Those definitions are very different, so let’s review how people typically talk about salsa styles and how we might improve our vocabulary to be more accurate. Salsa timing: the counts or beats of music you dance to. Salsa style: the visual aesthetic a dancer creates or a structurally specific way to dance salsa – a linear vs rotational structure, for example. Now the culture of salsa is global, we have the internet and a more accurate vocabulary we can use. To start I’ll say historically it probably made sense to mix the ideas of style and timing when talking about salsa, especially because information was less accessible, but not anymore. The Difference Between Salsa Styles and Timing The way people talk about salsa dancing often mixes the ideas of salsa style and salsa timing, so I want to start by explaining the difference and then suggest a clearer way to talk about both. Cuban style salsa (properly known as Casino and Rueda de Casino).LA style salsa (Los Angeles style salsa).If you do a google search for different salsa styles you’ll probably see this list: Salsa Styles Comparison: LA, NY, Cuban, Colombian & Puerto RicanĪs the world’s most popular social dance, salsa dancing has evolved in different forms in different places, giving us a few distinct salsa dance styles that are all fun to dance.