The Hold and the Moves

There is always a small gap between the partners, unless they're doing merengue - then they are very, very close. The man's right hand holds the woman in the small of her back, palm flat. Her left arm is at ninety degrees, palm up, and the woman's left hand lies flat on it.

The upper body hardly moves, no singing shoulders, they just flow. All the singalling and rapport comes through the arms. The hips move automatically as a result of the shift of body weight from one side to the other with the knee bent.

Basic Salsa steps

The pattern is eight steps, four to each foot, regardless of the dance sstyle. The woman stands in front of the man - always a mirror image of him. The first step is on the spot, a tap or a pause, "on the one", then the nationalities divide at "the break" on the second beat.

Cubans pause, then move backwards away from each other, pushing away by the palms of their hands.

Colombians do a kick or skip.

New Yorkers move forward.

Merengue

Merengue moves at a tremendous speed with a lot more movement than in salsa. It's a sideways dance - left, right, left, right - with just two basic steps to match the rigid 2/4 beat, but that can be interrupted with forward moves.

Cumbia

The couples hold each's hands out to the side, around waist level, and there is a lot of hip movement, with the upper body stiff. Cumbias have three steps, two with one leg, one with the other. The solid 2/4 beat is repeated like merengue. It is a fleet-footed, skipping dance.