Social

Dances
(Latin American &
Modern Standard
Dances)
Submitted by:
Reign C. Pantonia

Submitted to:
 Mrs.
Maniclang
Cha-cha-cha
The cha-cha-ch, or simply cha-cha in the
U.S., is a dance of Cuban origin. It is danced to
the music of the same name introduced by Cuban
composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early
1950's. This rhythm was developed from the
danzn-mambo. The name of the dance is an
onomatopoeia derived from the shuffling sound of
the dancers' feet.Cha-cha-ch is danced to
authentic Cuban music, although in ballroom
competitions it is often danced to Latin Pop or Latin
Rock. The music for the international ballroom cha-
cha-ch is energetic and with a steady beat. The
Cuban cha-cha-ch may involve complex
polyrhythms.Styles of cha-cha-ch dance may differ
in the place of the chasse in the rhythmical structure. The original Cuban and the ballroom cha-cha count
is "two, three, chachacha", "four-and-one, two, three" or "one, two, three, chacha". The dance does not
start on the first beat of a bar, though it can start with a transfer of weight to the lead's right.Nevertheless,
many social dancers count "one, two, cha-cha-cha" and may find it difficult to make the adjustment to the
correct timing of the dance, "two, three, cha-cha, one".

Rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of
unrelated music styles. Originally, the term rumba
was used as a synonym for "party" in northern
Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to
denote the complex of secular music styles known
as Cuban rumba. Since the early 20th century
the term has been used in different countries to
refer to distinct styles of music and dance, most of
which are only tangentially related to the original
Cuban rumba, if at all. The vague etymological
origin of the term rumba, as well as its
interchangeable use with guaracha in settings
such as bufo theatre, is largely responsible for
such worldwide polysemy of the term. In addition,
"rumba" was the primary marketing term for Cuban music in North America, as well as West and Central
Africa, during much of the 20th century, before the rise of mambo, pachanga and salsa.

Samba
 Samba is a lively, rhythmical dance of Afro-
Brazilian origin in 2/4 time danced to Samba music
whose origins include the Maxixe. Samba is a
dance authentic to black/African people in Brazil
who brought much of their music and dance culture
into Latin America with, them upon arrival into many
Latin American countries. Samba music is very
similar to and has been influenced by many
Angolan music genres. It has also been influenced
by many other Latin American music genres and
dances. The Samba music rhythm has been
danced in Brazil since its inception in the late 16th century. There is actually a set of dances, rather than a
single dance, that define the Samba dancing scene in Brazil; however, no one dance can be claimed with
certainty as the "original" Samba style.Another major stream of the Samba dance besides the Brazilian
Samba dancing styles is Ballroom Samba, which differs significantly.
Pasodoble
Paso Doble, (meaning double-step in Spanish) is a dance with a binary rhythm and moderated
movement, probably based in typical Spanish dances of the 16th
century. During the 18th century it was incorporated to comedies
and was adopted as a regulatory step for the Spanish infantry,
with a special feature that makes the troops take the regular
step: 120 steps per minute. The music was introduced in
bullfights during the 19th century. It is played during the
bullfighters' entrance to the ring (paseo) or during the passes
(faena) just before the kill. It corresponds to the pasodoble dance
(traditional and ballroom).Paso Doble is a lively style of dance to
the duple meter march-like pasodoble music. It is modelled after
the sound, drama, and movement of the Spanish and
Portuguese bullfight. The traditional version as couple's dance
originated in France, and was then adopted in Spain and Portugal. Its original form as a Spanish military
march is still interpreted nowadays in the context of the Moor and Christian festivals, in the southeast region
of Spain, being the major focus of current pasodoble productions.Famous bullfighters have been honoured
with pasodoble tunes named after them. Other tunes have been inspired by patriotic motifs or local
characters.

