How much does it cost?
Prices differ from class to class but expect to pay between £5 and £10 for classes depending on the level and length of lesson.
Do I need to come with a partner?
Although Salsa is a partner dance it is not necessary to come with a partner. Most classes rotate students to prevent
individuals from being left out. As with many partner dances on the scene there is often a shortage of men, so ladies, if you have a guy then drag him along too!
Do I have to change partners?
Most classes that you attend will rotate couples to allow for individual students and so ladies learn to follow
different male leads and vice versa. However, if you are not comfortable with changing partners it is not a necessity, although it is not recommended, as you miss out on
the social aspect of the dance and will not progress in the same way as if dancing with a mixture of people.
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How old do I have to be?
Due to the nature of the dance it is advisable that students for evening classes are over the age of 18, as any inapropriate verbal or physical behaviour must be avoided.
However, most instructors are happy to give private lessons or organise alternative lessons for children with the correct adult supervision in place.
What do I have to wear?
Whatever is comfortable for you. However as part of the Salsa etiquette please respect others by wearing clean clothes as it's not pleasant dancing with someone whos clothes smell bad.
In regards to footwear, rubber soles are not advisable as they can be damaging on the knees. A smooth sole ie. leather or preferably suede are advised and for the ladies,
a slight heel can help with your body movement and correct your posture.
What style of Salsa is taught?
There are many different styles of Salsa taught. The most common in the South West being Cross Body (LA style) 'On 1' which is danced on the linear, however many instructors will
give an introduction to other styles of dance including Bachata, Merengue, Rueda and Cha Cha Cha.
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What levels are there?
There are 4 main levels of Salsa dancing: Beginners, Improvers, Intermediate and Advanced. As soon as you are completely comfortable with a certain level you can then move up.
If you are unsure of whether you should move up or not, simply ask your instructor and they will be happy to advise you of whether or not you are ready.
Will it take me long to learn?
This is a question that cannot be answered! Everybody has a different learning rate and you only get out of it what you put in. As the old saying goes 'Practise makes Perfect!'
Where can I buy Salsa music?
Salsa music has not always been easy to find in high street stores, however because of it's growing popularity it is becoming more readily available.
Along with HMV and other entertainment stores the Internet is a great way to find the music you're looking for. We have made thing a little easier for you
by selecting a good all round choice of music on our
MUSIC PAGE or for other specialised Salsa music visit:
www.salsafever.co.uk or
www.mrbongosalsa.com. Salsa is a very personal taste so where you can ensure that you listen to the sample tracks.
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Your Salsa Etiquette
When attending a Salsa class there are certain things to remember to ensure that both yourself and other people enjoy their evening.
Please ensure that when dancing on a crowded dance floor you make your dancing smaller to compensate for the lack of space, (guys this is your responsibility!) there is nothing more annoying than being repeatedly trodden on or kicked!
- Improvers remember that you were once a begginner too! Dance with new students, this will not only help and encourage them but also improve your own leading and following skills.
- Guys remember that it's not the amount of moves that you know that make you a good dancer but it's how you execute them. A lady would rather dance with a man who knows 10 moves perfectly than one who knows 100 badly!
- Ensure that you treat all dancers with respect and toleration. Salsa does not come naturally to everyone and we all had to start somewhere!
- When attending classes ensure that you have bathed or showered before and bring an anti-persperant or spare clothing with you if necessary.
- Guys, give your lady the space she needs. If you feel her pulling away from you this is not an excuse to pull her in closer! As Salsa is a close dance allow her the space she wants to make her comfortable when dancing with you. Keep a lose hand grip and remember 'fingertip control'.
- Ladies - smile!! You are much more likely to be asked to dance if you look like you're actually enjoying yourself! Do not sit with your arms folded and don't be afraid to make eye contact.
- HAVE FUN!! The main thing is to enjoy yourself and have a social and friendly evening.
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WHAT IS BACHATA?
The music that today is called bachata emerged from and belongs to a long-standin Pan-Latin American tradition of guitar music,
música de guitarra, which was typically played by trios or quartets comprised of one or two guitars
(or other related stringed instrument such as the smaller requito), with percussion provided by maracas and/or
other instruments such as claves (hardwood sticks used for percussion), bongo drums, or a gourd güiro scraper.
Sometimes a large thumb bass called marimba or marimbula was included as well.
