DOS CON DOS ANSWERS!

Each month, we will answer a reader’s question concerning cuban salsa, or a related topic that influences it. If you have such a question, do not hesitate to get in touch with us at DOSCONDOS.

THEME 1

1. I WANT TO START SALSA LESSONS, AND I’M NOT SURE WHETHER IT SHOULD BE NEW-YORK OR CUBAN.  HOW CAN I CHOOSE?

There has been a long and heated debate on the differences between Cuban and N-Y salsa over the years, but it’s always been a partisan affair, to try and prove that one or the other is the real, the original salsa, or is just plain better.  We shall be a bit more analytical in determining the fundamental differences, allowing you to choose what is right for you.

1.   A DIFFERENCE IN PHILOSOPHY

We are swimming in the very fundamentals that affect every small detail, and not the opposite.  In that spirit, the main difference is first and foremost philosophical; whereas the Cuban salsa that has traveled the world is in essence a street dance, the dominant N-Y salsa nowadays uses a language closer to ballroom, which will give us:

Cuban salsa, based on a non-coded form of communication, i.e. that needs no particular knowledge on the partner’s part in order to work, music driven, with an emphasis on movement, seduction and partying;

New-York salsa, coded, with elements of posture, axis, connexion or sustain, frame, based on technique, with an emphasis on impressive execution, show oriented if you will.

1. AROUND VS IN LINE

We often hear that N-Y salsa is danced in-line, whereas Cuban is danced in a circle.  In fact, no one actually dances in a circle, for the centrifugal force would make the girl very uncomfortable!  The reality is that NY is danced on a line clip 1.1, but it tends to blur over the years and be of less importance, and Cuban is danced in a series of angled lines that form a circle in time clip 1.2.

1. DYNAMICS ON THE SKIPPED BEAT

Regardless of the salsa, no matter how you count the rhythm or the steps, no matter what beat you dance on (one of our next topics), everybody agrees there is a step that lasts longer than the other two (ballroom uses quick-quick-slow).  What happens during that slow at a dynamic level is paramount in understanding both salsas.  Where we have a break in the kinetic energy in N-Y salsa clip 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 the Cuban maintains most of its linear momentum clip 1.6, 1.7, 1.2 and 1.8.  The tap should never be considered as a constituting element, but can be used from time to time as a decoration, or to help rhythmically when you have a tendency to speed through.  That mechanical difference is responsible for the famous “walking” look so typical of Cuban salsa, but also has a determining impact on how the turns will be executed.

1. METHOD AND RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE TURNS

We stated it from the start, there is a major philosophical difference between the two salsas.  In N-Y salsa, the turns are at the very core of the vocabulary.  The vast majority of them are spotted or axed, which means there is no horizontal travel of the axis in the course of the turn clip 1.5.  If you have to turn and walk, it shall be done in two separate operations, and multiple turns are a regular feature.  In Cuban salsa, the turns take a back seat to the body movement, walks and curbs.  They are generally executed in a walking fashion, meaning there is a gradual horizontal travel of the axis clip 1.9 and multiple and spotted turns, if any, are the exception.

1. MUSICAL INTERPRETATION

This topic is so important that it will need its own chronic in the near future.  It is, however, at the center of the philosophical difference and therefore we will graze it briefly to further precise our current topic.  Due to its ballroom character, N-Y salsa tends to put the song at the dancer’s service, meaning that there is a tendency to squeeze in what it is you know how to do, whereas in Cuban salsa it goes the other way around: the dancer is at the song’s service, and the musical texture determines what should be done at any given time.

1. LEAD

New-York salsa has a one-step lead, on the first step or “quick”, which implies that the bulk of the information is transferred in that one instant clip 1.5.  This produces a clean and impressive look. In Cuban salsa, the information is passed in a continuous fashion throughout the move clip 1.9, which gives the feeling of a conversation, softer and more fluid, but with a « dirtier » look, for no two moves will ever be exactly the same.

1. DOING VS BEING, SEDUCING VS IMPRESSING

At the end of the day, you need to ask yourself if you want to seduce or impress, be or do, blend in or stand out:

There clearly is a market for both of them; you just need to figure out which one fits you best…