Colombian Salsa is a style of salsa dancing that is found almost exclusively in Colombia. It is characterized by fast footwork and acrobatic lifts. We often incorporate Colombian steps into our routines add flavor. Since almost no one outside of Colombia dances Colombian salsa, it is one of our distinct trademarks and competitive advantages.

5.0 – Basic Colombian Step

• The basic Colombian step is a double back break, similar to Cumbia
• Colombian salsa is typically danced On1, but we dance it On2. Break back on the 2 and 6 counts
• Emphasize the knees

5.1 – Kicks

• One of the key characteristics of Colombian salsa are the kicks
• The kick comes starts from a bent knee, which is then extended and pulled in towards the body
• Focus more on the pulling “in” motion rather than kicking “out”
• In the basic step, the kicks fall between the beats 1 & 2 and 5 & 6 (the kicks happen on the “&s”)

5.2 – Cha Cha Step

• Cha chas can be added into the basic step to make it look faster
• Again, focus on bending the knees as you do the cha cha
• When moving rapidly, the feet don’t have to leave the ground, just shift your weight

5.3 – Twitch

• The twitch creates the illusion of moving very fast without moving at all
• Keep one leg straight and the other knee bent, then buckle the straight leg and straighten it again
• Try to keep your heel on the ground and don’t move your upper body, isolate the knee movement

5.4 – More Kicks

• Anytime that the knee bends, it can be turned into a kick by extending the leg
• There are 10 steps in the basic (with cha cha) so there are potentially up to 10 kicks in one 8-count of basics
• In our routine we will aim for 4 kicks (no kicks on the cha cha)