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Welcome to Rapture Salsa Dance Academy!
The very best salsa dance classes in Perth , Western Australia
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GROUP COURSES & WORKSHOPS PRIVATE LESSONS GIFT CERTIFICATES
PERFORMANCES / EXHIBITIONS SALSA D.J.
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Founded in 2001, this professional dance school prides itself on being the school of choice for SALSA. You can be assured that ALL LESSONS are conducted by Principal & Founder, Chris De Souza who pioneered Los Angeles Style Salsa here in Perth and has trained extensively with personal instruction from the best salsa dancers in the world.
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Check out the " classes " page for the latest salsa classes catering for all levels from beginners to advance. The fully structured 8 week courses and private one-on-one lessons are recommended if you are serious about mastering this sizzling hot dance.
Private customized group classes is also offered for every occasion. Salsa lessons from wedding dances to corporate and social club events. Classes can be held at the studio or I can visit you. Please call to discuss your needs. Dance workshops in latin dances Cha - Cha, Bachata and Merengue are also regularly conducted.
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How I Started Dancing Salsa
After being asked countless times, I’ve decided to tell my story. Here are the facts for those of you who haven’t been around the salsa scene for very long and unaware but curious of the history of how I started dancing. Hope you find it entertaining and inspiring!
I was dragged to a salsa club one fateful night in late 2000 by a friend after languishing at home after a bad relationship break-up. “Salsa, what is that I said to my friend? It’s a dip isn’t it”? I walked through those doors and was instantly overwhelmed by that sweet sexy music, oozing passion and energy with every note and mesmerized by what the dancers were doing on the floor. It was like I was struck by a bolt of lightning. I was awakened. I was hooked.
So for about 2 months or so I searched very carefully for an instructor to properly introduce to me this beautiful dance we call Salsa. In the mean time I was doing all I could to educate myself on the history, various styles and evolution of this genre of dance. I needed an instructor to inspire me. Someone who’s very moves on the floor would excite me to yell out “I want HIM to be my instructor, I want to dance like him”!
And so it happened.
One night as I stood by the bar blissfully enjoying that seductive music but once again frustrated, as I was forced to be a non-participant of the euphoria the dancers were enjoying on the dance-floor, I noticed the dancers were beginning to clear away for a couple who were attracting a lot of attention. As the crowds parted, the couple emerged. She - was a good dancer, HE - was outstanding! His moves were refined, crisp and smooth. He did out-of-this-world moves I’ve never seen before. They danced like it was their last chance to ever dance again! I was aw-struck. People around them cheered. He had them in the palm of his hand. Then I said it, “I want HIM to be my instructor, I want to dance like him”!
His name is Nicco Kuc, who in my opinion was the best salsa dancer in Perth at the time and unfortunately now resides in Melbourne. Like me, he quit his job and is now a professional dancer and promoter, well respected in the dancing circles over there. To this day, I am proud to say that Nicco Kuc is the gentleman who taught me to dance salsa and help me lay the foundation to a successful dance career by fanning the flames that were already rapidly spreading! Happy to say we’ve been friends ever since.
And that, my friends, is how I began this wonderful journey. When Nicco left Perth, I travelled overseas to do private lessons and classes with the some of the best salsa dancers in the world today like Alex Da Silva , Edie “The Salsa Freak” Lewis, James Cobo and Italian salsa group Tropical Gem - to name a few of my favourite dancers. It’s a constant learning process and I’m always discovering new things about the dance and the music. Hopefully, YOU have been bitten by the proverbial salsa bug and on the verge of starting this trip. Come away with me and allow me to share this pure passion with you. As I've always said
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“ The Music Will Seduce You, The Dance Will Possess You”!Chris De Souza
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His mission statement is:
" To lift the level of salsa dancing in Perth to international standard as well as raising the profile of the dance by spreading the word of salsa through the sharing of knowledge and beauty of this dance "
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LATEST CLASSES
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STYLES OF SALSA
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L.A. Style Salsa (Dancing "On 1")
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Developed in recent years (some say between 1999 and 2002), this is a style of salsa much influenced by Hollywood and by the swing & mambo dances, thus being the most flashy style.
