Latin dancing is wildly popular throughout North and South America and has seen an explosion in its popularity here in the United States over the past ten years . Of the many dance styles that make up latin dancing, four dominate the U.S. dance scene: Salsa, Mambo, Bachata and Merengue. The Rumba, Cha Cha, Bolero and Samba are all latin inspired dances but are listed under the Ballroom heading (see Ballroom).
Salsa
The term Salsa refers to a fusion of informal dance styles having roots in the Caribbean (especially in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States), Latin and North America. The dance originated in Cuba through the mixture of Mambo, Danzón, Guaguancó, Cuban Son, and other typical Cuban dance forms. Salsa is danced to Salsa music. There is a strong Afro-Caribbean influence in the music as well as the dance. Salsa is usually a partner dance, although there are recognized solo steps and some forms are danced in groups of couples, with frequent exchanges of partner (Rueda de Casino). Improvisation and social dancing are important elements of Salsa but it appears as a performance dance too. The name "Salsa" is the Spanish word for sauce, connoting (in American Spanish) a spicy flavor. The Salsa aesthetic is more flirtatious and sensuous than its ancestor, Cuban Son. Salsa also suggests a "mixture" of ingredients, though this meaning is not found in most stories of the term's origin. See a video clip.
The history of "Salsa" dance is peppered with hearsay and contradiction. Although few would disagree that the music and dance forms originate largely in Cuban Son, most agree that Salsa as we know it today is a North American interpretation of the older forms. New York's Latino community had a vibrant musical and dancing scene throughout the '50s but found limited success with the 'Anglo' mainstream. In the 1970s, adoption of the term "Salsa" reduced the linguistic and cultural barriers to mainstream adoption of Latin music and dance. The modernization of the Mambo in the 1950s was influential in shaping what would become salsa. There is debate as to whether the dance we call Salsa today originated in Cuba or Puerto Rico. Cuba's influence in North America was diminished after Castro's revolution and the ensuing trade embargo. New York's Latino community was largely Puerto-Rican. Salsa is one of the main dances in both Cuba and Puerto Rico and is known world-wide.
The late Celia Cruz, hailed by many as the queen of Salsa, said that Salsa does not exist as a rhythm, but that it is rather an exclamation for music such as Guaracha, Bolero, Cha-cha-cha, Danzon, Son, Rumba, etc. The famous Latin composer and band leader Tito Puente also argued that there is no such thing as Salsa but only Mambo, Rumba, Danzon and Cha-cha-cha, etc.
According to the late David Melendez, one of the first organizers of the East Coast Salsa Congress and aSsalsa dancer in New York since the 1970s, the word 'Salsa' first referred to the music. The term was coined in the 1970s by young musicians like Hector Lavoe, Larry Harlow, Ray Baretto, Willie Colon, who wanted a different name for the kind of music they were playing. The term 'Salsa' was then popularized by Izzy Sanabria, owner of the Latin New York magazine, and Jerry Massuci, owner of Fania Records. Today, the term 'Salsa' as we know it, has become synonymous with the dance, yet the dance suffers a "crisis of authenticity" whereby dancers are perpetually disagreeing over what qualifies and does not qualify as "salsa". The dance steps currently being danced to Salsa music come from the Son, but were influenced by many other Cuban dances such as Mambo, Cha-cha-cha, Guaracha, Changuí, Palo Monte, Rumba, Abakuá, Comparsa and some times even Mozambique. Solo Salsa steps are called "Shines", a term taken from Tap dancing. It also integrates Swing dances. Salsa can be a heavily improvised dance, taking any form the interpreter wishes. Modern Salsa has elements of Jazz, Funk, Reggae, Hip-hop and Samba. Depending on what geographic area you reside in, you may be dancing Salsa On1, On2, Colombian style, Cuban style,
Dominican style, New York style (Eddie Torres) or even L. A. style! 
See a video clip
Salsa Dancing On1 and On2 compared
Dancing On2 means that the break step synchronizes with the accented slap of the tumbao, the pattern played on the conga drum(s), while the On1 break step synchronizes with the first beat of the measure. For this reason it is said On2 is more rhythmically oriented, whereas On1 is more melodically oriented. Note that commonly On2 starts the basic pattern with the lead moving back and the follow moving forward, while On1 the lead starts the basic step forward and follow steps back. While in closed frame, two partnered dancers can not be simultaneously dancing On1 and On2 respectively without causing injury to one another since the break steps are taken at different times. What's most important for the basic dancer is to be consistent and stay on the one or two. On1 is more popular internationally.
