Salsa dancing: exploring ethnic and gender performances in heteronormative and queer spaces

Salsa is one of the most popular forms of Latin Dance practiced among multiethnic communities across the United States since its introduction in the mid-20th century. Its development has resulted in conversations around dance, culture, embodiment and sexual expression. Dancers’ behaviors and interactions demonstrate how cultural notions belonging to Latinx communities interrelate with constructs of gender and sexuality. Current literature predominantly interrogates more heteronormative spaces in Western society leaving a gap to further explore how interactions between dancers are motivated in queer spaces. Ethnographic research was conducted in heteronormative and nonheteronormative salsa communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. During the fall of 2018, data was collected from observational notes taken from several field visits at each of the salsa venues. Using an intersectional approach, was key to highlighting nuances observed between the various performances enacted by salsa dancers. Themes emerged from the data that expand upon Goffinan’s theories of performance. Analysis of the dancers’ gender and ethnic performance draws conclusion on human sexual desire and motives that reinforce white heterosexist ideologies in queer and heteronormative salsa communities.