Genres & focal dance styles
Performers from our professional show team showcasing salsa at the third Johannesburg Afro-Latin Festival, 2020
Salsa
A globally practiced partner dance rooted in Afro‑Cuban forms (such as son, rumba, mambo) and further shaped in mid‑20th‑century New York by jazz and social‑dance influences. It features a three‑steps‑over‑four‑beats rhythm, turn patterns, and either linear “slot” styles (e.g. NY, LA) or circular forms (Cuban, Colombian). Dancers often break for solo “shines,” and use body isolations and spins; social salsa thrives in clubs and festivals worldwide and is constantly evolving.
Brazilian samba dancer (‘passista’), Leigh, at Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, during a Christmas season show
Brazilian Samba
An Afro‑Brazilian music‑dance tradition with 2/4 rhythms, samba thrives as a community‑rooted, living Black cultural expression across Brazil. Originating primarily in Bahia and flourishing in Rio de Janeiro, it features vibrant percussion, call‑and‑response, and social participation. In Rio, samba becomes a vast public celebration at Carnaval, with escolas de samba parading music, dance, and storytelling that reflect community identity and heritage.
Social dancers Riyaadh and Tarryn enjoying bachata at a studio social event
Social dancers Maher and Nadou enjoying kizomba at a studio social event
Bachata
A partner dance and music genre from the Dominican Republic (1960s), bachata blends influences of bolero, son, and merengue into guitar‑led, lyrically expressive songs and a grounded, connected social dance. Evolving from local barrios to global scenes, it now spans traditional Dominican styles and modern interpretations, yet retains its core themes of connection and storytelling through rhythm and melody.
Kizomba
An Angolan partner dance from the late 1970s–80s, grounded in semba with zouk influence. Danced in close connection with smooth, grounded steps and expressive ginga, it’s often likened to an “African tango” for its embrace and dialogue‑like lead‑follow. Kizomba grew in community and family settings through the civil‑war era, where social gatherings kept the music and dance alive despite hardship; it remains central to Angolan cultural life and a global social‑dance staple.
Reggaeton
A street‑born dance aligned with a music genre that began in late‑1980s Panama and grew in 1990s Puerto Rico. Movement centers on the dembow beat, blending hip‑hop grooves with Afro‑Caribbean isolations and grounded steps; vocabulary ranges from freestyle to choreography. The music’s lineage spans reggae en español, dancehall, and hip‑hop, and is now mainstream across the Americas and beyond