L.A. style salsa, usually danced "On 1", is a flashier version of New York style salsa moves. Dancers use lots of dips, flips, drops and tricks which make for a great show to watch. The back and forth Mambo basic, again in a linear motion, is utilized with the leader breaking forward on 1. Because the dominating beat is the 1 beat which is the most accented beat in the series, the dancing looks and feels powerful and fast. L.A. style salsa has incorporated many other types of dancing including jazz, hip hop, and ballroom which is challenging for the dancers and entertaining for the viewers. Similar to the New York style salsa, many of the moves are created from cross body lead variations. Shines are an important component of this type of salsa with complicated, speedy footwork and jazzy moves.
Francisco Vazquez, along with his two brothers, Luis and Johnny, are widely credited with developing the LA style of salsa. Francisco taught both of his brothers how to dance and all of them went on to become famous worldwide through their unique style of dancing. Francisco Vazquez, along with his brother Johnny, founded "Los Rumberos" Dance Company (http://www.rumberos.com) at the start of their career, which is still the leading dance company in Los Angeles. Luis Vazquez, along with then Joby Vazquez (now Joby Martinez) founded Salsa Brava Dance Company, which was another leading dance company in Los Angeles for many years. Johnny Vazquez went on to become a great salsa champion and performer. He moved to Valencia, Spain, in 2002 and also founded his own dance company called "Imperio Azteca" (http://www.johnnyvazquez.com). Luis Vazquez and another acclaimed L.A. Style dancer, Melissa Fernandez, are now directors of "Mas Salsa Brava," and have moved to Lugano, Switzerland due to business aspects.
Other people who also helped create L.A. Style as we know it are, Rogelio Moreno (http://www.salsaborycache.com), Alex Da Silva (http://www.alexdasilva.com), Joby Martinez (http://www.jobybrava.com), Liz Lira (http://www.lizlira.com), Josie Neglia (http://www.latindance.com) and many others. Tony Cordero and Robert Menache helped spread the influence of the LA style to Long Beach and Orange County.
The reasons why L.A. Style of salsa is so well-known around the world are widely disputed. But what has helped largely has been the broadcast of competition video clips from the Mayan World Salsa Championships on the Club Mayan website (http://www.clubmayan.com). Every year, competitors from many parts of the United States and the world come together to challenge each other in this competition. Before moving to Europe, Johnny Vazquez was the reigning king of the Mayan competitions; he was practically unbeatable as he surpassed all other competitors with his skilled dancing and precise spins. Since then, however, the results of the competition have not been endorsed by many and the competition has lost validity, but it remains, nonetheless, one of the biggest competition in the world.New York Style Salsa (Dancing "On 2", Mambo Salsa, Eddie Torres Style)
Salsa on 2, commonly referred to as "Mambo", is a style of salsa first introduced by Eddie Torres in New York in the 1960s. Technically speaking, dancing "On 2" refers to the beat the dancers break forward on. Followers will break forward with the left foot on the 2 and leaders will break forward on the 6. New York style salsa is distinguished by smooth, controlled, highly technical movements that are elegant, graceful, flow well and are not rushed. The style is very linear and many of the turn patterns evolve from cross body lead variations. Multiple spins, complicated footwork, Afro Cuban body movement and shines are a must. Dancing "On 2" is rhythmically more difficult as it is easier to hear the 1 beat and break on this beat. Many dancers learn to dance "On 1" first and then train "On 2" as they feel it is more musically and rhythmically rich and complex.
Puerto Rican Style Salsa
Puerto Rican style salsa can be danced "On 1" or "On 2". If you are dancing Puerto Rican style "On 2" dancing, it is opposite from New York style in the sense that the leader breaks forward on 2 instead of the follower (can be called "On 6"). Some say that shines originated in Puerto Rico as these dancers would break away from their partners and execute extremely fast and complicated solo footwork. The lines are very clean and there are a great deal of shoulder shimmies incorporated into the dancing. There is an emphasis on dancing to the "Clave" especially the 2/3 clave (pa-pa, pa-pa-pa). In fact Felipe Polanco, one of the pioneers of Puerto Rican salsa, has created a unique basic that compliments the uneven 5 beat dance which incorporates a sliding forward and back motion that hits the accents of the clave.
