Salsa Dancing Origins

Jan 29, 2010
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Salsa Origins
by: Irish Paul

It depends how far back you want to go, Savannah.

What we call salsa today comes from 2 dances from 2 places - Cuban Casino dancing and New York Mambo dancing. (These are the origins of the circular and "cross-body" forms of Salsa, respectively).

Mambo dancing spead from Cuba to Mexico and the USA in the 1950s, enjoying particular popularity in New York City. After the Cuban revolution in 1959, music and dance in the USA and Cuba developed independently of each other.

In Cuba from the 60s onwards, a form of dancing known as "Casino" (originally danced in the expensive nightclubs in pre-revolution days) became very popular. It has gained worldwide appeal in the last decade or so via Cuban immigrants to Miami, particularly in the group dancing version known as "Rueda de Casino".

In the USA in the 60s and 70s, the Puerto-Rican community living in NYC continued to enjoy Afro-Cuban music and dance (although it no longer had the general popularity it had in the 50s). A revival of popular interest in Afro-Cuban music came about in the early 70s, referred to as "Salsa" by NY radio DJs. The dancing was a gradual evolution from the Mambo dancing of the 50s (with some Puerto Rican influences), but was also influenced by popular slot dances from the 70s (e.g. NY Hustle). This is where the "cross body style" of Salsa comes from.

In the early 90s, cross body salsa became very popular in Los Angeles. (The timing became simplified from New York's preference for dancing "on2"). From there, salsa's popularity spread around the world...

Salsa Dancing Origins

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