When bachata emerged in the early 1960s, it was part of an important subcategory of guitar music,
romantic guitar music -as distinguished from guitar music intended primarily for dancing such as the Cuban son or guaracha-
although in later decades, as musicians began speeding up the rhythm and dancers developed a new dance step,
bachata began to be considered dance music as well.
The most popular and widespread genre of romantic guitar music in this century, and the most influential for the development of bachata,
was the Cuban bolero (not to be confused with the unrelated Spanish bolero). Bachata musicians, however,
also drew upon other genres of música de guitarra that accomplished guitarists would be familiar with,
including Mexican rancheros and corridos, Cuban son, guaracha and guajira, Puerto Rican plena and jibaro music,
and the Colombian-Ecuadorian vals campesino and pasillo- as well as the Dominican merengue, which was originally guitar-based.
Before the development of a Dominican redording industry and the spread of the mass media, guitar-based trios and quartets were almost indispensable
for a variety of informal recreational events such as Sunday afternoon parties known as pasadías and spontaneous gatherings that took place in back yards,
living rooms, or in the street that were known as bachatas. Dictionaries of Latin American Spanish define the term bachata as juerga,
jolgorio, or parranda, all of which denote fun, merriment, a good time, or a spree, but in the Dominican Republic,
in addition to the emotional quality of fun and enjoyment suggested by the dictionary definition, it referred specifically to get-togethers that included music, drink, and food.
The musicians who played at bachatas were usually local, friends an neighbors of the host, although sometimes reputed musicians from farther away might be brought in for a special occacion.
Musicians were normally recompensed only with food and drink, but a little money might be given as well.
Parties were usually held on Saturday night and would go on until dawn, at which time a traditional soup, the sancocho, was served to the remaining guests.
Because the music played at these gatherings was so often played on guitars (although accordio-based ensembles were also common),
the guitar-based music recorded in the 1960s and 1970s by musicians of rural origins came to be known as bachata.
The word bachata also had certain associations, upper-class parties would never be called bachatas.
In his book Al amor del bohío (1927), Ramón Emilio Jiménez, a distinguished Dominican "man of leters" and "writer of manners," described a bachata in terms that reflect how such gatherings were associated by the elite with low-class debauchery and dissipation:
The "bachata" is a center of attraction for all the men, where the social classes of those who attend them are leveled and where the
coarsest and libertarian forms of democracy predominate. The most elegant figures of the barrio are there, daring and audacious.
The setting of these dissolute pleasures is a small living room impregnated by odors that seem conjured to challenge decency....
In an adjoining room a guitarist plucks and unleashes into the contaminated air of the house
(a) blazing street-level couplet, to which a singer with a well-established reputation as a "second" makes a duo,
provisioned with a pair of spoons which he strikes to accompany the melody.
Among Dominicans there is considerable disagreement as to exactly when the term bachata come to refer to a particular kind of music.
In the absence of any systematic research into the subject, there is a tendency for people to rely on their own memories,
which vary according to their age, class, and where they grew up. According to bachata musicians themselves,
it was in the 1970s that the guitar-based music they recorded came to be identified by the term bachata,
which by then had lost its more neutral connotation of an informal (if rowdy) backyard party and acquired an unmistakably
negative cultural value implying rural backwardness and vulgarity. For example on hearing one of these recordings,
a middle- or upper-class person might say something like "¡Quítate esa bachat!" (Take that bachata off!).
By using the term in this way, a style of guitar music made by poor rural musicians come to be synonymous with low quality.
The condemnation fell not only upon the music and its performers, but upon its listeners as well; the term bachatero,
used for anyone who liked the music as weel as for musicians, was equally derogatory.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, the worsening social and economic conditions of bachata's urban and rural poor constituency were clearly reflected in bachata.
The intrumentation remained the same, but the tempo had become noticeably faster, and the formerly ultra-romantic lyrics
inspired by the bolero became more and more concerned with drinking, womanizing, and male braggadocio,
and increasingly, it began to express desprecio (disparagement) toward women. As bachata's popularity with the country's poorest citizens grew,
the term bachata, which earlier had suggested rural backwardness and low social status,
became loaded with a more complicated set of socially unacceptable features that included illicit sex, violence,
heavy alcohol use, and disreputable social contexts such as seedy bars and brothels.
Until recently, bachata was a musical pariah in its country of origin, the Dominican Republic.
