Latin dance

Last updated
Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground. MIT 2006 Latin Intermediate.jpg
Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground.

Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that mainly originated in Latin America.

Contents

The category of Latin dances in the international dancesport competitions consists of the cha-cha-cha, rumba, samba, paso doble. (Jive has Irish origin). [1] [2]

Social Latin dances (Street Latin) include salsa, mambo, merengue, rumba, bachata, bomba and plena. There are many dances which were popular in the first part of the 20th century, but which are now of only historical interest. The Cuban danzón is a good example. [3]

Perreo is a Puerto Rican dance associated with reggaeton music with Jamaican and Caribbean influences. Argentinian folk dances are chacarera, escondido and zamba, also tango used to be a popular dance until the mid-20th century. Cueca is Chilean folk dance. Uruguayan folk dances are pericón, polka, ranchera, etc, also candombe is a common street and parade dance in the cities. Typical Bolivian folk dances are the morenada, kullawada, caporales and the recently created tinku. In Colombia, one of the typical dances is the cumbia. [4] [5]

Origin

Latin dancers in their costumes. The woman is wearing a backless dress with deep slits on its lower portion, while the man is wearing a shirt with top buttons open. Tanzturnier 28.JPG
Latin dancers in their costumes. The woman is wearing a backless dress with deep slits on its lower portion, while the man is wearing a shirt with top buttons open.
Nastassja Bolivar, winner of Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011 and Miss Nicaragua 2013, and Top 16 finalist at Miss Universe 2013 National Costume 2013.jpg
Nastassja Bolívar, winner of Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011 and Miss Nicaragua 2013, and Top 16 finalist at Miss Universe 2013

Latin dance draws from indigenous American, Iberian, and West African influences. The earliest native roots for Latin dance came from the Aztecs, Guarani, Aymara, Incas and Tehuelches among others. When sixteenth-century seagoing explorers returned home to Portugal and Spain, they brought along tales of the native peoples. According to Rachel Hanson, no one knows how long these dance traditions were established, but they were already being developed and ritualized when they were observed by the Europeans. This suggests that these Native influences became the foundation for Latin dancing. [6] Indigenous dance often told stories of everyday activities such as hunting, agriculture, or astronomy. When European settlers and conquistadors began to colonize South America in the early sixteenth century, they reinvented the local dance traditions, but still kept the styles of the natives. Catholic settlers merged the native culture with their own and incorporated catholic saints and stories to the dance. The Europeans were captivated by the highly structured, large member dance working together in a precise manner.

After the Europeans brought home the Aztec/Inca influences in the sixteenth century, they incorporated their own styles to the dance. Since the Aztec/Inca dances were performed in a group, many of the European dances were performed by a male and female. This was a new practice because European dances prohibited male and female dance partners from touching each other. The benefits of such a dance style allowed musical appreciation and social integration, which became the form of Latin dance. However, “much of the storytelling element disappeared from the genre as the focus moved toward the rhythm and steps,” [6] Hanson explains. The movement evolved differently because it brought a certain element of daintiness to the Aztec dances since the steps were smaller and the movements were less forceful. Combining African styles along with the Native and European influences is what truly makes Latin possible.

The movement and rhythms of African influences left a permanent mark in Latin dance. When the African slaves were forced to Europe in the 1500s, their culture brought styles such as basic, simple movements (putting emphasis on the upper body, torso, or feet) and intricate movements like the coordination of different body parts and complex actions such as “fast rotation, ripples of the body, and contraction and release, as well as variations in dynamics, levels, and use of space.” [7] [8] The difference between the African and European styles was that it included bent knees and a downward focus (grounded to the earth) rather than a straight-backed upward focus like the Europeans, and whole-foot steps than toes and heels. These influences from African roots have allowed Latin dance to become what it is today.

Development

Cha-cha Cha-Cha-Cha Vodikar Bychkova 0681.JPG
Cha-cha

Latin dance is a perfect mix of various dance styles from cultures around the world, creating a dance style encompassing this new age of Latin culture. [9] Influences deriving from West African, African American, and European dance styles were all comprised in the making of many of these latin dances such as: Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Bachata, and Samba. [10] Not only has these cultures shaped this style of dance, but as well in the music made in Latin America. Music became the engine for Latin dancing because it guided the dance steps with its measure, speed, and the feeling it evoked, from energetic to sensual. [11] Many of these beats come from European folk music, West African beats, and African American Jazz. [12] Various Latin American regions developed independent styles, and from each genre, or combination of styles, a different genre was born. For example, the Mambo which was created in the 1940s emerged through the combination of American swing and Cuban Son music. [13] Another example is the Romani and Egyptian cultural dance of belly dancing, which has traveled its way to Spain and gained its influence in the repertoire of the latin dance known as flamenco due to the Moorish conquest of Iberia (Spain) in the Eighth-Century. [14] Though Latin dance is a social dance that can be seen in Quinceañeras, parties, and in any social gathering there is no required cultural clothing required for these style of dancing. On the other hand, in the dance sport competition world of "latin dance" each categories in Latin dance has its own unique styled costumes along with it. From short rimmed dresses, fringe hems, a skirt or dress, braided hems, and boa feathers and flowers can be seen throughout each costume designs. [15]

The modernization of Latin dance

Following the music, movement history, and the rhythms, Latin dance evolved over time and individual steps slowly shifted the repertoire of each dance. It has several different forms and many modernized styles which creates a problem because it is shifting away from its Native, European, and African roots. A popular aerobic dance class known as Zumba is said to be influenced by Latin rhythm and steps. However, there are disagreements among Latin dancers about whether Zumba is a true Latin dance. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballroom dance</span> Set of partner dances

Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television.

