I have a theory – I think there comes a time in every social dancer’s life when they realize how amazing salsa really is and how it may just be the best Afro-Latin social dance style out there. I have seen many wonderful professional dancers dabbling in different styles but after many years, or even decades, eventually end up dancing and teaching salsa. So it’s not just my opinion but something I have witnessed over the years.
What makes salsa a great social dance is that it’s widely known, fun and inclusive of all ages and gendes. There is plenty of room to express yourself and play with musicality in this dance style. It’s also family-friendly and with appropriate song lyrics. Below, I will explain each of those points in more detail.
1. Salsa Is Widely Known
Firstly, if you tell someone you dance salsa, they will generally know what you mean and you don’t have to give a long explanation or pull up a video. Secondly, it is danced almost everywhere in the world and you can easily find a local salsa party to visit whenever you travel.
While salsa doesn’t need an introduction, I’d like to show you a video of Clo Ferreira, whom I discovered 8 years ago as a zouk dancer and who is now one of the most famous salsa teachers.
2. Salsa Is Fun
Salsa music usually sounds happy and light, which helps to lift the mood. Some styles are known for being sensual or flowy whereas salsa is synonymous with partying and having fun. Salsa tends to be quite a fast-paced dance, doubling as a cardio workout that helps release feel-good hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and more.
(There is variety within every dance style, of course, for example there is a slower “salsa romantica” as well, but I am talking about general vibes.)
3. Salsa Is Inclusive of All Ages and Genders
Salsa doesn’t require crazy flexibility or acrobatic skills, therefore it is a dance for all ages – kids, adults and the elderly. And of course, since it’s a partner dance, it can be danced by both men and women.
Here’s a video of a cute elderly couple dancing salsa:
4. Salsa Is Family-Friendly
Compared to some other Afro-Latin dance styles, salsa is not overly sensual or sexual and doesn’t require you to be too close to your dance partner (you’re really only holding hands). In cultures where people have a larger personal space, the relatively large distance between dance partners allows them to easily adopt the dance.
Taking all of this into account also means you probably wouldn’t mind your significant other dancing it with someone else and you can keep dancing salsa at all stages of your life, whether you’re single or married. You can dance it with your kids or your grandparents and you won’t be embarrassed to send a video of yourself dancing salsa to your parents.
Here is a salsa choreography performed by a group of kids on stage (I am so impressed by their skills!):
5. Salsa Has Appropriate Lyrics
There are social dance styles that often have songs with lyrics about drinking and cheating (*cough* bachata *cough*). Many people who don’t speak Spanish will look past that, but I have met Spanish speaking people who cannot bring themselves to dance bachata because of it. In salsa you don’t need to worry about song topics not matching your values, since the lyrics are mostly appropriate and family-friendly.
6. In Salsa It Is Common to Switch Partners After One Dance
Firstly, it’s wonderful that unlike ballroom dances, it is common to switch partners. You can rock up to a party alone and dance salsa without having a fixed partner. And secondly it’s great that the switching is done after every song, so that you can dance with many different people.
There are some social dance styles where it has become the norm to dance 3-5 songs with one person and then switch. However I have seen this cause problems in communities, eg dancers having to wait a long time to get dances if the follow-lead balance isn’t great. It’s also not very family-friendly to dance many songs in a row with a stranger.
7. Followers Have Space to Express Themselves in Salsa
I have often heard women (who are usually in the follower role) say that they wish they had more room to express themselves in the dance, since in social dance, it’s traditionally the leader who chooses the moves. There are many ways that followers are nowadays trying to solve this issue, either by adding different types of styling, backleading or straight up learning the leader role.
In salsa, they solved this issue ages ago with a concept called “shines”, where the leader lets go of the follower’s hands and they both have a solo moment to improvise and express themselves in the music (literally, a moment to “shine”). This usually happens during the second part of the song, so women have the freedom to show off their musicality literally every time they are asked to dance.
8. Musicality Is Encouraged in Salsa
Musicality is of course a part of every dance style, but I feel like salsa dancers are taking it to the next level. Firstly, salsa music is not electronic and consists of many instruments (up to 13 musicians in one salsa orchestra), therefore dancers can use many different sounds in the song to inform their dance. Secondly, salsa musicians love improvised solos, so whenever you hear some of these instruments go wild and play, you as a dancer are free to do the same.
One of my favorite female salsa dancers is Misaki and here is (perhaps an extreme) example of what is possible in salsa in terms of musicality and letting both the follower and leader have freedom to express themselves.
9. There Is Room to Grow in Salsa
Salsa is fun to start with as a beginner and you can also take it to advanced levels, which means you have room to grow and many years of discovery ahead of you. There are many ways to improve your partnerwork and solo shines and so many professional teachers all around the world to learn from, both online and in person.
Going down the rabbit hole of salsa you will discover that there are many sub-styles like cuban salsa, Colombian salsa, LA salsa and concepts of dancing “on 1” and “on 2” (“mambo”) and in a circle (“rueda de casino”), which you can learn about more deeply. Close to the salsa world are also dances like cha cha chá, boogaloo, pachanga, son and more which can also be explored.
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These were a few reasons I think salsa is ahead of other dance styles in many ways. Salsa was my first social dance style that I started with in 2016. I have since tried Brazilian zouk, kizomba, bachata, forró, samba de gafieira and more. Today, comparing those to salsa I feel such an immense appreciation for this social dance style and I think salsa stands out from the rest.
However please note that I am not discouraging you from learning other styles – there are dance styles for every mood, personality and stage of life. Having knowledge of multiple styles will make you a better dancer overall and it’s nice to be able to dance to all kinds of music played at a party or event. You will still catch me in all rooms dancing all styles I have knowledge of, simply because I love dancing itself, regardless of style.
It’s just that salsa ticks so many boxes and I find it quite impressive. I have seen many dancers, both professional and hobbyist, after long years of dancing and experimenting with styles, return to salsa as their main dance. It has a rich history, wide reach and longevity and I can see why it has stood the test of time and is one of the most widely known social dances in the world.
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