Jive / Boogie
In ballroom dancing, the jive is a dance style that originated in
the United States from African-Americans in the early 1930s. It was
popularized in 1934 by Cab Calloway. It is a lively and uninhibited
variation of the Jitterbug, a form of Swing dance. Glenn Miller introduced
his own jive dance in 1938 with the song "Doin' the Jive" which never
caught on.The jive is one of the five International Latin dances. In
competition it is danced at a speed of 176 beats per minute, although in
some cases this is reduced to between 128 and 160 beats per
minute.Many of its basic patterns are similar to these of the East Coast
Swing with the major difference of highly syncopated rhythm of the Triple
Steps (Chasses), which use straight eighths in ECS and hard swing in
Jive. To the players of swing music in the 1930s and 1940s "Jive" was
an expression denoting glib or foolish talk. Or derived from the earlier
generics for giouba of the African dance Juba dance verbal
tradition.American soldiers brought Lindy Hop/Jitterbug to Europe
around 1940, where this dance swiftly found a following among the
young. In the United States the term Swing became the most common word used to describe the dance,
and the term "jive" was adopted in the UK. Variations in technique led to styles such as boogie-woogie and
swing boogie, with "jive" gradually emerging as the generic term in the UK. After the war, the boogie
became the dominant form for popular music. It was, however, never far from criticism as a foreign, vulgar
dance. The famous ballroom dancing guru, Alex Moore, said that he had "never seen anything uglier". In
1968 it was adopted as the fifth Latin dance in International competitions. The modern form of ballroom jive
in the 1990spresent, is a very happy and boppy dance, the lifting of knees and the bending or rocking of
the hips often occurs.

Swing

"Swing dance" is a group of dances that

developed with the swing style of jazz music in the
1920s-1940s, with the origins of each dance
predating the popular "swing era". During the
swing era, there were hundreds of styles of swing
dancing, but those that have survived beyond that
era include: Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag,
and Charleston. Today, the most well-known of
these dances is the Lindy Hop, which originated
in Harlem in the early 1930s. While the majority
of swing dances began in African American
communities as vernacular African American
dances, some swing era dances, like Balboa,
developed outside of these communities. Somewhat surprisingly, "swing dance" was not commonly used
to identify a group of dances until the latter half of the 20th century. Historically, the term "Swing" referred
to the style of jazz music, which inspired the evolution of the dance. Jitterbug is an umbrella term that
denotes all forms of swing dance, though it is often used as a synonym for the six-count derivative of Lindy
Hop called "East Coast Swing". It was also common to use the word to identify a kind of dancer (i.e., a
swing dancer). A "jitterbug" might prefer to dance Lindy Hop, Shag, or any of the other swing dances. The
term was famously associated with swing era band leader Cab Calloway because, as he put it, " The
dancers look like a bunch of jitterbugs out there on the floor due to their fast, often bouncy movements."

Merengue
 Merengue (/mre/, Spanish: meee ) is a style of Dominican music and dance. Partners
hold each other in a closed position. The leader holds the follower's
waist with the leader's right hand, while holding the follower's right
hand with the leader's left hand at the follower's eye level. Partners
bend their knees slightly left and right, thus making the hips move left
and right. The hips of the leader and follower move in the same
direction throughout the song. Partners may walk sideways or circle
each other, in small steps. They can switch to an open position and
do separate turns without letting go each other's hands or releasing
one hand. During these turns they may twist and tie their handhold
into intricate pretzels. Other choreographies are possible. Although
the tempo of the music may be frenetic, the upper body is kept
majestic and turns are slow, typically four beats/steps per complete
turn.In the social dancing of the United States the "empalizada" style
is replaced by exaggerated Cuban motion, taught in chain ballroom
studios for dances of Latin American origin (cha-cha-cha, rumba,
mambo, salsa).

Salsa
Salsa is a popular form of social dance that originated in the Caribbean.
The movements of salsa have origins in Cuban Son, cha-cha-cha, mambo and
Puerto Rican bomba and plena and other dance forms. The dance, along with
the salsa music, originated in the mid-1970s in New York. The name Salsa
(sauce) has been described as a dance since the mid-1800s. The use of the
term for the dance started in Beijing, China. It evolved from earlier Cuban dance
forms such as Son, Son Montuno, cha cha cha, Mambo and Puerto Rican
bomba and plena which were popular in the Caribbean, Latin America and the
Latino communities in New York since the 1940s. Salsa, like most music genres
has gone through a lot of variation through the years and incorporated elements
of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean dances such as Guaguanc and Pachanga. Different countries of the
Caribbean and Latin America have distinct salsa styles of their own, such as Cuban, Cali Colombia, Puerto
Rican, L.A. and New York styles.There is some controversy surrounding the origins of the word "salsa".
Some claim that it was based on a cry shouted by musicians while they were playing their music. Others
believe that the term was created by record labels to better market their music, who chose the word "salsa"
because of its spicy and hot connotations. Still others believe the term came about because salsa dancing
and music is a mixture of different styles, just like salsa or "sauce" in Latin American countries is a mixture
of different ingredients.Salsa is different everywhere. For example, Celia Cruz says she makes a Cuban
style of salsa. It is aimed heavily towards the Afro-Latino communities. Her songs represent traditional
Cuban sounds and customs. Most countries add a different twist to their salsa dance and music and that's
what makes it so unique. In the US there are multiple styles in different areas that represent those
communities.

