Rock it, salsa style!

The recent India Fiesta Latina attracted a worldwide crowd to New Delhi last month. As one of the biggest salsa events in Asia, Fiesta Latina brought together instructors and artists from over 40 countries, including Malaysia, UAE, Qatar, Singapore, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Germany, Spain and Poland. 

Salsa, wildly popular throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States, is mostly performed with a partner.  It is a fun dance form, often sensual and flirtatious, and has easy, yet enjoyable, steps performed to popular songs.  The catchy beats and rhythmic footwork have helped promote the popularity of this dance.  Given the fast pace of the dance, salsa may appear complicated to beginners. However, in actuality it does not take too long to learn the style.  Often, a few sessions with a good instructor will get you in the groove. 

Salsa is also considered to be a superb way of maintaining fitness since it is a fast-paced and highly energetic dance form.  It’s a great aerobic exercise that promotes flexibility and reduces stress.  Today, many movie stars are including this dance form in their routine fitness schedule.


The phenomenon of salsa dancing in India has been just over a decade in the making.  Salsa started gaining popularity here in the late nineties, and there are now many salsa training centers in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. People of all ages, from youngsters to older people, are finding salsa thoroughly enjoyable. In recent years, a new trend has emerged where children and youth are taking admission in the dance schools as they then try to shine on television shows such as Dance India Dance or at a weekend party to impress friends and family. There is even growing interest among couples to include salsa dances and performances in their pre-wedding parties.


Trends indicate that salsa can be a viable career option in India.  Salsa dancers are already in great demand.  There are hundreds of schools in India’s major cities and more schools and teachers are coming up to help satisfy a fast-growing demand for this dance form.