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HISTORY OF DANCE
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Private Instruction
1 Hour $130
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ARGENTINE
TANGO
The tango was born in African-Argentine dance venues
A Brief History
By Anthony Blackwell Phd, MPH
If I were to begin to discuss Argentine or Uruguayan Tango, it would it would be in the latter part of the 15th century with the growing Spanish Empire. Spain occupied parts of Asia, North America and South America. These territories were known as the Kingdom of New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain. One of the final settlements of the New Spain was known as The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata meaning "River of the Silver", also called "Viceroyalty of the River Plate" This area would be later known as Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. For Spain this was just the next step in nation building in South America and this was the last region to be organized and also the shortest-lived of the Viceroyalty's.
There was a relatively low population density in much of the Southern parts of South American territories. Which is the opposite of the southern parts of North America. The greatest battles the Spanish encountered in the Americas at the time were with the Aztecs. The capitol of the Kingdom of New Spain was what is today known as Mexico City. After conquering the north, the Spanish moved their armies on to the southern parts of South America, the indigenous people, became allies of the Spanish, were killed, run off the land, made to be servants, or made to be slaves. There was a high rate of mortality due to the diseases introduced by the Spanish. Sometimes disease was introduced accidently in the normal process of life. At other times the introduction of disease into an indigenous community was done with intent. Disease was and has been used as biological weapon throughout history.
Spain and Italy are relatively close in distance to Africa. These same diseases that were killing off the indigenous people were not new to the slaves being brought from African. Don't misunderstand if anyone is subjected to biological warfare, they will be fighting a losing battle or in a fight for their life.
While trying to establish settlements The Viceroyalty of New Spain was under constant siege by the British, the French, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the indigenous people and slave uprisings. Treaties were signed and broken the same day.
The majority of Africans that came to or were brought to the southern parts of South America were from Angola, and the Congo.
Before the 16th century Africans had arrived to South America in relatively small numbers. They came to the New World in the earliest days of the Age of Exploration. In the early 1500s, Africans came as explorers and trekked across the many lands in North, Central, and South America that were claimed by Spain in the16th century. Some Africans came in freedom and some in slavery, working as soldiers, interpreters, or servants. How slavery was treated from one country to the next has a lot to do with how cultures survived.
As people were taken from Africa to be sold as slaves, especially starting in the 16th century, they brought their dance styles with them. Entire cultures were imported into the New World, especially in those areas where slaves were given more flexibility to continue their cultures and where there were more African slaves than Europeans or indigenous people. The population was similar in North and South America. Major cities in the Americas had lower populations of Africans than the surrounding suburbs and rural areas.
The practice of dancing tango in the New Kingdom of Spain began when the slave's feet touched the earth in the New Kingdom of Spain and were sort out as to who goes where and to what work. Tango was danced at campsites, in homes, and in small social clubs in the African Diaspora community. It's said that the people danced small steps because we danced in small rooms. These places where free men and slaves gathered were called Casa de Tango (House of Tango) Tango is an African word. The music of tango at the time was the music of Africa, and was played with percussion instruments. Sometimes in the bleakest of circumstances we find a moment of joy.
The tango as was practiced in the 16th century in The New Kingdom of Spain was to the drums. The dance was a combination of two styles of movement, individual steps that are now consider traspie or jazz dance, and partner dancing as is familiar to the history of Angola, The Kongo, and Cameroon.
African dance styles were merged with new cultural experiences to form new styles of dance. The second instrument added to the tango was the Spanish guitar. The African slaves and the indigenous people picked up on the guitar rhythms from the Spanish and added lyrics to match. Long before the days of rap, gauchos who were mostly slaves, and the indigenous people would engage in battles of poetry, that would last for minutes, hours or days. Add a happy rhythm to this poetry and you have a milonga. This civilization would carry on so for more than several century. There were wars and changes to life.
Nearing the end of the 18th century Napoleon was marching on Europe and named himself Emperor and set out to claim an empire. Napoleon had conquered Germany and would take most of Italy by 1799 while continuing to engaged in war with the Britain, Portugal and Spain. Spain was gathering their troops which include, slaves and sending them to fight the French. Over the next ten years, the armies of France under Napoeon's command fought almost every European power, and acquired control of most of continental Europe by conquest or alliance.
