Salsa Dance Routine for Dummies Chapter 1

Many ambitious Salsa Dance students who would like to perform or compete at Salsa Dance competitions face a problem, which seems to be very difficult for them to solve: they need to make a Salsa Dance routine. What seems as a relatively simple task for some becomes a hard burden for others. This series of articles sets some main guidelines for creating a successful Salsa Dance routine.

To “Theme”, or Not To “Theme”

The first thing a choreographer should start with is to asses the theme of the Salsa Dance choreography. Do you want to tell a story? Do you want to blow the audience away with your best dance moves? Or is  the Salsa Dance routine only meant for pasting together Salsa Turn Patterns and Shines you have learned during a course?   

Choosing the right Music

The first thing to do after choosing the theme is to choose the right music first. Let others hear the song and ask them for their honest opinion. You can have a taste in music not many Salseros or Salseras share, so you want to make sure that the majority of people watching your Dance routine will be blown away by the music. You do not want the song to be too long: a Salsa Dance choreography lasting in between 3 and 4 minutes will suffice. The attention span of the spectators in the Salsa scene is getting shorter by the minute. If you want the Dance Routine to be longer, than you will have to mix the music with other music genres such as Reggaeton, Bachata, Musical, R&B music, etc. Another option is to employ more Dips, Tricks, Aerials, and Unique Musical & Dance Elements in your Salsa choreography. Part 2 of this article will explore the dance possibilities. 

Music Structure & “Less is More”

You will want to choose a song containing the following elements: a short intro, an explosive change, instrumental segments with lots of percussion, a climax, and an explosive ending. As said before, you can also use a mix of music genres. Make sure that you either start with another music style than Salsa, or split the Salsa song in two with the sample of the other genre. Sound effects are only used with a clear purpose: either to accentuate powerful dance moves, or for enhancing the story you are telling.

Regarding the use of mixes of other musical genres and sound effects: “Less is More”. There are enough Salsa songs which has everything in them. Try to respect the work of Salsa music composers as much as possible by not “corrupting” their lives work too much. There are also many mixes of Salsa songs with other musical genres already in existence.

The following videoclip is an example of a song which has its own theme, a nice storyline & structure, and it also has a message: Ruben Blades' “Pedro Navaja” from the album “Siembra” he did together with Willie Colon. You will have to “Cut & Paste” the album version of the song to meet your required 3 to 4 minutes limit.

The motion picture “Pedro Nanaja” or “Peter Jackknife: The Tale of Pedro Navaja” first released in 1984 and based on this song can also be used as inspiration.

Counting the Music

You need to count the amount of Basics in the song and divide it into chapters after you have the finalized version. This will also be explained in “Salsa Dance Routine for Dummies Chapter 2”.