Salsa Articles

There are a lot of questions and myths out there around the difference between salsa on 1 and on 2, so we’ve collected the facts here for you.

We hope this article will allow you to have more educated conversations on salsa timing, and help you decide which timing you enjoy more. It’s OK to love both!

Before we dive in, here’s some quick background…

On1 salsa timing is commonly known as L.A. style, which, in the past, has often focused on sharp hits in the music and flashy moves.

On2 salsa timing is commonly known as New York style. While the old school Paladium-era dancers danced On2 to beats 2-3-4, 6-7-8, the most common way of dancing On2 these days is called “Modern Mambo,” danced to beats 1-2-3, 5-6-7 (the same beats as On1). Modern Mambo was popularized by Eddie Torres and is known for its more sauve feel and complex turn patterns.

Let’s dig in and find out why these timings look and feel different.

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In the fast-paced world we live in, we want everything immediately and too often this spills over into how we learn, leading us to glaze over the fundamentals and not reach our salsa dancing potential.

The problem is that there’s a misconception with fundamentals. People get antsy when they work on basics, they want to progress faster, “I’m ready to move on!” they say. But when you move on so quickly, not nurturing the foundation you’re building, you hit an upper limit, a ceiling. Read more →