By 1810 the Argentine War of Independence had begun. This was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818. It was the Spanish against the Spanish with both sides using slaves and the indigenous people as soldiers in their armies. War is the destruction, the beginning and the merging of cultures. Dance, food and day to day life are altered.
Slaves that had been soldiers in Europe brought back to the New Kingdom of Spain a mix of German, French, and Polish dances that would be known as Vals tango. The slave soldiers, also came back with the handoline, the accordion and the concertina. These instruments were the precursor to the bandoneon. The bandoneon was invented about 1846 by Heinrich Band, in Krefeld Germany under the name 'bandonion' - where it was intended to play church music.
In the mid-19th century there was a great migration from Italy to Argentina. Most Italians fled due to poverty and wars. Italians saw in Argentina a chance to build for themselves a brand-new life. The Italian population in Argentina is the second largest in the world, Brazil has the third largest Italian population. The majority population in Argentina today is Italian with the second largest population in Argentina being Spanish. Arriving in Argentina there were five men for every woman that arrived in Argentina. Which made opportunities for work scarcest and created a market for brothels and prostitution and no need for slaves.
The new arrivals visited the establishment operated and frequented by free Africans, and African slaves and went back to there neighborhood and set up bordellos and their own Casa de Tango (House of Tango). The women that came with the mass migration did not arrive with the intent of being prostitutes, but with few or no labor opportunities they did what they could. The ladies of the evening were paid to dance with the customers vertically and horizontally. With no one really having much money the working girls could choose their pleasures. The men would practice with one another and visit the bordello in hope of being chosen by one of the working girls.
In tango this would be known as the romantic- dramatic period. In part because of the dancing and because of the music Italians brought with them. The music would go from the slaves to the new arrivals and back and forth and create a new style of tango. The changes to the music offered changes to the dance.
In today's world if you go out dancing you go to a place called a milonga. Milonga is a place where people go to dance and milonga is also a dance. There are traditional milongas and Nuevo milongas and nuevo alternative milongas. The majority of the places where people go to dance tango are Traditional milongas. Nuevo music is new age tango music, like Gotan. Alternative tango music can literally be any kind of music.
At Nuevo, Alternative milonga the playing and the order of music may be set by the DJ or the person that organizes the music.
At a traditional milonga there is an order to the music. Most often the music is set in an order. Songs are divided by tandas.
A tanda is a grouping of music by orchestra and era.
Generally, the organizer has a preference as to how the tandas are set up.
Tandas are separated by cortinas. Cortinas are enterally 30-60 seconds.
Songs are arranged in sets between 3 and 6 songs.
In my experience at traditional milonga you would
A cortina
4 tangos
A cortina
4 tangos
A cortina
3 Vals tango
A cortina
4 tangos
A cortina
4 tangos
A cortina
3 milongas tango
If played in this order that would equal one hour.
To learn more about the history of Argentine or Uruguayan Tango please reach out to us.
AMERICAN
LINDY HOP
History
of Swing Dancing By: Lori Heikkila
The
history of swing dates back to the 1920's, where
the black community, while dancing to contemporary
Jazz music, discovered the Charleston and the
Lindy Hop.
On
March 26, 1926, the Savoy Ballroom opened its
doors in New York. The Savoy was an immediate
success with its block-long dance floor and a
raised double bandstand. Nightly dancing attracted
most of the best dancers in the New York area.
Stimulated by the presence of great dancers and
the best black bands, music at the Savoy was largely
Swinging Jazz. One evening in 1927, following
Lindbergh's flight to Paris, a local dance enthusiast
named "Shorty George" Snowden was watching some
of the dancing couples. A newspaper reporter asked
him what dance they were doing, and it just so
happened that there was a newspaper with an article
about Lindbergh's flight sitting on the bench
next to them. The title of the article read, "Lindy
Hops The Atlantic," and George just sort of read
that and said, "Lindy Hop" and the name stuck.
In
the mid 1930's, a bouncy six beat variant was
named the Jitterbug by the band leader Cab Calloway
when he introduced a tune in 1934 entitled "Jitterbug".