Since its emergence in the early 1960s, bachata, closely associated with poor rural migrants residing in urban shantytowns,
was considered too crude, too vulgar, and too musically rustic to be allowed entrance into the mainstream musical landscape.
As recently as 1988, no matter how many copies a bachata record may have sold -and some bachata hits sold far more than most
records by socially acceptable merengue orquestas- no bachata record ever appeared on a published hit parade list,
received airplay on FM radio stations in the country's capital Santo Domingo, or were sold in the principal record stores.
Bachata musicians appeared only rarely on television, and they performed only in working-class clubs in the capital.
In contrast, even second rate merengue orquestas were given lavish publicity and promotion,
and they entertained at posh private clubs and nightclubs.
This text was taken from the book "Bachata, A social history of a Dominican popular music",
published by Temple University Press in 1995, written by Deborah Pacini Hernandez.
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WHAT IS MERENGUE?
We will probably never know with certainty the true origin of this music, but theories about it express deep-rooted feelings about Dominican identity.
One theory links merengue to the Haitian mereng. Although they differ in important ways,
the Dominican Republic and Haiti shar many cultural characteristics. Like merengue in the Dominican Republic,
mereng (in Haitiean Creole, méringue in French) is a national symbol in Haiti. according to Jean Fouchard,
mereng evolved from the fusion of slave musics such as the chica and calenda with ballroom forms related to the French contredanse
Mereng's name, he says, derives from the mouringue music of the Bara, a Bantu people of Madagascar.
That few Malagasies came to the Americas renders this etymology dubiou, but it is significant because it
forgrounds what Fouchard, and most Haitians, consider the essentially African-derived nature of their music and
national identity. Dominican merengue, Jean Fouchard suggests, developed directly from Haitian mereng.
Dominicans are often disinclined to admit African and Haitian influences on their culture.
As ethnomusicologist Martha Davis points out, many Dominican scholars "have, at the least,
ignored African influence in Santo Domingo. At the worst, they have bent over backwards to convince themselves
and their readers of the one hundred percent Hispanic content of their culture.
This is not an uncommon Latin American reaction to the inferiority complex produced by centuries of Spanish colonial domination".
According to merengue innovator Luis Alberti, for example, merengue "has nothing to do with black or African rhythms.
The Dominican proclivity to deny connections with Africa is related to anti-haitian sentiment,
and relationships between the national musics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic have often been
ignored or downplayed in Dominican merengue scholarship. In several standard Dominican sources that
mention merengue in Puerto Rico and other countries, competent scholars neglect to acknowledge even the existence of Haitian mereng.
In fact, for Esteban Peña Morel, one of the few Dominicans to admit a connection between merengue and mereng,
this link tenders merengue inappropiate as a Dominican symbol; he suggests another genre, the mangulina,
as more representative of national culture.
Such views met with considerable criticism. When Dominican folklorist Fradique Lizardo discussed the African
influence on Dominican culture and asserte that "merengue's origin is in Africa,"
the respected dance music composer Luis Senior described himself as "horrified" by Lizardo's asertion and
claimed that it was "unpatriotic" to call merengue African. Lizardo's theory of merengue's origin resembles
Fouchard's, for he writes that the Bara of Madagascar perform a dance called "merengue," adding that they
play a drum similar to the tambora prominent in Dominican merengue. Lizardo suggests that Bara and other
African musics were combined with a Cuban form called the danza to produce Caribbean merengue. However,
knowing that few Malagasies came to the Americas, that drums similar to the tambora are distributed widely in Africa,
and that several styles of merengue do not use the tambora weighs against Lizardo's theory that merengue derives specifically from the Bara.
Whatever their differences, almost all of the origin theories point to connections between merengue and
European-derived ballroom dance musics such as the danza. Flérida de Nolasco believes that merengue's
association with these forms indicates that its origins are in Europe. Although Manuel Rueda acknowledges the
possibility of some African influence on merengue, he also believes that its European influences demonstrate
merengue's Euro-American nature, and he discedits the idea that merengue is Afro-Caribbean. Julio Hernández,
however, points out that European-derived musics came under African influence in the Americas, arguing that
while merengue developed from European forms, it is a syncretic, Afro-Hispanic genre. Singer Joseito Mateo,
the "king of merengue", concurs; he pointed out to me in an interview that racias amalgamation naturally
produces syncretic music: "Dominican whites and blacks had their own musics, just as in the
United States the blacks have their own music. But gradually, what is called a fusion of the two races came about,
the blacks and the whites. And so, a música mestiza was formes, that is, a mixed music.
