weight by stepping into the middle to have 50/50 weight, the upper body remains level and nearly unaffected by the weight changes. the movement rotates in a figure of eight to cause the hips to move. Arm and shoulder movements are also incorporated. Salsa's tempo ranges from about 150 bpm to around 250 bpm, although most dancing is done to music somewhere between 160–220 bpm.
context_section_description: Salsa's roots are based on different Cuban genres such as Cuban Son, specifically to the beat of Son Montuno in the 1920s. However, as it is a popular music, it is open to improvisation and thus it is continuously evolving. New modern salsa styles are associated and named to the original geographic areas that developed them. There are often devotees of each of these styles outside their home territory. Characteristics that may identify a style include: timing, basic steps, foot patterns, body rolls and movements, turns and figures, attitude, dance influences and the way that partners hold each other. The point in a musical bar music where a slightly larger step is taken (the break step) and the direction the step moves can often be used to identify a style.
caption: International Salsa Congress, 2004 at Bangalore
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