LATIN DANCE RHYTHM PATTERNS Salsa: Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick Slow Salsa dancers can switch direction from going forward to going back, on either beat one or beat two. (Musical measures have four beats in this dance.) Beat one which is the accented beat of the measure, hence "easiest to find." Changing direction on beat one is referred to as “dancing on one.” Changing direction on beat two is called “dancing on two.” In reality, these are just small differences in style, but some dancers much prefer one style over another! Mambo: Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick Slow This rhythm pattern is identical to Salsa. However, Mambo is always begun on the second beat of the measure. Technically, Salsa is considered a "street dance" with a flavorful, expressive style while Mambo is a ballroom dance. In reality they are essentially the same dance. Cha-Cha: Step Step Cha, Cha, Cha Step Step Cha, Cha, Cha What happens if you replace the "slow" in Mambo/Salsa with three "cha, cha, cha" steps? The answer is that you get the Cha Cha rhythm. Cha Cha is done to slower music than Mambo, so there is time to fit in those three “cha cha chas” in place of the one "slow." So Cha Cha and Mambo are very closely related dances. Furthermore, like Mambo, Cha Cha begins on the second beat of the musical measure. Interestingly, in some countries, such as Mexico, the name of this dance is “Cha Cha Cha” (rather than “Cha Cha” as we call it here in the United States). Merengue: Quick Quick Quick Quick Quick Quick Quick Quick This dance is very basic rhythmically because the dancers step on every beat which makes it similar to walking. As a result, it’s a great dance for beginning students. The music has a steady, repetitive quality that pounds out the beat. Bachata: Quick Quick Quick Tap Quick Quick Quick Tap Dancers start on beat one and either step or tap on every beat. When a dancer taps, very little weight is put on the foot so she/he can take the next step on the same foot quickly. This music is in 4 beat measures. Note: The "quicks" get one beat each and the "slows" get two beats in all patterns above. Copyright 2004 by Academic Information Service Inc. DBA DanceInTime www.DanceInTime.com…. DanceInTime: Where Salsa lessons are loads of fun! HISTORY OF THE LATIN CLUB DANCES By Barbara Bernstein, Director of DanceInTime www.DanceInTime.com SALSA Salsa is one of the most dynamic and important musical phenomena of the 1900's. In many Hispanic communities, it remains today the most popular style of dance music. Salsa music began to develop in Eastern Cuba in the early 1900s. It represented a mixture of Spanish and Afro-Cuban elements. Eventually the music made its way to Havana where foreign influences like American jazz were absorbed. By the end of the l950s, many Cuban and Puerto Rican people including musicians had settled in the U.S., especially in New York. Many bands were formed and immigrants continued to make Afro- Caribbean music, but they adapted the sound to their new world. They continued to be influenced by American jazz. Gradually in the 50s and 60s, this music evolved and became Salsa as we know it today. The most famous musicians of that time were Tito Puente, called the King of Mambo, and Celia Cruz, known as the Queen of Salsa. The rise of Salsa music was tied closely to Fania Records which was founded in l964 by musician Johnny Pacheco and an Italian-American divorce lawyer named Jerry Masucci. The two met at a party in a NY hotel. They struck a deal to launch what became the most influential record label in Latin music's history. Fania was known as "the Latin Motown," with one huge hit after another becoming popular all over Latin America. Fania's bands and artists began touring all over and eventually their music had an impact on the entire world. Fania’s style of Salsa came to be referred to as "hard Salsa.” Then in the 80s, a softer and more romantic style of Salsa was born, with artists like Gilberto Santa Rosa. Both types of Salsa are popular today, and with the popularity of the music came the popularity of the dance. The rhythm for Salsa is referred to as “quick-quick-slow.” To dancers, a "quick" is a step that lasts for one musical beat and a "slow" lasts for two beats. Salsa dancers generally step on beats one, two and three out of a four beat musical measure. If the dance pattern has them switching direction from forward to back on beat one, they are said to be “dancing on one.” If they switch on beat two, they are “dancing on two.” The word “Salsa” refers both to a style of music and to the dance. CHA CHA In the mid-1900s, Cha Cha was evolving. It developed from very slow Salsa music (which is essentially the same as Mambo music). Initially, Cha cha was referred to as “Slow Mambo” or “Triple Mambo.” The latter name refers to the three cha cha steps that are included in the dance pattern. Cha Cha music is slower than Salsa and in place of the "slow" step found in Salsa, you have time to do three "cha cha cha" steps. So the basic step of Cha Cha is quick-quick-(and then instead of slow:) cha-cha-cha. Some people say that the name of the dance comes from the shuffling sound that the feet make on the floor during the “cha cha cha” steps. Cha Cha was introduced in America around the mid 1950s and by 1959 it was very popular not just in the US but in other parts of the world as well. Cha Cha music is catchy, and has a lively, and energetic sound. The number of beats per minute in Cha Cha is lower than Salsa and Mambo, so it is a little slower and there is extra time for playfulness and styling during this dance. In terms of beats, dancers step on the second and third beats of the musical measure. Then dancers step on beat four and on the half beat after four, as well as on beat one. Those last three steps are what is referred to as the “Cha cha cha.” So the timing of the steps is: “2, 3, 4 & 1.” MERENGUE The Merengue began in the early 1900s. Rafael Trujillo, the dictator of the Dominican Republic from the 1930 to 1961, turned it into the country's national dance. By the middle of the nineteenth century, Merengue was popular throughout the DR and was danced on every special occasion there. It also became popular in Haiti which “shares an island” with the DR, and throughout the Caribbean and South America. The dance was popularized in the US in the 1930s as well, by New York-based groups and bandleaders like Rafael Petiton Guzman. Merengue music has a repetitive quality and pounds out a steady beat. The dance rhythm is quick- quick-quick-quick. It is the only dance where the dancer steps on every beat, and the steps all last exactly one beat. Thus the rhythm of the dance is the same as walking—you step in a steady, even rhythm. This makes Merengue easy to learn, so it’s often a favorite of beginning dancers. Like Salsa, the word “Merengue” refers both the music and to the dance that is done to that music. The movement of all Latin dances is characterized by "Cuban motion." This is the hip sway that is created by stepping onto a bent leg and then straightening it. "Cuban motion" is most easily taught in Merengue due to the steady beat. In Merengue, one leg can be very slightly dragged. There are some stories of how this style of movement originated. One story goes that during one of the revolutions in the Dominican Republic, a great hero was wounded in the leg. He came home to a celebration in his honor. When the villagers danced at the celebration, they all limped and dragged one leg out of sympathy for him. RUEDA DE CASINO (“CUBAN SALSA”) During the 1950s, a dance craze called "Rueda de Casino" (also called “Salsa Rueda”) became popular in Cuba. This is a group form of Salsa dancing that began in El Casino Deportivo, a Havana social club. The name "Casino" comes from the social club where the dance began. "Rueda" means wheel or circle. It is a festive type of Salsa, done by a group of couples in a circle, with partners being passed around. The rhythm and music of Rueda are identical to that of Salsa. Couples do the moves in synchrony that are “called” by a designated caller. Each move has a name and most have hand signals since it is hard to hear in noisy nightclubs. The group nature of the dance is unique and makes it quite social. This wildly popular dance was done everywhere in Cuba---in the streets, in parking lots, in clubs and in homes. The dance was brought to Miami by Cuban immigrants and took hold there in the l970s and l980s. From Miami, it spread first to major U.S. metropolitan centers with large Hispanic populations and eventually to other cities as well. The movie "Dance with Me" has a segment of rueda dancing which helped popularize the dance in this country.