Is LA style on its way out?

September 12, 2005

Below is an excerpt from a Salsa chat board at Salsa Mafia under the subject heading "Is LA style on its way out?". I decided to place this exchange several days after the exchange because of a different but somewhat related conversation with Johnny.

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Del Salsero -

« on: 12/09/2005 15:09:55 »

Have you seen the article? by Jane Cahane. This subject is on one of the schedule Salsachat shows to be spoken about under PREFERNCE IN DANCE STYLES. Now i think this subject or topic on Cuban & Cross Body, La on 1 on2 etc has made Salsa a very diverse practise from years ago where people didnt worry about their dance style, they just knew Salsa.

I am gong to our Station programing team today to get Salsachat the monthly Salsa talk radio show put on as an extension of our normal chat show on Sundays 2pm-4pm, so every end of the month (last Sunday) We will talk live about the topic above & other Salsa related stuff.

I am working in colaboration on some things with Lee Knights of Londonsalsascene.

If i get clearence from programing staff which am sure one would , (so long as you are in favour) i will Keep Dean Maynard to come on, also bring Jane Cahane, & a GOOD Cuban dance teacher representative & lets all (dont worry about your voice being reconised on the phonelines TT done it & he sounded cool ) talkabout it live, opinions what you think, is La losing the plot, i liked Cuban so much at one time, dont get me wrong, i still do, but untill i saw Super Mario dance on a regular & other cross body lead good dancers, crossbody was it for me.

If you want Salsachat talkradio to talk about it then let me know what you think, because am sure our programing team will give us the 2 hours rather than the Thursday night shows, but if we are going to hide, when they authorise it then our regular chatshow listeners will get peed off as their is always great chat for them, it also might teach them about how we deal with our great Salsa issues.

Have a look

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Freddy -

« Reply #1 on: 12/09/2005 15:45:53 »

I hate to labour a point, but

Why Why Why, do people think that Dancing Cross Body On1 is LA,
it just shows that a little knowledge can do a lot of damage,

I dance Cross Body On1 and I love Cross Body On1

"I DO NOT DANCE LA"

Before people start writing articles, please find out about the dance before
mis- educating Salsero's

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Me -

« Reply #4 on: 12/09/2005 20:20:12 »

This forum is the only place I know of that uses the phrase "dancing cross body lead on-1" whereas many people in the world seem satisfied with LA style, NY style, Cuban style and Columbian style with subcategories within, offshoots of, or fusions between those four to distinguish most styles of salsa with "international" following.

So, who is responsible for the term "dancing cross body lead-on-1" (which I admit is descriptive enough to let me guess that the person is dancing what many people would consider LA style or a subgenre - although I could be pigheaded and say "cross body lead = Dile que no, ergo maybe they mean Cuban style on-1" or say "this person may be using routines that start with cross body lead and maybe reverse cross body but not open break"). Why should this term be considered definitive (well… as definitive as it can get with salsa, which isn't much)?

I also would like to know about the "damages" and "mis-education" caused by using LA style as something of a catchall phrase. Please educate me.

On a different but not completely unrelated topic, is Pluto a planet?

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Freddy -

« Reply #6 on: 13/09/2005 01:14:29 »

The LA style gained popularity with the rise of SalsaBrava and the Vasquez brothers, at the time, they were the most popular On1 dancers and since the arrival of global Congressos, promoters invite them and provided the label of LA (to the Cross Body On1 Workshops), this label has stuck BIG TIME.

now everyone is attaching the label of LA to CBL "On1"

LA has a distintive look which you either love or hate,
In case you didn't notice, I fall into the category of not being a big fan
of the style, I like watching dancers like the Vasquez brothers and Al De Silva perform, but they do not inspire me to move like them,
its a personal thing as I have friends that really love it.

I visited LA in 1997 and danced there for a few weeks, I also visted Germany and Italy, I danced Cross Body On1 in all those countries and know my experience of dancing crossbody On1 in Germany and Italy was a lot better, they danced it On1 with a Puerto Rican style, the leads was more about connection with your partner than about cheorography as the LA Style felt at the time.

Even in London where we dance "On1" a lot of the top instructors that teach Cross Body On1 are more influenced by New York On2 dancing, than they are LA.