If you watch a lot of Salsa shows, you will have noticed a trend emerging – The Salsa Fusion. This was definitely a novelty idea back in the day, but today you will barely find a Salsa show without some hip hop, contemporary, ballet, cabaret, acrobatics and the list goes on.  Actually, the hard part is finding a Salsa show without some fusion.

Now here is where it gets interesting part, Salsa by its very definition is a fusion. Its a mix mash of cuban and afro-cuban styles that developed into what we now call Salsa today. Now I love Salsa Fusion as much as the next Guy (In-fact probably more), I mean you have:

• Colombians who have combined acrobatics and tricks, dips, flips and unbelievable speed creating some of the most jaw dropping shows to ever hit the Salsa stage.
• Leon Rose and others have gone on to combine Salsa and Contemporary to produce hair-raising pieces that will leave you breathless.
• Nina and Zerjon, Fred and Marc just to name a few who have found the perfect balance of hip hop and Salsa that combines power and insane control that is just mesmerising to watch.
• Then you have the Swing Guys and Tropical Gem who have been fusing Salsa and other styles of dance for years.

These are just a few examples of people who have perfected the art of the Salsa fusion.

However what about a good old fashioned Salsa show? What does the future hold for Salsa in its ‘purest’ form? Is it dying before its even had a chance to grow as an art form in its own right? I hope not. Don’t get me wrong, everything has to evolve. Its the nature of the World we live in – Evolve or Die.

Salsa is such a young dance style and probably is not mature enough to be able to produce an endless amount of shows and performances that would keep peoples attention. I mean how many times can you see a cross body before you get bored and wanna see something else? However it definitely is a style that I hope we allow to grow and mature. So continue to appreciate the salsa show in its purest form as well as the Fusions. I think it still has some growing to do before it evolves completely.

Now to wrap up, I leave you with a NEW ‘old school’ style performance by my  favorite couple – Adolfo and Tania. This routine is subtly sublime for its simplicity and mambo style.