Authenic Latin dancers use the term "Sabor"--it means flavor, fire, feeling, or soul. Whereas the Latin Dancesport has technique from training, and much money spent on lessons to get the technique right and looks nothing like authenic latin rumba or salsa. Sabor is acquired from being immersed in a latin culture involving years of observation and participation in a culture in which dance and music are part of everyday life.

I do a New York Style of Mambo that was taught at my studio. It breaks on 2 and has lots of well defined patterns. I dance Salsa on 1 and use the same stuff as Mambo. Now I am dancing and competing in Salsa more than Mambo and would like to somehow acquire more Sabor without moving to Cuba for many years. I am trying to get away from a studio look and connect more with the music and maybe do less patterns, shines, or tricks and make the dance look more authenic and less plastic or programed. And why does salsa break on 1 and Mambo on 2. It would be nice to have a choice and break on how one feels the music? The Mambo dancing with dancesport looks very civilized, proper and with little or no Sabor--it is very choreographed and someways mechanical looking. You can tell that the dancers have bought and paid for their choreography and dancing within this structure. How does one acquire more Sabor? Where is Salsa and Mambo going with all the many different styles, teachers and variations?

Not really.

Mediocre dancers look plastic and programmed. It has nothing to do with 'sabor' or 'training' or whether it is Latin Rumba, Salsa, or Mambo.

What you're looking to do is to become a more advanced dancer - one that looks more 'grounded'. The choreography that you desire (yes, all movement is called choreography) that you call 'authentic' is actually 'authentic' at the moment of creation. Choreography evolves. What is hip or cutting edge now will be called 'classic' in five years.

Dance EXPRESSES culture and such, but the 'everyday dancers' from whatever Tropical fantasy island you think they live, look just like the everyday dancers on the island of Manhattan or the city of Minneappolis - untrained, shuffling beginners that, since they only dance with others of the same quality, ingrain their movement so that altho it is primitive and awkward, is done with confidence.

Don't insult the originators of the Mambo movement by assuming that they were somehow not innovators, and broke away from the 'traditional' dances of the era - because that is what they did. These street dances certainly evolved from participatory interaction but were certainly decried at the time for not being 'traditional' or whatever they called 'old fashioned' back in the day.

anno,

I already do a stylized, choreographed, studio style of Mambo-Salsa. I am trying to figure how to get more flavor or some other type of uniqueness. Plus, I already do Int. Latin and all the proper connections with the stomach, back, pelvis, legs, and feet.
Believe me, that in current Salsa competitions they are doing something else. For example, the New York style of Salsa has suave partnering, sophisticated poise, and commitment to the clave rhythm. The Los Angeles style has more tricks, speed, acrobatics, and attack.

In the past years the World Salsa Championships have been won by Salsa dancers with a street style of dancing and beating out the NYC, LA styles. One couple won in 2002 by appearing to have no choreography, costume, and wearing sneakers. They used simple turns and steps taught in a beginning level salsa. This couple looked out of place at the competition with the other slick costumes and choregraphy. It was the woman's passionate engagement with the music--the drums posssed her as every part of her body started shimmering and hammering out a different rhythm to match overlapping rhythms in the music. They barely did any turns or patterns that required partnering skills. The audience went went wild and into an uproar with their performance. The parnership displayed very little speed, control, balance, partnering, and showmanship, but displayed sabor--the undefinable soul of Latin Dance. It was said that the judges were looking for couples that maintained the character of Salsa both from its roots and the way it is danced today in clubs.

You have to go back to the roots of the social dance that is currently named salsa.

It is a hybrid of Mambo which in turn , is a hybrid of Systemo Cubano which came from Danzon.

The reason for the evolution,as always in dance -- the music changed. Going from a 6/8 son rhythm to a 2/4 and eventually in 1945/6 to a 4/4 time signature.
The advent of jazz influence in the seventies, set a new paradigm .

if you were to look at the original " break" step in classic Mambo , it was on 1 . This was developed from the beginning of danzon, which broke side on 1, which eventually found its way, to back, on 1.
many of the older Cubans still use this timing .

much has been written about the clave rhythm that dominates the music. the term " dancing on clave " is the purists mantra. This is not exactly true, as there are 5 "clicks " on clave, which really do not fit basic dance sequences. I would hasten to add, I have seen people who actually do follow the strict rule and employ every "click " in the music.

As I tell my students, in the final analysis, if you dance socially, be prepared to adapt to all the styles you will meet ( thats the ladies , of course ) and for the guys, experiment .

Tangotime. Nobody mentions the movement of the hips in Salsa. I went to this studio . They have this very large book that anybody can have a look at. On the Salsa it says keep your upper body still and get an isolation of the hips.
Try this. On a Treadmill at the local gym. Start with the feet straight and keep them straight. Now walk across the line of the body slightly. Feel those hips moving as well as the rear. That is roughly the hip action of a Rumba International Style. Should this also be done in the Salsa. I'm serious about this. I went to a New Years thing with a lot of Latinos present. There were several demonstrations, all very clever, but the hips moving as part of the dance was missing.

The hip action is an area which the majority get too "hung " up on.

There is a natural action created by the way we place our feet when we walk.

The true origin of the movement stems from the time when africans, Asians etc, carried ( many still do ) large baskets, pots etc , on their heads.. they had to place their feet very carefully to achieve equilibrium .In so doing, this created what we term " Cuban" motion-- in reality, it should be " Afro Cuban " motion.

forcing,or over stating that action, causes a "false " impression .

Books and tapes are not a substitute , for something that needs a very detailed visual explanation.

And yes --- the rib cage plays an integral part of the end result .

Terance.I get a little lost here. One minute we are talking Salsa and then Mambo pops up its head. Are they in opposition to each other. Would you have a competition with both Salsa and Mambo on the same program. Among all the pieces of advertising I picked up , 40 in all. Mambo never got a mention. Neither was it on this particular dance program.In fact I don't think I am wrong in saying that here it doesn't exist.

I,m not surprised !-- only the true afficianados will understand that -- ALL salsa is Mambo-- but not ALL mambo is salsa .
They are eternally " tied " together . Both have afro Cuban roots, and the " Parent" to salsa is Mambo.

the primary causal effective change ?-- a much stronger jazz influence in many-- but not all --cases .

You should listen to Music by Fruko-- it will give you a more complete understanding of " Son " rhythms, and the Colombian influence on the genre .

There are world champ. held in Miami every yr ( also -- Salsa )

There are so many layers of music in this genre, hardly anything else comes close ( maybe swing ) PM me your address and I will mail you some music---- salsahoy2000@yahoo.com