Salsa

Salsa dance comes from centuries blending of rhythms and dances from Cuba, the Caribbean and from African slaves. People from all cultures now dance Salsa. If you can hear and feel the soul of Latin music, then you can learn Salsa. If you can walk to the 4/4 rhythms, you can learn Salsa. Hear the music, move with it, feel your partner, improvise – now you’re dancing Salsa. 

I’m photographing in Salsa clubs in New York City and Brooklyn. I am interested in the partnering and respect the dancers have for one another. Frequently, the partners are unknown to each other, but share a common love of Salsa. One asks another to dance, and they begin. Over the course of the evening, each dancer may dance with several partners. In Salsa, the man is the lead dancer. The woman responds to his lead. Yet in the upbeat tempo of the dance, the couple moves as one.

I have been impressed with how the dancer’s movements demonstrate a care and tenderness shared between strangers. Unlike the ambiguity of social contact in the broader culture, the set movements of the dance provide rules for the interaction. The clubs are a safe, diverse, and a joyous community of people who come together through their love of Salsa.