With
the discovery of the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug,
the communities began dancing to the contemporary
Jazz and Swing music as it was evolving at the
time, with Benny Goodman leading the action. Dancers
soon incorporated tap and jazz steps into their
dancing.
In
the mid 1930's, Herbert White, head bouncer in
the New York City Savoy Ballroom, formed a Lindy
Hop dance troupe called Whitey's Lindy Hoppers.
One of the most important members of Whitey's
Lindy Hoppers was Frankie Manning. The "Hoppers"
were showcased in the following films: "A Day
at the Races" (1937), "Hellzapoppin" (1941), "Sugar
Hill Masquerade" (1942), and "Killer Diller" (1948).
In
1938, the Harvest Moon Ball included Lindy Hop
and Jitterbug competition for the first time.
It was captured on film and presented for everyone
to see in the Paramount, Pathe, and Universal
movie newsreels between 1938 and 1951.
In
early 1938, Dean Collins arrived in Hollywood.
He learned to dance the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug,
Lindy and Swing in New York City and spent a lot
of time in Harlem and the Savoy Ballroom. Between
1941 and 1960, Collins danced in, or helped choreograph
over 100 movies which provided at least a 30 second
clip of some of the best California white dancers
performing Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy and Swing.
In
the late 1930's and through the 1940's, the terms
Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy, and Swing were used
interchangeably by the news media to describe
the same style of dancing taking place on the
streets, in the night clubs, in contests, and
in the movies.
By
the end of 1936, the Lindy was sweeping the United
States. As might be expected, the first reaction
of most dancing teachers to the Lindy was a chilly
negative. In 1936 Philip Nutl, president of the
American Society of Teachers of Dancing, expressed
the opinion that swing would not last beyond the
winter. In 1938 Donald Grant, president of the
Dance Teachers' Business Association, said that
swing music "is a degenerated form of jazz, whose
devotees are the unfortunate victims of economic
instability." In 1942 members of the New York
Society of Teachers of Dancing were told that
the jitterbug (a direct descendent of the Lindy
Hop), could no longer be ignored. Its "cavortings"
could be refined to suit a crowded dance floor.
The
dance schools such as The New York Society of
Teachers and Arthur Murray, did not formally begin
documenting or teaching the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug,
Lindy, and Swing until the early 1940's. The ballroom
dance community was more interested in teaching
the foreign dances such as the Argentine Tango,
Spanish Paso Doblé, Brazilian Samba, Puerto Rican
Merengue, Cuban Mambo and Cha Cha, English Quickstep,
Austrian Waltz, with an occasional American Fox-trot
and Peabody.
In
the early 1940's the Arthur Murray studios looked
at what was being done on the dance floors in
each city and directed their teachers to teach
what was being danced in their respective cities.
As a result, the Arthur Murray Studios taught
different styles of undocumented Swing in each
city.
In
the early 1940's, Lauré Haile, as a swing dancer
and competitor, documented what she saw being
danced by the white community. At that time, Dean
Collins was leading the action with Lenny Smith
and Lou Southern in the night clubs and competitions
in Southern California. Lauré Haile gave it the
name of "Western Swing". She began teaching for
Arthur Murray in 1945. Dean Collins taught Arthur
Murray teachers in Hollywood and San Francisco
in the late 1940's and early 1950's.
After
the late 1940's, the soldiers and sailors returned
from overseas and continued to dance in and around
their military bases. Jitterbug was danced to
Country-Western music in Country-Western bars,
and popularized in the 1980's.
As
the music changed between the 1920's and 1990's,
(Jazz, Swing, Bop, Rock 'n' Roll, Rhythm & Blues,
Disco, Country), the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy,
and Swing evolved across the U.S. with many regional
styles. The late 1940's brought forth many dances
that evolved from Rhythm & Blues music: the Houston
Push and Dallas whip (Texas), the Imperial Swing
(St. Louis), the D.C. Hand Dancing (Washington),
and the Carolina Shag (Carolinas and Norfolk)
were just a few.
