Salsa The term Salsa in Spanish means sauce. Most of us think of the hot and spicy tomato-based dip found in restaurants, however, we in the dance world think of it as a fast Latin dance that originated from Cuba. The Salsa is danced on the 1 beat of the music and is a spot dance that will not move around the room. Salsa has more of a free-flowing style that consists of several turns and crossbody leads. Many people lump all Latin dances into the word Salsa dancing , but you might want to learn a few other dances like: Mambo, Merengue, Cha Cha and Bachata if you are going to go Salsa dancing. More Info below.