Who Invented Salsa Dancing

Who invented salsa dancing and where can you learn the basic steps? By learning a few of the basics, you can easily cut a rug on the dance floor to impress your fellow partygoers.

The Salsa Stance
Salsa originated in Argentina and it is a very precise dance. All salsa dance lessons will start with an emphasis on the proper salsa stance. If you're facing your partner, you'll have the right hand around the waist and the left arm held out, slightly bent. Now you're ready to begin.

Salsa Steps
Once you're in the hold, make sure to grip your partner's hand. For the basic salsa steps, the woman is usually going back on her right foot when the man is stepping frontwards on his left. The whole point is to mirror one another's movements. For the woman, you'll want to step back on the left on the first beat, and step back to the middle with both feet together on the second, in a rocking motion. The man will go forward on his left on the first beat, and bring it back together on the second. This is the first basic salsa step so try it several times by yourself and then with your partner to get the hang of it.

Once you get the hang of the first salsa steps, alternate going forward and backward, while continuing to mirror your partner. One variation of the basic step you can do is the sideways basic where you take your right leg and tap it out to the side and bring it together and then alternate, doing it on the left side.

Stepping Up Your Salsa
Salsa and Latin dance clubs have become very popular and many have nights where they offer free dance lessons for an hour or so and then open the club up to the public. This is a fun way of testing the waters and then being able to practice your newly learned salsa steps with people who understand and relate to the music. Learning Salsa will be much easier if you feel less conscious and have a grasp of the basic move.