UKSALSA CHAT | ON2 CHAT | SUZYQ CHAT 
Subject: Confusion about styles
From: mathieg2 (Graeme Mathieson)
Date: Thursday 20th February 2003, 6:04 pm

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Again, this doesn't sound like you're speaking from a position of authority. You think Colombian Salsa is like this, but you "cannot confirm this"? What do you have to do to pass the UKA's Colombian Salsa exam? Just walk in and look confused?
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It appears that my comments have been misinterpreted. I was trying to say that the UKA does not break salsa into individual styles, rather that it does not matter what style you do, as long as you do it well! We could get into a long argument about what makes a good dance - but I really cannot be bothered.

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etc, etc
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My information is not coming from the UKA, but rather from my limited experience on the salsa scene. I'm sorry if it offends you that I get things wrong from time to time - No one ever taught me how to spell Colombia - and I've not been to salsa clubs in cuba, colombia, new york and los angeles to compare the different styles.

Not having danced new york, I cannot comment on the relative volumes of on1 and on2 dancers. I just assumed that as most of the uk bulletin boards refer to new york style salsa in the same breath as 'on2' that the 'on1' dancers must be in the minority.

The first style I experienced was a derivative of colombian salsa. But the teacher's knowledge was a little limited - and I didn't really progress. That is the extent of my knowledge on colombian salsa.

I now mainly dance cross body lead / slot salsa. Initially, I was told that this is called New York salsa, but as the teachers started learning new moves, they moved on to LA style salsa. And to be quite honest, I could not really tell the difference. All I can really say is that the LA moves were a lot punchier, and we started doing a lot more shines. I can say with authority that the LA style I am referring to was created by the vasquez brothers (http://www.rumberos.com)

To be honest with you, each town/city in the UK has it's own distinct style - or more than one in some cases. The differences can be subtle - but each town/city has it's own flavour.

In addition to various salsa weekends, I've danced in Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Bristol, Reading, Dublin and even Aberdeen! and I have to say that the dance style in each city is unique and that's before you start differentiating between on1, on2, cuban, etc, etc.

In summary, I don't care what you want to call each individual style - I just want to dance! I tend to adapt my style to whoever I am dancing with, to the music that is playing, and to the amount of space available on the dance floor.

Regards,

Graeme

   
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