Mambo is a genre of Cuban dance music pioneered by the charanga Arcaño y sus Maravillas in the late 1930s and later popularized in the big band style by Pérez Prado. It originated as a syncopated form of the danzón, known as danzón-mambo, with a final, improvised section, which incorporated the guajeos typical of son cubano. These guajeos became the essence of the genre when it was played by big bands, which did not perform the traditional sections of the danzón and instead leaned towards swing and jazz. By the late 1940s and early 1950s, mambo had become a "dance craze" in Mexico and the United States as its associated dance took over the East Coast thanks to Pérez Prado, Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez and others. In the mid-1950s, a slower ballroom style, also derived from the danzón, cha-cha-cha, replaced mambo as the most popular dance genre in North America. Nonetheless, mambo continued to enjoy some degree of popularity into the 1960s and new derivative styles appeared, such as dengue; by the 1970s it had been largely incorporated into salsa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salsa (dance)</span> Dance form

Salsa is a Latin dance, associated with salsa music, which was first popularized in the United States in the 1960s in New York City. Salsa is a mixture of Cuban dances, such as mambo, pachanga, and rumba, as well as American dances such as swing and tap.

The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban music is often considered one of the richest and most influential regional music in the world. For instance, the son cubano merges an adapted Spanish guitar (tres), melody, harmony, and lyrical traditions with Afro-Cuban percussion and rhythms. Almost nothing remains of the original native traditions, since the native population was exterminated in the 16th century.

Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has been called the "quintessential Latin American romantic song of the twentieth century".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merengue (dance)</span> Style of Dominican dance

Merengue is a style of Dominican music and dance. Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic and is also important to national identity in the country. It is a type of danced walk and is accessible to a large variety of people with or without dance experience. The music of merengue draws influence from European and Afro-Cuban styles and mainly uses instruments like guitars, drums, and a charrasca or metal scraper. The dance originated as a rural dance and later became a ballroom dance. Merengue has three distinct sections: the paseo, the merengue proper, and the closing jaleo which includes improvisation.

Charanga is a traditional ensemble that plays Cuban dance music. They made Cuban dance music popular in the 1940s and their music consisted of heavily son-influenced material, performed on European instruments such as violin and flute by a Charanga orchestra.. The style of music that is most associated with a Charanga is termed 'Danzón', and is an amalgam of both European classical music and African rhythms.

Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also conga and rumba. Although taking its name from the latter, ballroom rumba differs completely from Cuban rumba in both its music and its dance. Hence, authors prefer the Americanized spelling of the word (rhumba) to distinguish between them.

Danzón is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba. It is also an active musical form in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Written in 2
4
time
, the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance, requiring set footwork around syncopated beats, and incorporating elegant pauses while the couples stand listening to virtuoso instrumental passages, as characteristically played by a charanga or típica ensemble.

Son cubano is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a syncretic genre that blends elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are the vocal style, lyrical metre and the primacy of the tres, derived from the Spanish guitar. On the other hand, its characteristic clave rhythm, call and response structure and percussion section are all rooted in traditions of Bantu origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cha-cha-cha (dance)</span> Dance of Cuban origin cha- cha

The cha-cha-cha, is a dance of Cuban origin. It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by the Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early 1950s. This rhythm was developed from the danzón-mambo. The name of the dance is an onomatopoeia derived from the shuffling sound of the dancers' feet when they dance two consecutive quick steps that characterize the dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban salsa</span> Dance style

In Cuba, a popular dance known as Casino was marketed abroad as Cuban-style salsa or Salsa Cubana to distinguish it from other salsa styles when the name was popularized in the 1970s. Dancing Casino is an expression of popular social culture in Cuba and many Cubans consider casino a part of their social and cultural activities centering on their popular music.

Contradanza is the Spanish and Spanish-American version of the contradanse, which was an internationally popular style of music and dance in the 18th century, derived from the English country dance and adopted at the court of France. Contradanza was brought to America and there took on folkloric forms that still exist in Bolivia, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Panama and Ecuador.