In
1951 Lauré Haile first published her dance notes
as a syllabus, which included Western Swing for
the Santa Monica Arthur Murray Dance Studio. In
the 50's she presented her syllabus in workshops
across the U.S. for the Arthur Murray Studios.
The original Lauré Haile Arthur Murray Western
Swing Syllabus has been taught by Arthur Murray
studios with only minor revisions for the past
44 years.
From
the mid 1940's to today, the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug,
Lindy, and Swing, were stripped down and distilled
by the ballroom dance studio teachers in order
to adapt what they were teaching to the less nimble-footed
general public who paid for dance lessons. As
a result, the ballroom dance studios bred and
developed a ballroom East Coast Swing and ballroom
West Coast Swing.
In
the late 1950's, television brought "American
Bandstand", "The Buddy Dean Show" and other programs
to the teenage audiences. The teenagers were rocking
with Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Chuck
Berry leading the fray. In 1959, some of the California
dance organizations, with Skippy Blair setting
the pace, changed the name of Western Swing to
West Coast Swing so it would not be confused with
country and western dancing.
In
the 1990's, dancers over 60 years of age still
moving their Lindy Hoppin', Jitterbuggin', Swingin',
and Shaggin' feet.
SWING
STYLES
Savoy
Swing: a style of Swing popular in the New York
Savoy Ballroom in the 30's and 40's originally
danced to Swing music. The Savoy style of swing
is a very fast, jumpy, casual-looking style of
dancing
Lindy:
style is a smoother-looking dance.
West
Coast Swing: a style of Swing emphasizing nimble
feet popular in California night clubs in the
30's and 40's and voted the California State Dance
in 1989.
Whip:
a style of Swing popular in Houston, Texas, emphasizing
moves spinning the follower between dance positions
with a wave rhythm break.
Push:
a style of swing popular in Dallas, Texas, emphasizing
moves spinning the follower between dance positions
with a rock rhythm break.
Supreme
Swing: a style of Swing popular in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Imperial
Swing: a style of Swing popular in St. Louis,
Missouri.
Carolina
Shag: a style of Swing popular in the Carolinas
emphasizing the leader's nimble feet.
DC
Hand Dancing: a Washington, DC synthesis of Lindy
and Swing.
East
Coast Swing: a 6 count style of Lindy popular
in the ballroom dance school organizations.
Ballroom
West Coast Swing: a style of swing popular in
the ballroom dance school organizations and different
from the style performed in the California night
clubs and Swing dance clubs.
Country-Western
Swing: a style of Jitterbug popularized during
the 1980's and danced to Country and Western music.
Cajun
Swing: a Louisiana Bayou style of Lindy danced
to Cajun music.
Pony
Swing: a Country Western style of Cajun Swing.
Jive:
the International Style version of the dance is
called Jive, and it is danced competitively in
the US and all over the world.
FOX
TROT
The
Foxtrot began with a man named Harry Fox, a longtime
star of the vaudeville. By 1914, Fox was appearing
in the New York vaudeville scene. A dancer for
the New York theater, he married Yansci Dolly
of the Dolly sisters and the two were seen doing
a sprightly dance between regular shows at the
theater. The result was a crowd pleaser, and the
audience deemed Fox's dance the "Fox Trot." That
same year, the American Society of Professors
of Dancing standardized the steps of the Foxtrot.
The dance was introduced to the public with Oscar
Duryea, an established choreographer of the time.
His dance team introduced the Foxtrot as a rolling
smooth glide that moved in large steps across
the room.
Why
was this dance named the Foxtrot? Harry Fox's
original dance was a series of trotting steps.
When Durynea prepared his premiere, he deemed
the trotting step too much for ladies, and turned
it into a smooth glide. Therefore, the Foxtrot
was known by this name, although the trot did
not remain.
The
Dolly sisters soon began dancing through New York
in their own review. The dance quickly spread
to London through the efforts of one American,
G.K. Anderson. While performing the dance in London
and American competitions, he solidified to dance
for the audience. The Foxtrot was a smooth dance
that would remain in a certain section of the
floor. This made it easier to dance in social
settings, and more appealing to the watcher.
The
Foxtrot has a regular step of slow-slow-quick-quick.
It is done in square step, in a circular motion.
