DO you want something other than the classic, slow dancing at your wedding party? Are you interested in kinetic dancing? If the answers are yes, then perhaps you and your partner would like to join in the salsa fever that is sweeping the Egyptian capital. Salsa is a syncretic dance genre that originated in Cuba, the meeting point of European and African popular culture. It then spread to Puerto Rico and the other Caribbean islands. Salsa is essentially Cuban with deep Afro-Cuban beats, as well as being influenced by rumba, cha-cha-cha and tango. Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognised solo forms, line dancing (suelta) and rueda de casino, where groups of couples exchange partners in a circle. Salsa can be improvised or performed with a set routine. It is also used in some gyms, as a good method for getting into shape. Salsa is popular throughout Latin America, and also in the United States, Spain, Japan, Portugal, France, Eastern Europe and Italy. 'Salsa' is the Spanish word for sauce, connoting, in American Spanish, a spicy flavour. The basic step of all styles of salsa involves three weight changes (or steps) in each four-beat measure. The beat on which one does not step might contain a tap or kick, or weight transfer may simply continue with the actual step not occurring until the next beat, while some individuals may insert an actual pause. The option chosen depends upon individual choice and upon the specific style being danced. One of the steps is a ‘break step', a little bit longer than the other two. Different styles of salsa are often differentiated by the direction and timing of the break step (‘on 1' or ‘on 2' for example). After six weight changes in eight beats, the basic step cycle is complete. While dancing, the basic step can be modified significantly as part of the improvisation and stylings of the people dancing. The arms are used to communicate the lead in either open or closed position. In open position. the two dancers hold one or both hands, especially for moves that involve turns, or putting arms behind the back, or moving around each other. In closed position, the leader puts the right hand on the follower's back, while the follower puts the left hand on the leader's shoulder. In some styles, the dancers remain in a slot (switching places), while in others the dancers circle around each other. "Latin American dance has become more and more popular in Egypt in the past five years. It's fashion for people in the 20 to 40 age group," Suzie Fayad, a dance trainer told the local Al- Mosawar magazine. What has helped salsa to become popular in Egypt is the increasing number of dance nights organised by the big hotels in downtown Cairo and the large restaurants in Mohandiseen. These dance nights last from 7pm to 2am and often there's a dance trainer present for anyone who wants to use his/her services. "The Sheraton Hotel holds a salsa school every Sunday from 7pmuntil 1am. The first session, from 7pm to 9pm, is for beginners and then the second session, for professional salsa dancers, begins," says Mina Michel, responsible for the salsa schools at Sheraton hotels. "We usually get about 20 couples turning up. They all dance together and there is no required dress code; most people usually wear casual , " he adds. Aerobic exercises combined with salsa dancing are proving very popular in Egyptian gyms. "Newlyweds always want salsa for the first dance on their special night and they need some practice first," says Abdullah Mourad, a Latin American dance trainer. Salsa classes start from LE40 (around $7.5), while a month-long course of two sessions per week costs between LE400 and LE500. Private classes, lasting three hours, cost LE350 each.
