SALSA

Salsa is a very popular dance form in Latin America, the United States and Europe. The dance and music developed largely in New York City during the late 1960's. It's name is derived from the Spanish word for "hot sauce". Salsa is a mixture of various elements: Rhumba, Mambo, Cha Cha Cha, as well as other Latin dance forms such as Afro-Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and other Latin American strains.

Salsa's most direct antecedent is the Cuban Son Montuno, which has a combination of African and European influences. During the 1980's the style also became popular in Miami as well as in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Colombia. There are different dance styles of Salsa - Cuban Style, Colombian Style, New York Style, L.A. Style, and Puerto Rican Style. Puerto Rico's predominant Spanish background mixed with Cuba's African, Andalucian and indigenous peoples to form the basis of Salsa music. 

MERENGUE

Merengue is a lively, joyful, and up-beat type of dance. Dancing to Merengue consists of a quick two-step. The rhythm of Merengue is traditionally created from instruments such as the tambora, guira, and accordion.

Merengue comes to us from the Dominican Republic. Its origins, however, are still disputed by many, and they can be traced back as far as the second half of the 18th century.

CUMBIA

Cumbia is a Colombian folk dance that popularized in the 1950's across Latin America, especially in Mexico. It has been said that Cumbia evolved from three distinct cultures that settled in Colombia at different times in history: indigenous peoples, the Spanish/Moorish, and African slaves. Some claim that Cumbia began as a courtship dance among the slave population.

This rhythmic dance has now spread internationally, and is highly popular in the Latin music scene. The instruments used to create Cumbia music include guitars, accordions, brass, and deep-toned drums, as well as other percussion instruments.

BACHATA

Bachata is a sensual and sexy dance that originated in the countryside and rural, marginal neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic in the 1960's. The lyrics of Bachata songs are usually romantic and the body movements and steps of the dance are comparable to the Lambada.

Bachata music is produced with the use of electronic instruments. The guitar, however, plays a major role in creating its characteristic rhythm. Bachata was influenced by Rhumba and Son, yet still holds its own distinctive sound.

CHA CHA CHA

Cha Cha Cha is an exciting Latin dance that originated in the 1950's, as a slowed down Mambo. The Cha Cha Cha gathers its personality, character, rhythm, basis, and charm from the major dance sources. It is a derivation of the Mambo through its Latin music, and is also a stepchild of the Swing as it is danced to a 1-2-3-step rhythm. The term Cha Cha comes from Haiti, where it referred to a component of a bell that made a ""Cha Cha"" noise when it was rubbed. The device was kept and used as an instrument.