The dance is a fascinating study in body dynamics. Quoting Joanna Bosse, who conducted ethnographic research into Salsa...
One of the most difficult aspects of salsa dance to convey to newcomers is the distinctive counter-body motion—a product of a particular combination of knee, hip, and ribcage movements.
Generally, the basic position requires one bent knee while the other remains straightened, and the basic movement involves alternating bent and straight knees. This juxtaposition of one bent knee and one straightened knee causes a secondary response as the hip above the straight knee juts out slightly. Simultaneously, the ribcage moves in the direction of the bent knee, opposite the direction of the extended hip.
The position of the ribcage serves to balance the weight distribution of the extended hip. With each beat of the music, salsa dancers alternate bent and straight knees and direction of the ribcage, maintaining a level height (with little rise and fall or bobbing of the head) and a balanced center of gravity. Another secondary result of this motion (in addition to the hip movement) is that the arms move forward and back in small circles, following the direction of the ribcage and shoulders.
This combination of movements is very subtle and can be executed in a number of ways, depending upon other elements such as arm movement, posture, foot placement, and direction of knee movement; however, it was present to varying degrees among most, if not all, of the Latin American salsa dancers with whom I worked. This is not to say that all Latin Americans were great salsa dancers, but generally speaking this particular issue was not a problem. During my six years of fieldwork I never personally witnessed a salsa dancer specifically reference this aspect—the counter-body motion—in any way. They generally focused on the rhythm and placement of the footwork.
{and this is such an interesting observation...}
Though the Latin American salsa dancers I worked with understood that their hips were moving, their focal awareness was invested in the active engagement of the knees and virtuosic footwork.
In contrast, outsiders to the genre overlooked the complex interplay of body movements and singled out only the movement of the hips as the root of salsa’s energy and perceived sexual appeal. Many fixated on the hip movement and worked exclusively on its performance, forsaking the necessary footwork and knee and ribcage movements that actually make it possible. This movement was not a typical component of their movement dialect and as such, it was very difficult to master and became something upon which newcomers fixated. This fetishization of hip movement on the part of my informants who were new to salsa resulted, in part, from the fact that the requisite counter-body movement was not a typical component of their movement dialect.
References (Taken in whole from):
Joanna Bosse. "Salsa Dance and the Transformation of Style: An Ethnographic Study of Movement and Meaning in a Cross-Cultural Context." Dance Research Journal 40.1 (2008): 45-64.
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Article is excellent! Thanks for posting it.
I think you will really like that article. She views the way people move as a function of who they are, their gender, their culture and their past and present shared experiences. I too, really like the way she describes dance as an extension of language. Give it a read! I am uploading the PDFs in the post now.
I love the concept of "movement dialect".