Is salsa really everywhere?

Salsa dancing can be found on every continent, feeding the widespread notion that this popular Latin dance is virtually everywhere. But is it really? OnlineSalsa.com took an unscientific approach to find out the answer to that question.

Ten states believed most unlikely to be home to a vibrant salsa scene were identified and an Internet search for evidence of salsa dancing – either Salsa Night videos or information about nightclubs or dance studios – was conducted.

A major salsa scene was missing in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Idaho.  Surprisingly, the search turned up evidence of salsa dancing in Wisconsin, Wyoming and Alabama. And there was some semblance of a salsa scene found in Vermont (a premiere East Coast skiing destination), New Hampshire (first primary in presidential election cycle) and Rhode Island (the nation’s smallest state).

The research conducted for this article shows that salsa dancing is in most other states. As a general rule, a major airport almost always means that a major salsa scene is nearby.

Salsa dancing is big in the Hawaiian islands. It may not be on every Hawaiian island but the Pacific island state will host the 2011 Hawaii Salsa Festival March 17-20 and Hawaii has been a port of call for at least one salsa cruise.

Alaska may be cold but I learned from a friend that the salsa scene is hot in parts of that state (home to Eskimos, polar bears and plenty of frozen tundra). But 46 of 50 states have salsa dancing on some scale, and that's great news for salseros if they live here or they're just visiting.

Wil Shamlin is an avid salsa dancer and author of Salsa Scene blog. For more information, visit http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/salsa