Real Musicality in Salsa Dancing: Next Evolution?

Advanced and Master Level Salsa Dancers clearly distinguish themselves from the Beginners and Intermediate Dancers by their use of Musicality when dancing Salsa or Mambo. Dancers have always been running behind the evolution of Salsa Music. It is time for some ‘catching up’.

Salsa Dance Choreographers and Performers are experimenting more than ever by mixing different dances and music for their Dance Routines. Dancing on and to the music has evolved to hitting the breaks and interpreting the general structure of the songs with Flashy Dancing and Styling. But there are several things missing which have been lying dormant for a very long time in the International Salsa Dance Scene. Discovering and exploiting missed chances can signal the next stage in the evolution of Salsa and Mambo Dance.

Dancing to different Kinds of Music in Salsa

When Jerry Massuci and Ray Barreto started Fania Records in 1964 they put different Caribbean and South American Music under the big Salsa umbrella. They did not imagine their goal of making different kinds of music such as the Guaracha, the Boogaloo and Xavier Cugat’s & Perez Prado’s Mambo sellable would effectively kill the popularity of some dances, which were very particular to these sub genres. Salsa Music became more homogenous by incorporating elements of the other music forms in the compositions. Today most Salsa and Mambo Dancers & Instructors do not even recognize these music and dance forms, or they do not know how to dance them the ‘original’ way.

To illustrate: the Salsa Song ‘Castellano Que Bueno Baila Usted’ of late Tito Puente is and homage to the greatest Cuban Singer of all times, Beny More’. The song, which was later drenched with Oscar de Leon’s Venezuelan sauce, has a very clear ‘Real Mambo’ riff played by the saxophones. You will not see one single Salsa or Mambo dancer dancing the original Mambo Dance, which was very popular in the 50’s and the beginning of the 60’s. Colombian Salsa groups such as Orquesta Guayacan and Sonora Carruseles mix Cumbia and Vallenato Music in their Salsa. Same story: you will not see any Cumbia Dancing on the modern social Salsa dance floor when their Salsa is spinned by the DJ’s. Even the modern Salsaton or Cubaton cannot inspire dancers to dance Reaggaeton Dance while they hear it.

The other way around is much the case. Bachatango, or Bachata Tango, was not developed because of Tango music being mixed into Bachata. Instead, a dance couple developed the Dance Style by incorporating many Tango Dance Moves, which normally cannot be lead in Bachata, and standardized them. Bachatango Music came after the dance existed. 

A possible evolution of Salsa and Mambo Dance could be the use of ‘Real Musicality’. It would be great if Master Dance Instructors took a better look at the music, it’s component parts, and decided to stay in par with the evolution of the music by mastering the dances which belongs to these parts. This new approach could unite dancers from different dance styles, cultural backgrounds and from different generations.