Tuxedo styles

Tuxedo ties

When choosing a costume for your salsa dancing routine, it's very important that it have elegance, essence, and function. Two main styles to keep in mind are International and American.

In the International style of salsa dancing, the woman's costume may only be attractive from the backside- the woman is held very close to the man therefore the front of the dress is seen less than the back. This also means that the sleeves of the dress do not have to stay in place when the arms are in a downward position. Many dresses for the International style dancing have heavy feather boas on them. This adds to the elegance of the dress when in a natural movement.

Dissimilarity, American style costumes must be very functional. It has to stay in place at all times, as well as look attractive from all angles during any of the variety positions that salsa dancing offers. In addition, quite often, the woman holds the dress up in many moves, so the dress must look gorgeous being held up as well as hanging down. American style gowns usually have either a thin feather boa or none at all.

Keep in mind that most American style costumes can be used as International ones; however, International ones cannot be used for American style salsa dancing.

Selecting a costume for the male partner is a lot easier. Most often, the men can choose from either a Black Tie or White Tie tuxedo. Simply, the black tie tuxedo has a black bow tie and cummerbund and a pleated shirt with flat collars. The white tie tuxedo is a tailsuit with a white bow tie, white waistcoat, and a stiff shirt fashioning a wing collar.

Both the woman and men's costume should compliment each other for the full effect of salsa dancing. A rule of thumb to go by is that typically longer floor length gowns are acceptable for both black and white tie costumes. For some occasions, it is fine to have a shorter dress partnered with a black tie tuxedo, but not for a white tie. ( By Alex Juel )