On 1, On1: Another name for modern Salsa dancing. It refers to the beat (out of an 8-count) on which the dancer begins a basic step.
On 2, On2: Another name for older Salsa or Mambo. It refers to the beat (out of an 8-count) on which the dancer begins a basic step.
Bachata: (bah - cha - tah) A lover's dance from the Dominican Republic. Bachata music is characteristically sweet, as opposed to rich and full like Salsa and Merengue. One guitar usually dominates the other instruments with sequences of single plucked notes. The dance is characterized as three steps to the side and then lifting the opposite hip. For example, you step to your left three times (left foot, right foot, left foot) and lift your right hip. Then you step right three times (right foot, left foot, right foot) and lift your left hip. Many Salsa dancers have some difficulty adjusting to this dance style until they have practiced it.
Basic: The core or "basic" step-pattern of a dance style. In Salsa, the basic consists of (for the man) moving the left foot forward on 1 (the first beat) and lifting the right heel, putting the right heel down (on 2), moving the left foot back (on 3), a pause (on 4), moving the right foot back (on 5) and lifting the left heel, putting the left heel down (on 6), moving the left foot forward (on 7), and a final pause. For a woman, the pattern is reversed: right foot back/left heel up, left heel down, right foot forward, pause, left foot forward/right heel up, right heel down, left foot back.
Cha Cha, Cha Cha Cha: A popular variation on Salsa-style dancing in which three steps (the Cha-Cha-Cha) are added between two halves of the regular basic. Example: A man would step forward on his left foot, come back, then take three quick steps (left-right-left), then step back on his right. The woman would mirror his steps by stepping back on her right foot first. Many Santana songs are good for dancing Cha Cha, especially "Smooth" and "Black Magic Woman".
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Cross-body, Cross-body lead: The man steps back, turns 90 degrees to his left, and leads the lady to walk past him and then turn to face him as he turns 90 degrees to his left again.
Cuban motion: In Latin dancing, the hips are rolled as first one knee is extended and then the other (while the first knee is retracted). Many beginning students try to emulate this style with minimal success.
Mambo: (mahm - bo) An older style of Salsa, usually called "On2". Some Mambo was also danced "On4".
Merengue: (mer - eng - ey) A folk dance from the Dominican Republic. Merengue relies on an 8-step basic where the feet are moved slightly as the knees are dipped. Many beginners mistakenly march to the music, but the hips are supposed to be rolled.
Salsa: (sall - sa) Hot. Salsa dancing is "hot" dancing. Salsa dancing comes from Latin countries such as Cuba, Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Salsero: (sall - sair - oh) A man who dances Salsa.
Salsera: (sall - sair - a) A woman who dances Salsa.
Sweetheart: A popular dance movement where the man lifts his partners hands, one at a time, to her shoulders, and dances behind her as they move side-to-side.
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