The salsa has come to Martin and it is hot and spicy. No, it’s not the salsa you get at La Cabana; it’s the dance that is fun and sexy.

The Salsa, the Cha-Cha and the Merengue were taught by guest artist, Ethan Pullman, on March 6 and 7. Students came to one or both sessions to learn the basic techniques in the three different styles of dance.

It is hard to define where the salsa originated, but it has a Latin and Afro-Caribbean origin. It is a very popular dance in New York and in other Spanish nightclubs throughout the country. The Cha-Cha originally came from the Mambo, but was further developed around 1954 when people started adding a triple step. The dance then became its own and is now known as the Cha-Cha. The Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic.

The dance classes would not have been successful if it weren’t for the man with the moves. Ethan Pullman traveled all the way from Pittsburgh to teach what he has loved for the past twenty years. “My friends and I would get together and have a salsa party. We would bring food, and dance all night,” Pullman said. “I watched television and taught myself the different dance moves.”

He came to the United States from Palestine when he was around 14 as an exchange student. During college at the University of Pittsburgh, he was exposed to the different dances. “I took jazz, ballet, modern. I would take any dance class that I could in order to better my dance abilities,” he said.

Pullman currently teaches Arabic at the University of Pittsburgh where he received a degree in Public & International Affairs.

Lucas Jones, a Secondary Education major at UTM, attended the Monday night class. “It was fun to learn dances from a different culture,” he said.

If you are interested in learning how to salsa, visit www.salsamagazine.com.