Latino Dancing

Latino Dancing

There are five original Latino dances: Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Cha Cha, and Jive. These, and famous improvisations such as salsa, are danced the world over both socially and in competitions. The dances are for couples, and there's plenty of figures, moves and holds to be learned if you're interested.

The Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian), derived from ancient Latin, define a culture that has spread over a substantial part of the Americas. Three dances from this area, one from Spain / France and one from the U.S.A. make up the dances now standardised as the 'Latin-American' dances. The three dances from Latin America evolved as a fusion of indigenous, European and Negro dance styles. European conquerors had imported Negro slaves from various parts of West Africa into a large part of the Americas at an early stage.

Dancing played a substantial part in all three component cultures. Through the 17th and 18th centuries, a gradual fusion of the three cultures occurred to produce a new culture: Creole. As European dances were imported into Latin America, they were adopted and 'creolized'.

The Mambo originated in Haiti, and was introduced to the West in 1948 by Prado. The word "Mambo" is the name of a Voodoo priestess in the religion brought from Africa. Thus, the Cha Cha had its origins in the religious ritual dances of West Africa. There are three forms of Mambo: single, double, and triple. The triple has evolved into the Cha Cha. The Cha Cha is danced currently at about 120 beats per minute. The steps are taken on the beats, with a strong hip movement as the knee straightens on the half beats in between. The weight is kept well forward, with forward steps taken toe-flat, and with minimal torso movement.

Jive dance originated with the Negroes in the South East of U.S.A., who brought the dance from Africa, and the Indians copied it. The word "Jive" is probably derived from "Jev" meaning "to talk disparagingly" in the West African 'Wolof' language. In the 1880's, the dance was performed competitively amongst the Negroes in the South, and the prize was frequently a cake, so the dance became known as the Cake Walk. It often consisted of two parts performed alternately - a solemn procession of couples, and an energetic display dance, with everyone decked out in their finest clothes. The associated music became known as Ragtime, possibly because the participants dressed up in their best "rags" or clothes, or possibly because the music was syncopated and "ragged". The music and dances subsequently became popular amongst the Negroes in Chicago and New York.

The lively dancing and music of the Negroes contrasted with the sober steps of the upper white classes of the U.S.A. and U.K. Thus was Victorian life. With the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, English speaking society began to look to Negroe dances. Simple dances based on those of the Negroes become popular - the Yankee Tangle, the Texas Rag, the Squat, the Grind and the Mooche. The dances were done to Ragtime music and all used the same elements, couples doing a walk, rock, swoop, bounce or sway.

Ragtime evolved into Swing through the 1920's and new dances became popular. (Amazingly, these dances are now enjoying a phenomenal revival, with Swing clubs opening in all the European capitals.) The Foxtrot was invented by Harry Fox for a stage show in New York in 1913 while the Charleston was said to have originated in the Cape Verde Islands. It evolved into a round dance done by Negro dock workers in the port of Charleston but subsequently became so popular worldwide that many sedate ballrooms put up notices saying simply "PCQ", standing for "Please Charleston Quietly."

Here's a few dances you'll learn from any half-competent dance instructor:

SAMBA:
A highlight of recent St Patricks Day festivals in Dublin has been the thrilling performances of local-led samba bands. Samba originated in Brazil; Portuguese colonisers imported slaves from Angola and Congo into Brazil in the 16th century, who in turn brought their dances. These dances were considered sinful by the Europeans but a composite dance evolved in the 1830's combining the plait figures from these Negro dances and the indigenous Lundu dance. Later, carnival steps were added like the Copacabana and gradually members of high society in Rio embraced it, although they modified it to more stiff ballroom dancing moves.

SALSA: Spanish for 'sauce', this dance is, like its namesake, a little bit of this mixed with a little bit of that. It is a commercial name for several rhythmic, danceable expression forms that have their roots in the Caribbean. Salsa is a mixture of Latino dances like Son (Montuno), Bolero, Mambo, Rumba, Chachacha, etc. Salsa developed among the Puerto Ricans and Cubans in New York City and spread out in the beginning of the seventies to roughly all Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. Salsa is already the dance of the nineties and the new millennium.

MERENGUE: is a popular, happy dance that has its roots in the Dominican Republic.

BOLERO: is a slow, romantic dance that has increased in popularity lately. This dance has its roots in the Spanish cultures. It also has a four beat rhythm, just like the salsa.

Here's a few half-competent dance instructors:

1. Morosini -Whelan School of Dancing, 46 Parnell Square,: Dublin 1 (phone: [01] 830 3613)

2. Carrigaline Community School, Carrigaline, Cork (phone [021] 373 767 / 372 300)

3. Dolan's Warehouse, Dock Road, 67 Flood Street, Limerick (phone: [061] 355 591)