Salsa is a Latin dance, associated with the music genre of the same name, which was first popularized in the United States in the 1960s in New York City. Salsa is an amalgamation of Cuban dances, such as mambo, pachanga and rumba, as well as American dances such as swing and tap.

It was primarily developed by Puerto Ricans and Cubans living in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s.^[3] Different regions of Latin America and the United States (including countries in the Caribbean) have distinct salsa styles of their own, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and New York styles. Salsa dance socials are commonly held in nightclubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outside, especially when part of an outdoor festival.

Salsa's tempo ranges from about 150 bpm (beats per minute) to around 250 bpm, although most dancing is done to music somewhere between 160 and 220 bpm.^[4] The basic Salsa dance rhythm consists of taking three steps for every four beats of music.

Salsa dancing evolved as a dance to accompany salsa music which was popularized in the 1960s.^[5]

Originally a street dance, salsa dance steps came to be more formalized once schools began opening up teaching students how to dance salsa with a set curriculum. One of the early influential instructors in salsa was Eddie Torres, who helped to formalize the timing for New York-style salsa, and popularized the style around the world.

There is some debate surrounding the exact origins of the name "salsa". Some claim that it originated from something musicians shouted while they were playing their music to generate excitement.^[6] The term was popularized by the record label Fania Records to better market their music, and Fania founder Johnny Pacheco says he chose the word "salsa" because of its spicy and hot connotations.^[7] Whatever its origin, the term is fitting because salsa dancing and music is a mixture of different styles, just like salsa or "sauce" in Latin American countries is a mixture of different ingredients.Salsa is a partnered dance where the lead takes the follow through a series of spins and turn patterns to music. Salsa dancers can also break apart during a dance to dance solo, known as "shines".

There are two main styles of salsa: linear and circular.

In linear salsa, dancers remain in their "slot", switching places from one side of the slot to the other, similar to West Coast Swing. New York style salsa and LA style salsa are both danced in this fashion.

The second style of salsa is circular salsa, where the dancers circle around each other, reminiscent of East Coast Swing. Both Cuban style salsa and Colombian salsa follow this circular pattern.

Incorporating other dance styling techniques into salsa dancing has become very common for both men and women: shimmies, leg work, arm work, body movement, spins, body isolations, shoulder shimmies, rolls, even hand styling, acrobatics and lifts.

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