The Indian Salsa Sutra & the Indian Salsa Link

Written for OnlineSalsa.com by Lourd Vijay

It’s hot! It’s happening! And it’s very, very saucy!! Salsa is hot! No matter when and where, it is spicing things up - film, music, and dance…just about anything.

The Sunny Source of Salsa

Salsa is a dance like no other. Its genesis began in not just one country or origin, each wrapped in its own brand of misty mystery, but through several streams melting into a mix which is still developing and transforming to this date. My gut feeling has always been inclined to the esoteric, and maybe because I wanted to believe it so badly, that when I stumbled upon it during my favorite salsa R&D sessions, my jaw dropped. Here was the proof that I always believed existed.

In some inconceivable way, India, I was convinced, was connected with the origins of Salsa. I guess you are surprised and I dare to say intrigued too. Don’t be! Our country is one having given rise to high societies, religion, free thinkers, and inventions, fueling ancient global developments, which today is what we would say…history.

From Gypsies to African Slaves

So here is what I know…a zillion moons ago, Gypsies from Northern India drifted aimlessly (yes, yes, I know, all gypsies do that!). They camped by rivers and dared unknown trails.

By night, they sat under the stars and let the flames of a blazing fire form the backdrop for a rare dance, which we later recognized as India’s classical dance, the Kathak.

The following is a clip of two young ladies dancing modern Kathak. Notice the hands telling a story. This manner of using the hands when dancing  Kathak evolved into 'styling' in Flamenco Dance (- S -).

In time, they danced their way through the portal of the Arabian world to the Iberian peninsular (what we commonly today call Spain), where their dance form merged with that of the local Spanish dance, and the fusion saw a hybrid take shoot - The Flamenco – one of the most fiery dance forms!

The following video is of a 'Sevillanas Enamorado', a 'Love Sevillanas'. Sevillanas is the only 'Couples Flamenco Dance' which has been developed by the gypsies in Andalucia, southern Spain. The hands and arms are now used as natural extensions of the dancers' emotions, and to mimic the movements of bull-fighters (- S -).

In later years, European Colonies set foot on Latin American soil and began work on the plantations. ‘Labour’, as in slaves was imported from Africa to work on the cotton, sugar and coffee fields. Having toiled all day, they amused themselves with song and dance, at the haciendas, in secret.

Eventually their African music intermingled with that of the French, Creole and Spanish, giving rise to completely new forms of music like the Son, Rhumba, Guaracha, Conga, Mambo, Cha-cha-cha, Pachanga and Nueva Timba.

Centuries later, a similar exodus was emerging in the USA, where
New York became a melting pot for Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and other Hispanic communities settling down and working in the New York & New Jersey area. Their interaction, spearheaded by Latin illuminaries and revered music enthusiasts such as Machito, Mario Bauza, Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo, gave rise to music such as the Boogaloo, Latin Jazz….and the Salsa.

The following videoclip of Griselle Ponce from New Jersey shows how the 'Flamenco Hand Styling', which would become a standard for Latin American Dances,  merged with Afro-Cuban body movements resulting in modern Salsa Arm and Hand Styling (- S -).

Excerpts from my book “Salsa in my Pocket”



About the Author:

Lourd Vijay is the principal Promoter of Latin culture, music and dance in the Asian Region. He recently stood 10th at the “most Popular Entrepreneur of the year 2009” amongst 180 nominees from across the country. An innovative choreographer and a very able instructor, he is the director of the Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studios (www.lvds.in | www.indiasalsa.com ) in India.

Lourd holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Management. He has just launched a project called the Street Kids Street Dance Initiative – a project to impart dance as a vocation to socio-economically challenged individuals. Lourd is also the organiser of The India International Salsa Congress, the All India Salsa Championships, the Chennai Salsa Festival, the Goa Salsa Festival, the Winter Dance Festival, The Spirit of dance festival, Free Spirit Street Arts Festival as well as the Ambassador of the Hong Kong Salsa Festival.