10 Songs You Can Salsa To
The salsa is a sexy, energetic, and fast Latin social dance, which has become hugely popular around the world. It's an amalgamation of Cuban dances popular in Havana in the 1950s and American jazz dances.
Salsa has a 4/4 time signature, which is common among almost all dances with the exception of waltz. This means the salsa would be counted as "1, 2, 3, 4", "1, 2, 3, 4". Salsa is typically danced to a speed of 150-250 beats per minute. Since salsa is not danced at ballroom competitions, its tempo requirements are less strict than a competitive ballroom or Latin dance like quickstep or cha cha.
As a club dance, salsa is widely danced socially - salsa dance socials are common in nightclubs, bars, ballrooms, and outdoor festivals. This makes salsa a useful dance to learn if your goal is to dance socially. It's romantic enough to learn on a date night, but fun enough to learn with a friend or if you're preparing for a night on the town.
One unique aspect of salsa is that the basic rhythm consists of taking three steps for every four beats of music. Salsa can be danced on any beat, but primarily the first step (or "break step") will be on count 1. This is different from a similar club dance, mambo, which requires the break step to be on count 2.
Similar to the rumba, the key instrument that provides the core rhythm of a salsa song is the clave, which creates a bright, vibrating clicking noise. The cowbell is also widely used in salsa to emphasize the "on-beats" of the dance (counts 1, 3, 5 and 7), while conga drums will emphasize the "off-beats" of the dance (counts 2, 4, 6, and 8).
Our professional dance instructors can help teach you how to recognize salsa music, identify its different instruments, and count the rhythm in person during your private lessons. We can also help you select the perfect salsa song for a party, event, or your own practice sessions. And of course, we can teach you the dance itself!
In the meantime, we've listed 10 of our favorite songs for dancing the salsa below! All of these songs already have the correct time signature and speed to dance the salsa. If you have any more questions about the salsa and what songs it can be danced to, please contact us at info@aretedancecenter.com - we're happy to help!
10 Songs You Can Salsa To
"Ahora Quien" - Marc Anthony
"Yo No Se Mañana" - Luis Enrique
"Lloraras" - Oscar D'Leon
"La Rebelion" - Joe Arroyo
"Aguanile" - Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe
"Juliana" - Cuco Valoy and Roberto Torres
"Tu Amor Me Hace Bien" - Marc Anthony
"Ella Lo Que Quiere Es Salsa" - Victor Manuelle ft. Voltio, Jowell & Randy
"Micaela Bimbo Reggaeton Remix" - Sonora Carruseles
"Periódico de Ayer" - Hector Lavoe
If you have any questions, contact us at info@aretedancecenter.com or (408) 824-0074. Enjoy your dancing!