I am wanting to learn the colombian style salsa. I do not know if this is called cumbia or that is something else because I heard of something called Cali and I do not know what that is either. I am asking if anyone can recommend me some good colombian music for this colombian style of dancing.
Colombian Music
- Thread starter Ema
- Start date
Good choice. I think you will be hard pressed to find a school or teacher that will teach Colombian salsa, though. It just isn't that popular (unfortunately!).
Actually, there is one small school in Tokyo that teaches Colombian salsa. The teachers are Colombians, and I will go there for the first time next week to do some Cali salsa classes. I will let you know how it goes.. When you actually look at their schedule, the amount of classes that are actually for Colombian salsa is minimal (something like 4 classes in a week). The rest of the classes are for on1 and Cuban salsa. It again highlights how Colombian salsa has been in the backwaters a bit in terms of popularity and the amount of people actually dancing it in the clubs (other than Colombians).
I don't think cumbia is so hard to pick up. Your best bet is to try to go to a Latin club and dance with some Latinos if possible. If you do a search on this site you will find videos of cali (generally lots of fast footwork) ) and cumbia (generally slower and more rhythmical) style dancing. I can post the links again if you can't find them.
I would recommend some compilations to get you started with Colombian salsa music. And, to check out some of the top bands like Los Tupamaros, Los Titanes, Grupo Niche, Alberto Barros, Grupo Gale, and L-33. A little list to get you going （I am sure others will chip in):
Al Son De Los Cueros: 33 Hits De Salsa Cumbia, Sonora Carruseles
Tributo a La Salsa Colombiana (W/DVD), Alberto Barros (great DVD)
Rough Guide to Salsa Colombia (excellent and cheap!)
Heavy Salsa, Sonora Carruseles
Palos Salseros: Salsa Bombshells (cumbia and cali style)
Gozalo, La-33
Generally, you will also find that in the big salsa compliations there is always a fair selection of Colombian salsa songs by some of the above...
Good luck!
Actually, there is one small school in Tokyo that teaches Colombian salsa. The teachers are Colombians, and I will go there for the first time next week to do some Cali salsa classes. I will let you know how it goes.. When you actually look at their schedule, the amount of classes that are actually for Colombian salsa is minimal (something like 4 classes in a week). The rest of the classes are for on1 and Cuban salsa. It again highlights how Colombian salsa has been in the backwaters a bit in terms of popularity and the amount of people actually dancing it in the clubs (other than Colombians).
I don't think cumbia is so hard to pick up. Your best bet is to try to go to a Latin club and dance with some Latinos if possible. If you do a search on this site you will find videos of cali (generally lots of fast footwork) ) and cumbia (generally slower and more rhythmical) style dancing. I can post the links again if you can't find them.
I would recommend some compilations to get you started with Colombian salsa music. And, to check out some of the top bands like Los Tupamaros, Los Titanes, Grupo Niche, Alberto Barros, Grupo Gale, and L-33. A little list to get you going （I am sure others will chip in):
Al Son De Los Cueros: 33 Hits De Salsa Cumbia, Sonora Carruseles
Tributo a La Salsa Colombiana (W/DVD), Alberto Barros (great DVD)
Rough Guide to Salsa Colombia (excellent and cheap!)
Heavy Salsa, Sonora Carruseles
Palos Salseros: Salsa Bombshells (cumbia and cali style)
Gozalo, La-33
Generally, you will also find that in the big salsa compliations there is always a fair selection of Colombian salsa songs by some of the above...
Good luck!
DJ Ara
Son Montuno
Cumbia is a different rhythm, to the Afro-Cuban based music we know and love as salsa. Eventhough the Cumbia rhythm is salsa dance friendly, there is an actual and distinct way of dancing to it.
Ema said:
Cali is Colombia´s third city, and that is where I live.
This city is also known as the the World Salsa Capital. The salsa dancers of Cali have created their own style of salsa dancing which is very footwork oriented and very "street". Internationally, this style is simply referred to as "Cali Style".
You can see the Cali Style in the video clip I provided in the video clip section of this site, here:
http://www.salsaforums.com/showthread.php?t=15057
This was filmed during last December´s yearly international salsa festival, know as La Feria de Cali. Note, that the dancing during shows is much faster and more flamboyant than you would see in Cali´s night clubs and discotecas, where the dancing is compact and more intimate.
