It was mainly developed by Dominicans and Puerto Ricans in New York between the ’60s and ’70s. Salsa is a Latin dance that originated in the 1960s and combines Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican dances. Many salsa lovers are opening doors to new opportunities for social life. It is one of the most popular Latin dances in the World. Salsa dance is very energetic, fun, and sensual. Salsa dance is a popular Latin dance that many people across the World enjoy. Cumbia music has continued to develop over time, adding new instruments such as trumpets, Caja drums, clarinets, saxophones, synthesizers, and trombones. Traditional cumbia music instruments include flutes, drums, and other wind instruments, ouds, guitars, and percussion instruments, like the maracas. The exact sound of cumbia music varies from country to country due to regional differences.Ĭumbia music is highly influenced by Spanish, African, and Native American culture and music. Modern cumbia music emphasizes a variety of musical instruments like piano, bongo drums, and others. Cumbia music is very popular in South America, Central America, and Mexico. If you are familiar with Salsa dance, you won’t have any issues learning Cumbia quickly.Ĭumbia music originated in Columbia in 1800. The basics steps are very simple, and you can learn them very quickly. Here is an excellent example of the basic Cumbia dance steps presented by “How 2 Dance”:Ĭumbia is relatively easy to learn. When dancing with a partner, the lead goes back with the left leg, and the follower goes back with the right leg. The basic side-to-side steps are very similar to Salsa steps. Counts are also the same as with Salsa by pausing on 4 and 8 (1-2-3 pause and 5-6-7 pause). The rhythm in Cumbia dance is the same as with Salsa. A “wind-up” motion that characterizes Cumbia is often danced in a circular pattern sometimes called the Columbian or Cumbia circle basic.Ĭumbia is closely related to Swing dance because many similar steps are found in these dance styles.īasic Cumbia steps go quick-quick-slow and quick-quick-slow. The basic steps in Cumbia dancing are the back-break basic. It is possible to dance Cumbia to Salsa music but not other way around because beats are too quick and pauses are too long to feel natural dancing Salsa to Cumbia music.Ĭumbia dance and music are very popular worldwide but not as much as Salsa is. Cumbia music has similarities with Salsa and music. That was a great experience.Ĭumbia is a music and dance style that originates from the Columbian Caribbean coastal town of San Basilio.Ĭumbia music is often called the mother of all Latin music because it influenced other Latin musical genres. We have danced basic Salsa moves and quickly transitioned into basic Cumbia moves. One of my dance instructors has taught us to combine basic Salsa moves with basic Cumbia moves. It goes quick-quick-slow and quick-quick-slow and 1-2-3 pause, 4-5-7 pause. Also, the rhythm and step counts are the same. As with Salsa, the lead steps back with the left leg, and the follower steps back with the right leg. However, Cumbia and Salsa have many similarities.
Cumbia is a more relaxed dance style, but Salsa is more popular across the World. It is easier to find the beat in Cumbia music.
What is the difference between Salsa and Cumbia? Cumbia is a bit slower than Salsa dance. In this article, I will shed some light and address the main differences between Salsa and Cumbia. It is not uncommon that people can’t identify the differences between some dance styles. There are many Latin dance styles, and they are all unique and beautiful in their ways.