Salsa is a popular form of social dance that is enjoyed by millions of people around the

globe. The sensual, energetic moves that are standard in this genre of dance have a relatively
short, but robust history. Salsa music and dancing have a number of influences, including African
drum rhythms, Spanish guitar music, and dances from Cuba and Puerto Rico. The dancing and
music came together in 1970s New York, when Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants combined
the dancing and music of their homelands with the disco craze. No one knows for sure where the
term "salsa," came from, though many speculate that it refers to the dance's hot and spicy
movements. It might also refer to the dance's mixture of influences, which is reminiscent of
salsa's many ingredients.

Salsa music is a mix of different Caribbean rhythms and instruments; that diversity
provides its unique sound. Salsa dance has similarly evolved and adapted over the years to better
suit the tastes of different localities, leading to the creation of different regional styles of salsa.
Some of the most popular regional styles are Salsa Casino (Cuban style), Salsa Casino (Miami
style), Afro-Latino style, Cali style (Colombian Salsa), Rueda de Casino and New York style

Considering such a variety

of cultures in Latin America
contribute to the vast
diversity of styles in salsa,
it's only natural that the
musical instruments used
also change a bit from style
to style. A mix of
instruments is used in each
regional style. The most
common percussion
instruments are bongos,
congas, timbales, maracas,
and cowbells. Among the
string instruments, we see the bass guitar, guitar, piano, violin, and electric guitar. The trumpet,
trombone, flute, and saxophone are brass instruments commonly used. As of late, in modern
salsa, electronics are added to the mix.

There are some basic characteristics that are shared by all salsa styles.
Salsa rhythm is widely recognized for being catchy sensual, and easy to learn, yet difficult to
master. It is usually a partnered dance with a lead and follow, dancing using with improvisation
of various movement combinations. The beat of salsa music is 4/4, but there are 3 weight changes
in each measure. This creates an alternating pattern of strong and weak measures, which in turn
creates that pulsating, driving sensation that makes this music so dancable. What happens during
the extra beat is part of what differentiates the styles of the dance. While the body changes
weight, the upper torso remains almost immobile which means that most of the motion ends up in
the hips, which is how the phrase "cuban motion" got applied to this latin dance.