Salsa Dance: From Kitchens to Congresses Salsa dancing is a
booming business. Salsa dance schools can be found as far away
as Japan, and nightclubs devoted to salsa are packed. But as
recently as the 1980s, salsa was relatively unknown outside the
Latino community. Juliet McMains, assistant professor of dance,
has been researching the rise in salsa’s popularity and its
transformation over time. Juliet McMains and Sean Wilson hit the
dance floor at a May 2007 salsa social in Florida. Photo by
Irina Gavrilovitch. “Salsa used to be a dance people in Latin
America learned from their parents and community,” says McMains.
“There was no formal dance instruction. You learned it from your
mother in the kitchen. As a result, dance styles were always
very regional. People listening to a piece of music in different
communities came up with very different ways of moving.” Salsa
dance developed in response to salsa music. The music combines
African American jazz with Caribbean genres; the dance combines
African technique—i