Ema said:
All you need for Cali style dancing is good salsa, specially the Classic genre of the 1970s, as that is what most dancers here in Cali dance too.
As far as good Colombian Orchestras are concerned then listening to the music of the following bands would be a good place to start. Check out, Grupo Niché, Grupo Galé, Fruko y sus Tesos, Latin Brothers, Orquesta Guayacan and Jimmy Saa.
There are many, many and I mean many more salsa artists in Colombia, but it will be easier for you to come across the music of the groups that I have listed here.
Cumbia is an indigenous dance, and is very simple in structure.. if you know Samba ,then the basic Whisk is the same as Cumbia, but more compact and modified, with same timing...
Cali style salsa is of an exrememly fast nature,, ther are e.g. on the net ( and somewhere on the vid. section here )
Some links for those who didn't find them:
Cali style salsa
youtube.com/watch?v=IEuhOR_Arh8
youtube.com/watch?v=oRDD9YTV8ts
youtube.com/watch?v=2_VjjJmao7I
Cumbia
youtube.com/watch?v=nlYl30Dqfc0&feature=fvst (basic steps, good series of instructional videos)
youtube.com/watch?v=EHg-YtrOZoY (like what you would see in the clubs)
Cali style salsa
youtube.com/watch?v=IEuhOR_Arh8
youtube.com/watch?v=oRDD9YTV8ts
youtube.com/watch?v=2_VjjJmao7I
Cumbia
youtube.com/watch?v=nlYl30Dqfc0&feature=fvst (basic steps, good series of instructional videos)
youtube.com/watch?v=EHg-YtrOZoY (like what you would see in the clubs)
DJ Yuca
Son Montuno
There is a school in London that teaches Colombian style salsa, however a salsa dancer from a style of salsa other than Colombian will also be able to dance to all/many Colombian tunes.
Also, as DJ Ara has pointed out, a lot of Colombian salsa dancers and music lovers are heavily into 'classic salsa' i.e. music from the US, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
This thread really set me off on a good foot when I started studying salsa music a few years ago, it should also be of considerable help to you:
http://www.salsaforums.com/showthread.php?t=5947
It contains the following list (although you are best off reading the whole thread):
To this list should be added Grupo Gale - Ven A Medellin and Volver Volver.
Not all the songs in the list are Colombian, but many of them are, and they are all tunes loved by Latin American salsa dancers.
Enjoy your investigations.
How does the columbian style differ from other styles? I have always wondered?
DJ Ara
Son Montuno
The Colombian Style places more emphasis on foot work. The upper body posture is straight and rigid in comparison to some of the other styles. Think as in(but not exactly) a Spanish bullfighter posture context, specially as far as the male partner is concerned.
The hip movements originate from the knees and not from the hips themselves.
When the Colombian style is performed in a competition or a show, it can be flamboyant, and that makes sense, because that is what such events are all about.
However, CALI Style dancing on a club dance floor does not have exaggerated arm movements and non-stop twists and turns, that by nature are out of "touch" with most music that is being played - outside of a dance show or competition context. So, on the club dance floor, the style is more compact than many (if not all) of its cousins. Most of the techniques are based on foot work. The turns and spins, whenever they happen, are done in a more compact manner than one can see internationally, and in accordance to the music being played, and not because the dancers "feel like it", or wants to show off how "good" (usually ending up meaning bad) they are. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but I am speaking generally.
Have a look at world Champions, Ricardo and Viviana.
youtube.com/watch?v=uaYR1iQGEw0
Here is another performance by unknowns in a club, I am guessing, somewhere in Europe.
youtube.com/watch?v=3qMXwuhwbs4&NR=1
There is a lot of "street" in what is shown here, and that is good, because that is where salsa has its origins. Authentic Cuban and Puerto Rican dancers will radiate the "street essence" in their own particular manner, as well.
This next one was filmed in a club in Cali. The music is pretty up beat. Even though there was a "performance" thrown in by a couple who were probably teachers, when they noticed the camera, you can still see a lot of ESSENCE, as it was not all out spins and turns, with no end. Notice their steps, and how the other dancers were dancing.
youtube.com/watch?v=1h3JGtd78Ao&feature=related
Anyway, different Latin cultures and different authentic styles make salsa dancing potentially a very rich experience.