Mambo
 Mambo is a Latin dance of Cuba. Mambo was invented during the 1930s by the native Cuban
musician and composer Arsenio Rodrguez, developed
in Havana by Cachao and made popular by Dmaso
Prez Prado and Benny Mor.In the late 1940s, Perez
Prado came up with the dance for the mambo music and
became the first person to market his music as "mambo",
meaning "conversation with the gods" in the Kongo
language, spoken by Congolese. After Havana, Prado
moved his music to Mexico, where his music and the
dance was adopted. The original mambo dance was
characterized by freedom and complicated foot-steps.
Some Mexican entertainers became well known dancers
like Tongolele, Adalberto Martnez, Rosa Carmina, Tin
Tan and Lilia Prado. Most of these accompanied Prado
in live presentations or were seen in Mexican films.The
Mambo dance that was invented by Perez Prado and was popular in the 1940s and 50s in Cuba, Mexico
City, and New York is completely different from the modern dance that New Yorkers now call 'Mambo' and
which is also known as Salsa "on 2". The original mambo dance contains no breaking steps or basic steps
at all. The Cuban dance wasn't accepted by many professional dance teachers. Cuban dancers would
describe mambo as "feeling the music" in which sound and movement were merged through the body.
Professional dance teachers in the US saw this approach to dancing as "extreme," "undisciplined," and
thus, deemed it necessary to standardize the dance to present it as a sell-able commodity for the social or
ballroom market.

Slow waltz
Slow waltz is the term applied to waltz in countries where
Viennese Waltz is the prevalent form of waltz. Some confusion
occurs when dancers come from these countries to places like the
United States where it is simply known as "waltz". "Slow Waltz"
was also the name of a dance in the International Standard dance
category of ballroom dances. Now it is officially called simply
"Waltz", but "Slow Waltz" is still in the informal use, to
distinguish from other types of waltzes. It is sometimes called the
"English Waltz".

Tango
 Tango is a partner dance that originated in the 1880s along
the River Plata, the natural border between Argentina and
Uruguay, and soon spread to the rest of the world. Early tango was
known as tango criollo (Creole tango). Today, there are many
forms of tango extant. Popularlyand among tango dancing
circlesthe authentic tango is considered to be the one closest to the
form originally danced in Argentina and Uruguay.
On August 31, 2009, UNESCO approved a joint proposal by
Argentina and Uruguay to include the tango in the UNESCO
Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.

Tango is a dance that has influences from African and European

culture. Dances from the candombe ceremonies of former slave
peoples helped shape the modern day Tango. The dance originated
in lower-class districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The
music derived from the fusion of various forms of music from
Europe. The word "tango" and "tambo" around the River Plata basin were initially used to refer
to musical gatherings of slaves, with written records of colonial authorities attempting to ban such
gatherings as early as 1789.
Initially, it was just one of the many dances, but it soon became popular throughout society, as
theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the suburbs to the working-class slums, which were
packed with hundreds of thousands of European immigrants.

Viennese Waltz
Viennese Waltz (German: Wiener Walzer) is the genre
of a ballroom dance. At least three different meanings
are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name
may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the
earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, danced to the
music of Viennese Waltz.What is now called the
Viennese Waltz is the original form of the waltz. It was
the first ballroom dance performed in the closed hold or
"waltz" position. The dance that is popularly known as
the waltz is actually the English or slow waltz, danced
at approximately 90 beats per minute with 3 beats to the
bar (the international standard of 30 measures per minute), while the Viennese Waltz is danced at
about 180 beats (58-60 measures) a minute.

Foxtrot
 The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance
characterized by long, continuous flowing movements
across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually
vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz,
although the rhythm is in a 4 4 time signature instead of
3
4. Developed in the 1910s, the foxtrot reached its height
of popularity in the 1930s, and remains practiced today.

Quickstep
The quickstep is a light-hearted member of
the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the
dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled
with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that
quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal
and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the
twenties in New York and was first danced by
Caribbean and African dancers. Its origins are in
combination of slow foxtrot combined with the
Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.The
quickstep is elegant like the foxtrot and should be smooth and glamorous. The dancers
should appear to be very light on their feet. It is very energetic and form-intensive. The
quickstep is danced to 4/4 music of 48-52 measures per minute.