Deriving harmony from Salsa music and disparate dance movement: Mambo - Modern - Afro Cuban - Latin Jazz - Hip Hop - Tango - Ballroom - Ballet - Swing - Jazz
Everything about the term "Salsa," when referring to music and dance, is special but difficult to define. Its semantic history is complex, the subject is vast, it evolved from many cultures and to follow the word's origin is to mix with the world's music and dance.
You will meet masters of Jazz, Rock, Latin pop, Cuban pop, Spanish, English, and French classical, African pop and traditional, Puerto Rican Bomba-Plena, and musics from Mexico to Chile to Switzerland to Australia.
The word also defines a dance form that has been popularized around the world. This dance, similar to the music, has grown through the influence of global dance forms.
To understand the genre called "Salsa," it is necessary to look past the term. This process will shine the light on a great body of talent, beauty, skill, and cultural variation. Click here for more information on the history of the term, the music and the dance.
The Harmony Project is a new dance company based in the San Francisco Bay Area that performs original Salsa choreography inspired by the complexities of Salsa music.
The company began in 2003 as a collaboration between four local performers in order to explore the limits of contemporary Salsa dance. Seeking the untapped riches of the music and choreography, we vow to realize something new from the limitless potential of Salsa music and dance.
Each production of The Harmony Project is inspired by the music above all. The process of choosing a song is our most important task and is used to stimulate every step toward the final product. The genre of salsa music is enormous, including our current song taken from Latin jazz. Each musical nuance is noted and used to uniquely interpret and deliver a dance intimately related to the song's atmosphere.
We experiment with lyrical movement as well as more complicated use of rhythm and form. Our movement is drawn from every corner of the dance world. We strive for the precision of ballet, the feel of Afro-Cuban, the projection of jazz, the artistry of modern, the improvisation of hip-hop and swing, and the partnering skill of ballroom and tango.
Each member of The Harmony Project has favorite musicians and dancers and study them intently seeking to perfect the craft. Please click here for a list of our muses.
We are a group of dedicated unique individuals from various upbringings and dance backgrounds.
Our nationalities range from Irish to Peruvian to Chinese and we speak at least 7 languages between us. We were raised on remote villages, hippie communes, inner-cities, alpine country, suburbia, islands, and on the road. Altogether we've traveled to more than 35 countries, stood on 6 continents (will visit Antarctica any time now), and unite with a spectacular set of experiences. Our expanding world views color every dance we make and expect you'll see the many influences.
We have professional and amateur dancers. As a whole we have training in mambo, swing, all ten of the ballroom dances, tap, ballet, modern, jazz, Latin jazz, hip-hop, flamenco, tango, and Afro-Cuban. We teach mambo, swing, ballroom, tap, and hip-hop. We take dance classes every day of the week and attend at least one professional dance school. Please click here to view our biographies.
We chose the name "The Harmony Project" because we are attempting to build harmony through all aspects of dance-making. Understanding this goal is not easy, we call ourselves a project; a work in progress.
Harmony has many definitions and we strive to keep conscious of each. It is an agreement in feeling or opinion; as in "live in harmony." This side of harmony is particularly important between the members of the group. It is a pleasing combination of elements in a whole as in color harmony or the order and harmony of the universe. As we develop choreographies we hope to accomplish this whole through use of contrast, symmetric and asymmetric formation, costumes, and musicality. Harmony is also a word used in the study of music. It is the study of the structure, progression, and relation of chords; for example, the simultaneous combination of notes in a chord. And of course, it is a combination of sounds considered pleasing to the ear.
We aim to follow the harmonious path from beginning to end and, in the process, transfer harmony to our tumultuous world.