The white contributes his part, and the black contributes his drums".
For most dominicans, then, to discuss merengue's origin is to discuss Dominican national and racial identity.
Eurocentric thinkers emphesize merengue's European elements, Afrocentric scholars emhasize its African elements,
and those who celebrate racial amalgamation point to its syncretic nature. Yet while they may disagree on the
nature of Dominicanness, all come together on one point: merengue expresses Dominican identity.
This text was taken from the book "Merengue, Dominican music and Dominican identity",
published by Temple University Press in 1997, written by Paul Austerlitz.
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WHAT IS REGGAETON?
Reggaeton (also spelled Reggaet´n, and known as Reguet´n and Reggaet´n in Spanish)
is a form of urban music which became popular with Hispanic American youth during the early 1990s and spread
over the course of 10 years to North American, European, Asian, and Australian audiences.
Originating in Puerto Rico,Reggaeton blends Jamaican music influences of reggae and dancehall with those of
Hispanic America, such as bomba, plena, salsa, merengue, latin pop and bachata as well as that of hip hop,
R&B, and electronica. The music is also combined with rapping or singing in Spanish.
Reggaeton has given the Hispanic youth, starting with those from Panama, a musical genre that they can
consider their own. The influence of this genre has spread to the wider Latino communities in the
United States, as well as the Latin American audience.
While it takes influences from hip hop and Jamaican dancehall, it would be wrong to define reggaeton as the
Hispanic or Latino version of either of these genres; Reggaeton has its own specific beat and rhythm,
whereas Latino hip hop is simply hip hop recorded by artists of Latino descent.
The specific rhythm that characterizes reggaeton is referred to as "Dem Bow."
The name is a reference to the title of the dancehall song by Shabba Ranks that first popularized the
beat in the early 1990s. Reggaeton's origins represents a hybrid of many different musical genres and influences
from various countries in the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.
The genre of reggaeton however is most closely associated with Puerto Rico,
as this is where the musical style later popularized and became most famous,
and where the vast majority of its current stars originate from.
Reggaeton lyrics tend to be more derived from hip hop than dancehall.
Like hip hop, reggaeton has caused some controversy, albeit less, due to alleged exploitation of women,
and to a lesser extent, explicit and violent lyrics. Further controversy surrounds perreo,
a dance with explicit sexual overtones which is sometimes, but not always, associated with reggaeton music.
This text was taken from Wikipedia - the free Encyclopedia
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WHAT IS RUEDA DE CASINO?
Rueda de Casino (Rueda, Casino Rueda, Salsa Rueda) is a particular type of round
dancing of Salsa. It was developed in Havana, Cuba in the late 1950s and early 1960s by the famous group
Guaracheros de Regla and one of its main choreographers and creators was Jorge Alfaro from San Miguel del Padrón,
a soloist of a comparsa.
Pairs of dancers form a circle, with dance moves called out by one person, a caller
(or 'Líder' or 'cantante' in Spanish). Many moves have hand signs to complement the calls; these are useful in noisy venues, where spoken calls might not be easily heard. Many of the moves involve the swapping of partners.
The names of the moves are mostly in Spanish, some in English (or Spanglish; e.g., "un fly").
Some names are known in slightly different versions, easily recognizable by Spanish-speaking dancers,
but may be confusing to the rest.
Rueda is not only popular in Cuba and the U.S.A., but in many other countries around the world -
there are many active groups in at least Hungary, Israel, Norway, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia,
Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Spain, Australia, Switzerland and the UK. At least in Germany and Israel,
some of the calls are in German and Hebrew respectively.
Although the names of the calls are presently the same across the board, the different towns in Cuba use their
own calls. This was due to the fact that when the pioneers of Rueda de Casino started, they wanted to keep
others from participating in their Rueda. Nowadays many local variations of the calls can be found.
They can change from town to town or even from teacher to teacher.
Nowadays, Rueda tries to be more "inclusive" and not "exclusive" and, in at least Singapore, Hong Kong, and
Malaysia, Callers are choosing calls to coincide more with the regular calls made in Miami, parts of U.S.A.,
and Europe. Also, when instructors want to keep classes fresh and fun, they often make up new interesting calls.