Music for the Foxtrot has a flowing, perky quality
and adhered to 4/4 time, so that steps are regular.
Because of its mixed slow and fast steps, it is
easy to keep the steps in a contained area. This
does not mean that the Foxtrot cannot cover a
lot of ground, however. Anyone who has watched
a dance competition knows that couples can clear
a room when dancing in earnest. Dancers who do
the Foxttrot have noted that there are an unusual
number of variations that can be performed. For
some, it is the hardest of the ballroom dance
series. It is not uncommon for a dance team to
espouse this one dance alone, making it their
specialty.
Several
versions of the Foxtrot exist. Faster foxtrots
turn into Swing and Jitterbug. A fast Foxtrot
known as a One Step is today the Quickstep, and
faster version of the original set to waltz music.
The Foxtrot itself can be known as the Peabody
and the Roseland Foxtrot. The Foxtrot has a reputation
for being an incredibly social dance, because
of these variations and their popularity.
MAMBO
The
mambo is a very popular and sensual dance, with
African and Cuban rhythms.
Mambo
is actually a name for a bantu drum. The word
"mambo" means "conversation with the Gods," and
these drums were used for sacred and ritual purposes.
The mambo is a spinoff of the English country
dance, which made its way to Cuba through immigrants.
It was named the danza, or the dance of Cuba,
and gradually its beat and movement became saturated
with African and Cuban rhythms, creating an entirely
new beat and style.
Mambo's
origin lies in the early 1900's in Cuba. Oresta
Lopez, a composer and cellist, created a piece
known as the "mambo" mixing everyday Cuban rhythms
with the African and south American aspects on
the street. The result was a new fusion, and one
that supported a continuous beat. Mambo became
ever more popular when Prado Perez, a famous bandleader
and a friend to Lopez, marketed his music under
the name "mambo." It contained big brass and drum
sound, and incorporated fast beats and runs on
the instruments. In 1951, Perez Prado and his
Orchestra took a tour of the United States, establishing
Perez as a mambo king and mambo's as America's
latest craze. Perez was actually the first to
market the "Mambo #5," now popular again in the
1990's! Dancing houses and clubs began to improvise
steps to the beat created, and the mambo was born.
This
popularity spread to the United Stated very rapidly.
It was actually not the first Cuban-African dance
to achieve popularity in the United Stated. The
rumba was introduced in the 1930's to the American
public, and it took on like wildfire. During the
mid-1900's, people danced up a mambo storm in
Miami, New York and San Fransisco. The mambo was
especially popular in New York dance halls, where
dancers twisted and turned and threw their partners,
arms, legs and hands in the air to win dance competitions.
Mambo bands developed intense rivalries as to
who could create the best mambo rhythm. Players
like Ellington, Gillespie and Bob Hope were all
part of this friendly competition.
Mambo
is written to music in 4/4 time, but some of these
beats call for the partner to hold. The first
step on every 4/4 beat has no movement, followed
by quick-quick-slow beats. Mambo is characterized
by the hip movements that it entails. While moving
forward and backwards to the beat, dancers "sway"
with the hips, creating a fluid motion that flows
with the music. The mambo can exist in different
forms. One form, the triple mambo, is so fast
that the beat is accelerated to three times its
normal rate. Out of this fast-stepping dance came
another genre, the cha-cha. What many people do
not know is that the cha-cha is actually still
a form of the mambo. It's music and beat structure
make it a surefire relation.
Modern
mambo is considered a New York creation. The fluidity
of the dance entered the mambo scene shortly after
its emergence into New York. The five note, two
bar rhythm pattern known as the clave was the
backbone of the dance, and from this New Yorkers
like Lenny Dale, Cuban Pete and Killer Joe Piro
added steps from jazz, tap and swing. By the mid
1970's, the hustle also became a favorite dance
form in New York, and Latin moves were added to
create the "Latin hustle." This dance form was
the rage in the late 1970's, encompassing mambo
with quicker rhythms and steps.