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Cuban Style Salsa
Cuban salsa style is most similar to the original form of salsa rooted in Cuba . It is characterized by Afro Cuban style body movement which includes body isolation and hip movement. Cuban style salsa does not have many fast spins. Instead the movement is very circular as opposed to linear and partners tend to travel around each other. The hip movement is more noticeable in this style and stems from the pumping of the knees. The footwork is quite simple - the complexity lies in the arm work which requires the follower to have limber, flexible arms. Cuban style salsa is considered "male dominated" in the sense that the leader tends to be more showy and will create a greater push/pull feel for the follower then many other styles. Most Cuban style dancers tap on the pauses which are on the 4 th and 8 th beats if the dancers dance on 1. However, Cuban style salsa dancers do not always stay on the 1 beat and tend to stray depending on where the music takes them.
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Casino Rueda Style Salsa (Rueda de Casino, Salsa Rueda)
Casino Rueda (meaning salsa wheel) is a group dance which originated in Havana , Cuba in the 1960s by a group called Guaracheros de Regla. In this dance, couples dance in a circle while one dancer, designated as "The Caller", provides hand signals or calls out the moves which will be executed by every couple in the circle simultaneously. Many of the Casino moves involve swapping or switching partners which makes the dance tricky to execute and spectacular to watch. Rueda is very popular in Cuba and Miami and has gained popularity all over the world. Cuban Rueda tends to be more playful with easy to follow fun moves while Miami Rueda has many complicated turn patterns and requires memorization and skill to execute. Many callers will know anywhere from 150-300 moves so memory, speed and accuracy is a key to ensuring the circle is not broken. The advantage of learning Casino Rueda is that all moves learned in the Rueda circle can be danced one on one with a partner adding to a dancer's repertoire of moves.
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Miami Style Salsa (Classico Cubano, Casino)
Miami style salsa evolved from the Cuban style of salsa but is a more difficult and technically advanced style of Cuban salsa. Advanced Miami salsa moves tend to be intricate and pretzel-like and require a flexible follower to execute the moves. Many of the Miami moves are the same as Casino Rueda moves and the style is still more circular than linear. Open breaks or the Guapea basic (leader and follower break back and then push off eachother) with a tap are the most common basic steps in Miami style salsa. Cross body lead variations are common but are executed in a more circular fashion
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Colombian Style Salsa (Cumbia)
Colombian style salsa began in Columbia and is danced to a different type of salsa music called "Cumbia" which is similar to the salsa rhythm but has a longer pause between the first three and the last three beats. It is rare to find a Cumbia instructional class as most people who dance this style were taught by family and friends. The style is still quite popular in South/Latin America and can be distinguished by a circular style of open/side breaks with a tap on the pauses of 4 and 8. Feet never move forward and backwards as in the Mambo step. Instead, the movement is a series of back to centre or side to centre footsteps. The style has very little turn patterns and is generally not a fast or "showy" style. Instead most Cumbia dancers will hold their partner very close with their entire bodies touching from head to toe. If turns are involved, they are generally very simple rock step left turns.
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Millenium Style Salsa
Original LA style dancers, husband and wife team, Al, Liquid Silver Espinoza and Edie, The Salsa FREAK created a unique style of Salsa called Millennium Style around 2001. This style is a combination of Hip Hop, Pop-Locking and Los Angeles style salsa. It emphasizes focusing your dance and body movements to hits and breaks within the music, rather than just specific timing. Millennium Style emphasizes tighter footwork, enhanced hip and body movements, and shortened to negligible energy and space-saving steps.
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Salsa Shines
Shines refer to solo work when the leader breaks away from the follower and each dancer has the opportunity to freestyle on their own to the rhythm and accents of the salsa music. Shines involve more complex footwork as well as body movement and arm work. Shines are common in the New York , L.A. and Puerto Rican styles of dancing. They are not as common in the Cuban, Miami and Columbia styles of dancing. The term "shines" originally referred to having the opportunity to "shine" independently. Shines give dancers an opportunity to take a break from partner work and turn patterns and freestyle. There are many common shines such as Suzy Qs and flares but every dancer has their own unique and individual movements which allows dancers to be constantly challenged.
Salsa Styling
Incorporating styling techniques into any style of salsa has become very common. For both men and women shines, leg work, arm work, body movement, spins, body isolations, shoulder shimmies and rolls, and even hand styling have become a huge trend in the salsa scene. There are lessons dedicated to the art of salsa stylin'. Hip hop, jazz, flamenco, belly dancing, ballroom, breakdancing/pop and lock, and Afro Cuban styles have all be infused into the art of styling.