Salsa, its name means "sauce" and also means in the Cuban popular language "sensual" and "attractive". Salsa, as we know it today, is a cultural mix of Latin American rhythms such as sound, guaganco, rumba, mambo, cha-cha-cha, bomba, plena, Influences of American rhythms such as jazz, soul, blues, and European rhythms.
http://www.salsaloca.fr/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/14012015-IMG_9973.jpg
*credit photo : siavach*

It usually dances as a couple but also as a soloist, giving free rein to improvisation. She appeared in the Hispanic neighborhoods of New York in the early 50s and 60s and was very successful. In the 1970s, it unleashed a real craze in all the United States. It is exported to Europe and the rest of the world in the 1990s, and is equally successful. The dance relies on the bases of sound, mambo and other rhythm movements, so as to bring about a common way of dancing. "Salsero" and "Salsera are used to designate dancers.
http://www.salsaloca.fr/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/13012015-IMG_9879.jpg
*credit photo : siavach*

Salsa is a music written 4 times (4 times per measure). For a couple of measurements, when the musician counts 1, 2, 3, 4 for the first measure (strong measure) and always 1, 2, 3, 4 for the second measure (low measure) / Or dance teacher counts 1, 2, 3, 4 the first measure, then 5, 6, 7, 8 the second measure. This way of counting up to 8 is common to many other dances (modern'jazz, hip-hop, classical, ...). Three types of salsa and styles can be identified: Cuban salsa, Puerto Rican salsa (=LA Style Salsa) and Colombian salsa.

 # SALSA CUBANA
It is inspired by the casino dance of the 50s, like that practiced in the [Tropicana, famous club of Havana](http://www.cabaret-tropicana.com/), and takes its roots in the Cuban sound, dance appeared around 1920. The couple moves essentially by describing successive circles. It is a street dance, popular and social.
A variant known as "Rueda de casino" consists of a round (rueda) of couples where a leader announces successively the figures to be executed together and at the same time, with multiple and different changes of partner. The emphasis is on the musical high time (time 1 of the 4-beat measurement) and count: 1, 2, 3, ..., 5, 6, 7, ... (pause on times 4 and 8).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfVjK0ZFqS4
*here, an exemple of a rueda with my Salsa School In Strasbourg in 2015 summer*

When the salsa is danced in a pair, the salsero marks the time 1 of the left foot, then the time 5 (the time 1 of the second measurement) of the right foot. The salsera will do the opposite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpOL1W0mPs4
*an exemple of Salsa Cubana music with LOS VAN VAN*

# PUERTO RICAN SALSA
Its characteristic is that the pair of dancers respects a line of dance, one distinguishes several styles:
* The Palladium style (original mambo "on 2"), derived from the Cuban sound and precursor of the Puerto Rican salsa, is named after the huge and popular New York concert hall and ballroom, [the Palladium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palladium_(New_York_City)), inaugurated around 1946.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JboNfgEO-Gk
* Incredible Freddie Rios at 80s*

The Palladium Mambo Legends, Freddie Rios and Mike Ramos are the pioneers of this style with their stunning appearances on the Palladium stage in the 1950s. They can be compared to the famous [Nicholas Brothers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Brothers), a fabulous acrobatic tap dance and jazz dancers. Salsa palladium is today mainly reserved for competition (ballroom) but still practiced by some followers. 
Its rhythm is counted ..., 2, 3, 4, ... 6, 7, 8 (pause on the musical highlights 1 and 5). The emphasis is on weak times 2 and 6 (mishaps). The salsero takes a left foot start on 2, then right foot on 6. The salsera will do the reverse. Note that times 1 and 5 are not danced.
* The New York style (New York style "break on 2") where the dancers focus on the low time (time 2 then 6 of a couple of 4-step measurements). One speaks of dancing to contratiempo (at the time). The rhythm is counted 1, 2, 3, ..., 5, 6, 7, ... The salsero takes a left foot start on 1, then right foot on 5. The salsera will do the reverse. This style was developed by [Eddie Torres), one of the best salseros in the world, nicknamed the "mambo king". Eddie Torres is to dance what [Tito Puente](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tito_Puente) is to music. Other artists / dancers will contribute to the diffusion of salsa New York style in the world: Frankie Martinez, Nelson Flores, Oscar Perrones of the Yamulee company, Thomas Guerrero of the company Santo Rico, ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgai9QXubE4
*Beautifull Puerto Rican song...*
Puerto Rican style (Puerto Rican style "on 2"), which comes directly from Puerto Rico, very little practiced in Europe. The dancers focus on the weak times (time 2, then 6 of a couple of measurements). As for New York style, the rhythm is also counted 1, 2, 3, ..., 5, 6, 7, ... On the other hand, if the rhythm is identical to that of the New York style, the salsero takes a start of the right foot On 1, then left foot on 5. The salsera will do the reverse.
* Los Angeles style (L.A style "on 1") where dancers focus on musical highlight (time 1 then 5 of a couple of 4-step measurements). The rhythm is counted 1, 2, 3, ... 5, 6, 7, ... (pause on times 4 and 8). The salsero takes a left foot start on 1, then right foot on 5. The salsera will do the reverse. This very dynamic style was developed by the brothers Vasquez (Francisco, Luis, Johnny) as well as other artists like Liz Lira in Los Angeles, Tropical Gem company in Italy, not to mention all.

# SALSA COLOMBIAN
Colombian salsa was born in Cali. This is the most common in Latin America so Cali is considered the world capital of salsa. There are many dance academies and discotheques dedicated to this music. Colombian salsa is a mixture of various rhythms such as boogaloo, pachanga and Colombian folk dances such as cumbia. In this style, where the dancers are very close, it is the aesthetics and the character that prevails before the movement or the figures. It highlights the rapid and dynamic footwork 'way' twist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXJ9NR2ZSAs
*Exemple of Cali Style Salsa*