Discovering new styles

You left behind your "beginner" tag. Now you master your salsa timing and you can confidently make quite a few turn patterns. Until one day somebody who dances "differently" pops up on your favourite dance floor. What's different in that guy/girl? Why does he/she have a different style to my style?

What is a salsa style? Components of a salsa style.

We can say that the style of a dancer is made up by these five components altogether:

- Timing: Dance "on 1", "on 2" or (why not) "on 3" or "on 4"
- Travelling: The couple dances in a circle, in a line, on the spot
- Position: Rather straight or rather leaned forward
- Type of patterns: Lots of spins and "arm-breaker" patterns, acrobatics or just cool walking like dance.
- Personal enhancement: Usage of body language: hands, hips, shoulder and rib cage movements.

Some combinations of these five element have become more popular than other and have been given names. Sometimes a name is applied to the combination of only two or three of these elements, increasing this way the confusion about "what a salsa style is". Let me start with one example before we go into details in the next articles:

Cuban style is often danced "on 1", "on 2" or "on 3". If the timing is not a definitive characteristic of Cuban style, the circle travelling of the dancers, the leaned position and the patterns (no multiple spins, always walking, some specific turns like the so called "vacílala") are a strong part of the definition of the Cuban style. Lady styling is definitely very different as well from any other salsa style.

Why is the confusion growing? Globalisaton is probably the key. I felt horrified the first time I saw some Parisians dancing a "Rueda de casino" and the ladies systematically lifted their hands "on 1" like in L.A. style with the "hold-an-egg-in-your-fingers" position (as we teach you in Louise's Ladies Styling and in the intermediate courses). Although this is a distinctive element in the style that we (C&L) dance, I found that element horribly alien in my always respected rueda de casino. The fact is that, afterwards, I saw it more and more often, and now I don't dislike it so much.

My purpose in these articles in not to classify everybody who is on a dance floor. My aim is just to explain separately each of the aforementioned concepts. The understanding of what elements make up your style will certainly help you to decide what style you want to build for yourself.