While this may decrease the fun of dancing rueda with people you just met, it makes for an expanding world of Rueda.
Casino Rueda scenes may be seen in the movie Dance with Me and in the music video clip No me dejes de querer by
Gloria Estefan.
This text was taken from Wikipedia - the free Encyclopedia
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WHAT IS SON?
Kerry Ribchester & Juan Carlos Pacheco
YouTube
With roots on the island of Cuba, Son Cubano is a style of music that became popular in the second half of the 19th century in the eastern province of Oriente.
The earliest known son dates from the late 1500s (the oldest known son is "Son de la Ma Teodora", from about the 1570s in Santiago de Cuba). It combines the structure and elements
of Spanish cancion and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu and Arara origin.
While originally a Cuban music style Son has also become a word used for rural traditional musical styles of Spanish speaking countries and apart from the Cuban variant called
Son Cubano other son traditions exist in Mexico where for example the Son Jarocho of Veracruz and the Son Huasteca of the Sierra Huasteca constitute distinct popular musical
styles where the concept has been historically linked with indigenous musical styles.
The sisters Teodora and Micaela Ginez were black slaves who emigrated to Cuba from Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic and brought with them the new rhythm.
"El Son de la Ma Teodora" marks the birth of Son which Cubans have made their own and which formed the origin of modern Salsa.
Son is derived from Spanish, African, French Creole and native musical influences, arising first in Oriente province, reaching Havana around the 1880s.
The most influential group from this period was the Trio Oriental, who stabilized the sextet format that soon came to dominate son bands.
In 1912, recording began with groups like Sexteto Habanero (a re-named Trio Oriental) and Sexteto Bolona, and popularization began in earnest with the arrival of radio broadcasting in 1922,
which came at the same time as Havana's reputation as an attraction for Americans evading Prohibition laws and the city became a haven for the Mafia, prostitution and gambling,
and also became a second home for trendy and influential bands from New York City. A few years later, in the late 1920s, son sextets became septets and son's popularity
continued to grow with artists like Septeto Nacional and its leader, Ignacio Pineiro. Pineiro experimented and by fusing son with other genres of music, formed guajira-son,
bolero-son and guaracha-son. In 1928, Rita Montaner's "El Manicero" became the first Cuban song to be a major hit in Paris and elsewhere in Europe.
In 1930, the Havana Orchestra took the song to the United States, where it also became a big hit.
SON MONTUNO
In the 1940s Arsenio Rodríguez became the most influential player of son, creating the modern Afro-Cuban sound, the son montuno. Later Beny More and others helped develop salsa music.
Arsenio Rodríguez was especially influential, incorporating improvised solos, toques, congas and extra trumpets, percussion and pianos. Beny More (known as the "Barbarian of Rhythm" (
El Barbaro del Ritmo*)) further evolved the genre, adding guaracha, bolero and mambo influences, helping make him extraordinarily popular. He is now cited as perhaps the greatest sonero.
In colloquial Cuban Spanish, "barbaro" does not actually mean barbarian; rather, it connotes great mastery. A more accurate translation would be "amazing one" or "whiz kid".
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WHAT IS SALSA?
Salsa dancing is a dance style associated with the salsa style of music now popular all over the world. Salsa music has its origins sometime in the 1950s to 1970s, with the truly distinct salsa style coming out of New York in the 1970s.
The music fuses a number of Cuban styles, particularly the son, but also draws from a number of other Latin American musical styles.
Salsa dancing is done on eight-beat music, with dancers moving on three beats, pausing for one beat, dancing for three beats, and pausing for one beat.
The movement style is left-right-left-pause, then right-left-right-pause. During the pause in most salsa dancing some sort of flourish is utilized,
be it a stomp of the foot, casting out the hand or kicking the lower leg. Salsa dancing is mostly a stationary dance, with little movement around the dance floor.
Instead, dancers rely on the subtle movement of their legs and upper bodies to convey the energy of the dance.
In addition to the partnered movements of salsa dancing, dancers may integrate solo breaks known as shines into their routines.
These are a way for salsa dancers to take a breather from an exhausting routine, or to gather themselves if their rhythm is broken.
Shines involve lots of ornate movements and demonstrations of the body, and are intended as a way for a dancer to show off their full talent.
While shines are in theory improvisational, there are many standard shines which dancers learn and can fall back on.
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