By Julie Dean Kessler

You look into your partner’s eyes and the air fairly crackles with anticipation. You reach for each other, the irresistible beat begins, and you are dizzily, happily engaged in the Latin dance that is muy caliente – very hot.

Salsa!

Sensuous and all-out energetic, salsa has poured plenty of spice onto America’s renewed appetite for dancing.

Humankind’s urge to bust a move has apparently been hot-wired into our DNA: drumbeats at campfires; stately minuets; giddy Charlestons; scandalous rock ‘n’ roll and much more. Any lulls in the “gotta-dance” psyche seem to be followed by innovation.

Salsa is all about innovation. In fact there’s lively debate about just what it is, and where it came from. From Afro-Caribbean to Puerto Rican influences, its birthright is diverse. Many agree it evolved in the ‘60s from the Cuban mambo, rhumba, and cha-cha-cha, at first loosely derivative of all of them, then coalescing into its own distinct flavor. Salsa means “sauce” in Spanish – and there’s undeniable sauciness in the moves.

Beach Coast Dancers Love Salsa
By the time ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance” sashayed into primetime, the Latin beats beckoned to folks who began to think maybe they, too, could move like that. But in a dance where six steps are executed over eight counts of music, do you swivel that hip on the first or second beat?

Not to worry.

“You can do it,” assures Michele Brown, owner of Eclipse Performing Arts Center in Valparaiso, where professional instructors take you through every little saucy step. You can also hoof it over to United Dance Arts in Valparaiso for some lessons.

As for celeb-studded TV series, shows like “Dancing with the Stars” “absolutely have generated interest,” says Brown. “The contestants have been football stars and other people who haven’t danced, and people watching think, ‘Wow, I could do that.’ ”

“Those shows have a huge impact,” agrees Bethany Nelson, dance instructor at Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Merrillville, noting business has jumped, with salsa a big attraction.

“It piques everyone’s interest, of all ages,” says Brown.

Um, yes, but why? Given the come-hither swivels, it might seem obvious. But Nelson says there are a variety of reasons, “depending on the person’s age and background. Sometimes they’re going on a trip, for business or pleasure, and they want to be able to dance well … and salsa is one of the most popular dances.”

Back to the swivel factor, please. “We get a lot of single gentlemen who think if they can do some hot salsa dancing, they can win the heart of some nice lady,” says Nelson.

And apparently it works. Dave Tison of Valparaiso signed up to learn salsa because a woman he was dating at the time enjoyed the dance, “so I took lessons.” That relationship faded, but he’s been in another relationship for quite a while now, with a lady he got to know … because he danced the salsa with her.

“Dancing is great,” the 47-year-old Tison says, “when you’re out with your friends, or meeting new people. And salsa – it’s fun, that’s for sure.”

Strut Your Stuff
OK, you’ve learned the hottest dance out there – but where do you show off your new talent?

“It depends on how far you’re willing to travel,” says Nelson. One of the Chicago dance clubs is Rhumba; every Saturday night they have Latin dances including salsa.

Closer to home in Northwest Indiana, you can step lively the first Sunday of the month at USA Dance Lakeshore Chapter at The Ranch in Crown Point. At the Hobart Elks Lodge, salsa gets even more time on the dance floor.

“It’s exotic, it’s exciting,” says Brown. “People think, ‘ooh, that’s spicy – I want to learn that.’”

Arthur Murray Dance Studio
1205 W. Lincoln Hwy.
Merrillville, IN  46410
(219) 738-9011
www.arthurmurrays.net

Eclipse Performing Art Center
160 Rail Road
Chesterton, IN  46304
(219) 728-1490
www.chestertondance.com

Elks Lodge
3580 W. 61^st Avenue
Hobart, IN  46342-6400
(219) 942-6400

The Ranch
769 Madison Avenue
Crown Point, IN  46307-8210
www.usadancelakeshore.org

United Dance Arts
555Morthland Drive
Valparaiso, IN  46383
(219) 617-0725
www.uniteddancearts.com

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