History
ON-1
and ON-2 Salsa
The On-1 International Salsa style is the most
prevalent salsa style worldwide including the
US.The On-2 and the New York Salsa style salsa
are really limited to New York City. Although,
I am teaching On-1 and On-2, the clips demonstrate
the steps on the first beat of the music.
Please note that there is no different between
On-1 and On-2 Salsa in terms of steps, techniques,
and moves. They are completely identical. The
timing of the break is the only different between
the two.
Meaning;
when dancing On-1, leaders break forward with
the left leg on the first beat of the music
(followers break backward with the right leg
on the first beat of the music) and backward
with the right leg on the first beat (or "fifth" beat)
of the music (followers break forward with
the left leg on the first beat of the music)
When dancing On-2, leaders break
on the second beat forward with the left leg
(followers break backward with the right leg
on the second beat of the music) and backward
with the right leg on the Second beat (or "sixth" beat)
of the music (followers break forward with the
left leg on the second beat of the music)
Click for
FREE
SALSA VIDEO CLIPS |
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History
In
the 1950’s the Mambo
underwent subtle changes to fit the slow Mambo
music. Initially, the new dance was named
triple mambo. Later it was named Cha-Cha-Cha
(in Spanish chachachá),
after the imitative sound
of Cha-Cha-Cha,
that the triple mambo produced. The Cha-Cha is
either danced to authentic Latin music or any
music that produced the Cha-Cha-Cha rhythm.
There are two type of Cha-Cha dance, differing
by the place of the chachacha with respect to
the musical bar:
- On-2 Cha-Cha
Ballroom Cha-Cha and street Cha-Cha-Cha
in Cuba which count "two-three-chachacha".
- On-1 Cha-Cha
Country/western Cha-Cha-Cha and
Latin Street Cha-Cha-Cha in many places other
than Cuba count "one-two-chachacha" or "chachacha-three-four".
If you master the Salsa or the Mambo dance,
you likely do not need to learn the street or
club Cha-Cha dance. All you need is to master
the basic footwork, and dance a “triple
salsa” or “Triple Mambo”.
Since the Cha-Cha-Cha is mostly audible after
the 2 and 3, I choose the Cuban/ International
Cha-Cha style when demonstrating the dance. Like
the On-1 and On-2 Salsa, please note that there
is no different between On-1 and On-2 Cha-Cha
in terms of steps, and moves.
Click for
FREE CHA-CHA
VIDEO CLIPS
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History
There are very little proven
facts about Merengue origins. Merengue is a combination
of two dances, the African and the French Minuet,
from the late 1700's - early 1800's. The dance
was created by black slaves who added special
drums upbeat and a slight skip or a hop to the
European ballroom dance. In the mid-1800s the
dance which was called "UPA Habanera" (UPA
from Havana) made its way around the Caribbean. This
dance had a movement called Merengue. By the
middle of the nineteenth century, the Merengue
was very popular in the Dominican Republic and
Since the 1930s Merengue is readily recognized
as the national dance of the Dominican Republic.
The original Merengue was not danced by individual
couples, but was a circle dance; each man and
woman faced each other and holding hands - at
arm's length. They did not hold each other
closely and the original movements of this dance
were only the shaking of the shoulders and swift
movement of the feet. These days, Merengue is
done with the man holding the woman in a Waltz-like
position; they step to the side, Turn clockwise
or counter clockwise while maintaining closed
dance position, or individually perform turns
while holding onto at least one hand of their
partner.
As you see in the Video clips I have created,
salsa can be dance to the Merengue beats. I
call this Salsa-Merengue combo dance a Two Steps
Salsa |
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