Pachanga is a genre of music which is described as a mixture of son montuno and merengue and has an accompanying signature style of dance. This type of music has a festive, lively style and is marked by jocular, mischievous lyrics. Pachanga originated in Cuba in the 1950s and played an important role in the evolution of Caribbean style music as it is today. Considered a prominent contributor to the eventual rise of salsa, Pachanga itself is an offshoot of Charanga style music. Very similar in sound to Cha-Cha but with a notably stronger down-beat, Pachanga once experienced massive popularity all across the Caribbean and was brought to the United States by Cuban immigrants post World War II. This led to an explosion of Pachanga music in Cuban music clubs that influenced Latin culture in the United States for decades to come.

Cha-cha-chá is a genre of Cuban music. It has been a popular dance music which developed from the Danzón-mambo in the early 1950s, and became widely popular throughout the entire world.

Cuban folk music includes a variety of traditional folk music of Cuba, and has been influenced by the Spanish and the African culture as well as the remaining indigenous population of the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban rumba</span> Music genre originating from Cuba

Rumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century. It is based on African music and dance traditions, namely Abakuá and yuka, as well as the Spanish-based coros de clave. According to Argeliers León, rumba is one of the major "genre complexes" of Cuban music, and the term rumba complex is now commonly used by musicologists. This complex encompasses the three traditional forms of rumba, as well as their contemporary derivatives and other minor styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance from Cuba</span> Performing arts from Cuba

Cuban culture encompasses a wide range of dance forms. The island's indigenous people performed rituals known as areíto, which included dancing, although little information is known about such ceremonies. After the colonization of Cuba by the Spanish Kingdom, European dance forms were introduced such as the French contredanse, which gave rise to the Cuban contradanza. Contradanza itself spawned a series of ballroom dances between the 19th and 20th centuries, including the danzón, mambo and cha-cha-cha. Rural dances of European origin, such as the zapateo and styles associated with punto guajiro also became established by the 19th century, and in the 20th century son became very popular. In addition, numerous dance traditions were brought by black slaves from West Africa and the Congo basin, giving rise to religious dances such as Santería, yuka and abakuá, as well as secular forms such as rumba. Many of these dance elements from European dance and religious dances were fused together to form the basis of la técnica cubana. Cuban music also contributed to the emergence of Latin dance styles in the United States, namely rhumba and salsa.

Kontradans or the French-Haitian Contredanse, is creolized dance music formed in the 18th century in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) that evolved from the English contra dance, or, which eventually spread throughout the Caribbean, Louisiana, Europe and the rest of the New World from the Creoles of Saint-Domingue.

References

  1. Lavelle, Doris 1983. Latin & American dances. 3rd ed, Black, London, p108.
  2. The reason jive is included with the Latin dances is that its dance style is similar: "... a non-progressive dance which can be danced in a small space when the floor is crowded". and "The hold is similar to Latin dances" [meaning, it is quite different from the modern or ballroom dances]. Silvester, Victor 1977. Dancing: ballroom, Latin-American and social, 105/6. ISBN   0-340-22517-3. Teach Yourself Books
  3. Santos, John. 1982. The Cuban Danzón (liner notes). New York, Folkways Records FE 4066
  4. Box, Ben (1992). South American Handbook. New York City: Trade & Travel. At the beginning of each chapter (except the Guianas) is a section on "Music and Dance" written by Nigel Gallop, an Englishman, fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, who lived and worked in almost every country of South America.
  5. Box, Ben; Cameron, Sarah (1992). Caribbean Islands Handbook. New York City: Trade & Travel. Dance information is provided under "Culture" headings.
  6. 1 2 "History of Latin Dance". LoveToKnow. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  7. Guide, Africa. "African People and Culture". www.africaguide.com. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  8. "Recent from Latin Dancing Shoes". LT Dancers.
  9. Drake-Boyt, Elizabeth (2011). Latin Dance. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   978-0-313-37608-5.
  10. "Latin Dances List: 15 Popular Styles, Names & History | DanceUs.org". www.danceus.org. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  11. Madrid, Alejandro L.; Moore, Robin D. (2013-11-06). Danzón: Circum-Caribbean Dialogues in Music and Dance. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-996581-6.
  12. Nettl, Bruno; Russell, Melinda (1998-12-15). In the Course of Performance: Studies in the World of Musical Improvisation. University of Chicago Press. ISBN   978-0-226-57410-3.
  13. Heredia, Juanita (2009), Heredia, Juanita (ed.), "Marta Moreno Vega's When the Spirits Dance Mambo: Growing Up Nuyorican in El Barrio (2004): The Diasporic Formation of an Afro-Latina Identity", Transnational Latina Narratives in the Twenty-first Century: The Politics of Gender, Race, and Migrations, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 61–84, doi:10.1057/9780230623255_4, ISBN   978-0-230-62325-5 , retrieved 2022-12-31
  14. Daniel Otero (2-16-21)"The Evolution of the Latin Dances through the Belly Dance & Roma Cultures"https://www.arjhss.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/G435174.pdf
  15. Bianca Gavrila (11-30-2019)"What Style of Dress Should You Wear for Each Latin Dance?"https://dancesportlife.com/blog/fashion-and-makeup/dress-style/
  16. "Zumba Is A Hit But Is It Latin?". NPR.org. Retrieved 2016-04-25.

Further reading