Salsa & Mambo Shines Footwork
Normally Salsa is a partner dance, danced in a handhold. However sometimes dancers include shines, which are basically "show-offs" and involve fancy footwork and body actions, danced in separation. They are supposed to be improvisational breaks, but there are a huge number of "standard" shines. Also, they fit best during the Mambo sections of the tune, but they may be danced whenever the dancers feel appropriate. They are a good recovery trick when the connection or beat is lost during a complicated move, or simply to catch the breath. One possible origin of the name shine is attributed to the period when non-Latin tap-dancers would frequent Latin clubs in New York in the 1950s. In tap, when an individual dancer would perform a solo freestyle move, it was considered their "moment to shine". On seeing Salsa dancers perform similar moves the name was transposed and eventually stuck, leading to these moves being called 'shines'.
Mambo
Mambo is a Latin dance of Cuban origin that corresponds to mambo music. It is rhythmically similar to the slower bolero, though it has a more complex pattern of steps. The saxophone usually sets the syncopated rhythm, while the other brass carries the melody. In the late 1940s, a musician named Perez Prado came up with the dance for the Mambo music and became the first person to market his music as "Mambo". After Havana, Prado moved his music to Mexico, and then New York City. Along the way, his style became increasingly homogenized in order to appeal to mainstream American listeners.
There were two forms of Mambo dance: single, which has been retained as modern Mambo, triple (also sometimes called double mambo), which is thought to be an origin of the Cha-cha-cha. Mambo is at the roots of the Salsa dance and is a part of the American Rhythm group of American Style ballroom dances. The rhythm of steps is unusual in comparison to most other dances. It can be counted as "quick-quick-slow", the first "quick" is on the beat 2 of the measure and the "slow" step crosses the boundary of the musical measure and performed on counts "4", "1".
Bachata
Bachata is a popular guitar music from the Dominican Republic. Now successful among Latinos in the United States, Bachata took shape over a period of about 40 years in the bars and brothels of Santo Domingo, not gaining acceptance in its native land until the late 1990s. Young groups like Bronx-based Aventura have a similar relationship to original bachata as rock and rollers do to the blues, which has languished in the shadow of its more commercially viable descendant. In fact, the parallel between bachata and the blues is marked. Although bachata developed out of, and bachateros play, a variety of different rhythms, notably including merengue, the music which is specifically called bachata is a variant of the bolero. The bolero in Latin culture has traditionally been a romantic music, dealing with themes like deception and lost love. The bachatero, like the bluesman, sings about pain and trouble; one difference, though, is that while the bluesman hops on a southbound freight and keeps moving, the bachatero gets as far as the neighborhood bar and looks for solace in a bottle of rum in a dark corner! See a video clip.
The basic footwork is a series of simple steps that produce a back and forth or sideways motion. A schematic footwork would be as follows: starting with the right foot make a chasse to the right on counts 1,2. On 3, touch the left toe beside your right foot (alternatively, tapping the left toe in place, i.e., apart from the right foot, make an upwards jerk with the left hip). Then do the same from your left foot. The character of the dance is achieved through sensual hip and body movements. You can also add turns to spice it up a little or dance closer together or far apart depending on how comfortable you are with your dance partner. The more you dance with someone the more likely you will be able to lead them or be led. Usually the male leads and the female follows. See a video clip
Merengue
Merengue was made the official music and dance of the Dominican Republic by Rafael Trujillo. Partners hold each other in a closed position. The man holds the woman's waist with his right hand while keeping his left hand/her right hand at the woman's eye level. The Merengue is a two-step beat requiring both partners to bend their knees slightly left and right. This in turn makes the hips move left and right. When danced correctly, the hips of the man and woman will move in the same direction throughout the song. Partners may walk sideways or circle each other, in small steps. They can further switch to a double handhold position and do separate turns without letting go each other's hands or momentarily releasing one hand. During these turns they may twist and tie their handhold into intricate pretzels. Other choreography is possible.
Some say it was derived from the "paso de la empalizada" (pole-fence step). There are also legends about a limping war hero (or El Presidente of a banana republic himself, in some versions) who had to step in this way while dancing because of wounds, and polite (or clueless) public imitated him.
Although the tempo of the music may be frantic, the upper body is kept majestic and turns are slow, typically four beats/steps per complete turn. In the social dancing of the United States the "empalizada" style is replaced by exaggerated Cuban motion, taught in chain ballroom studios for dances of Latin American origin (Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Mambo, Salsa).
Casino Rueda
Rueda (as it is commonly called in Cuba) is a form of Casino danced in a round with 2 or more couples exchanging partners when one person calls out the turn names. The calls are in Spanish, but you don't have to speak Spanish to understand the movements and participate. And you can dance this out at the clubs! ("Rueda" is Spanish for "Wheel" and "Casino" is known outside Cuba as "Salsa")
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