The Cuban Salsa

Still relatively new compared to other Latin American dances, Cuban Salsa is the most original form of Salsa. It was created by Cubans who immigrated to New York and mixed Salsa with elements of Rock and Roll, the main difference from the New York Mambo style is that in the Cuban Salsa dancers move around the floor and around each other in a circular motion.

How routines should look:

Salsa means 'Sauce', so the dancers should depict a very hot and spicy interaction with each other! It is a dance of courtship.

Dancers should give as much importance to eye contact and flirtations between each other as they do to performing to the audience.

The overall look of the Cuban Salsa should be sensuous, sexy and fluid, with the dancers moving around each other in circular movements.

Routines should include:

The hold should be close, with the man's left hand, and the lady's right hand held quite high at eye level. The man's right hand folds neatly around the ladies waist and the lady's left hand folds around the man's neck or back.

Cuban Motion is not just about swivelling hips. The movement should originate from the centre of the body, and therefore the shoulders, ribs, hips and knees should naturally move to the rhythm of the music.

Rhumba - introduces the 'flirting' element of the dance. It's a move in which the man and woman dance apart - the man trying to attract the woman, the woman playing hard to get.