Mambo
today exists mainly in competition. When dancing
the mambo with a partner in competition, many
couples strive for a sensual, Latin look. The
mambo is quite different form other dances because
it is blatantly sensual, instead of dramatic,
fast or flowing. To win a competition in this
genre, a full understanding of the sensual capabilities
of this dance must be exhibited. For this reason,
couples that win in this area tend to do slower,
simpler dances with less flashy moves and more
graceful simultaneous motions while staring into
each other's eyes.
For
the modern mambo dancer, while performing the
mambo, certain rules of dance etiquette should
be used. Public dance halls often have a raving
mambo scene, meaning that dancers are moving closely
in a crowded area, stepping on each other and
executing moves that occasionally put another
dancer at risk. To observe the proper rules of
etiquette, be aware of the other dancers and the
space that you have. Execute your moves accordingly.
Practice moves beforehand, so that you don't do
anything that may put another dancer at risk.
Get a feel for your partner. Can they follow the
moves that you are leading? If not, don't lead
them. Move on to easier steps as to avoid embarrassment
or accident.
RUMBA
Rumba
is both a family of music rhythms and a dance
style that originated in Africa and traveled via
the slave trade to Cuba and the New World. The
so-called rumba rhythm, a variation of the African
standard pattern or clave rhythm, is the additive
grouping of an eight pulse bar (one 4/4 measure)
into 3+3+2 or, less often, 3+5 (van der Merwe
1989, p.321). Its variants include the bossa nova
rhythm. Original Cuban rumba is highly polyrhythmic,
and as such is often far more complex than the
examples cited above.
Ballroom
Rumba and Rhumba There is a ballroom dance, also
called Rumba, based on Cuban Rumba and Son. Also,
still another variant of Rumba music and dance
was popularized in the United States in 1930s,
which was almost twice as fast, as exemplified
by the popular tune, The Peanut Vendor.
This
type of "Big Band Rumba" was also known as Rhumba.
The latter term still survives, with no clearly
agreed upon meaning; one may find it applied to
Ballroom, Big Band, and Cuban rumbas.
Gypsy
Rumba In the 1990s the French group Gypsy Kings
of Spanish descent became a popular New Flamenco
group by playing Rumba Flamenca (or rumba gitana,
Catalan rumba) music. African Rumba A style called
"Rumba" music has been popular in Africa since
the 1950s. Some of the more well known Rumba artists
include Franco Luambo, OK Jazz, Dr Nico Kasanda,
Sam Mangwana, and Tabu Ley Rochereau. Later, the
music evolved into Soukous.
Cuban Rumba: Rumba arose in Havana in the 1890s.
As a sexually-charged Afro-Cuban dance, rumba
was often suppressed and restricted because it
was viewed as dangerous and lewd.
Later,
Prohibition in the United States caused a flourishing
of the relatively-tolerated cabaret rumba, as
American tourists flocked to see crude sainetes
(short plays) which featured racial stereotypes
and generally, though not always, rumba.
Perhaps
because of the mainstream and middle-class dislike
for rumba, danzón and (unofficially) son montuno
became seen as "the" national music for Cuba,
and the expression of Cubanismo. Rumberos reacted
by mixing the two genres in the 30s, 40s and 50s;
by the mid-40s, the genre had regained respect,
especially the guaguanco style.
Rumba
is sometimes confused with salsa, with which it
shares origins and essential movements.
There
are several rhythms of the Rumba family, and associated
styles of dance: · Yambú (slow; the dance often
involving mimicking old men and women walking
bent) · Guaguancó (medium-fast, often flirtatious,
involving pelvic thrusts by the male dancers,
the vacunao) · Columbia (fast, aggressive and
competitive, generally danced by men only, occasionally
mimicking combat or dancing with knives) · Columbia
del Monte (very fast) All of these share the instrumentation
(3 conga drums or cajones, claves, palitos and
/ or guagua, lead singer and coro; optionally
chekeré and cowbells), the heavy polyrhythms,
and the importance of clave.
Rumba
rhythm: The rhythm which is known now as "rumba
rhythm" was popular in European music beginning
in the 1500s until the later Baroque, with classical
music era composers preferring syncopations such
as 3+2+3. It reappeared in the nineteenth century
SALSA
Salsa
is a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean
dances. Each played a large part in its evolution.
Salsa is similar to Mambo in that both have a
pattern of six steps danced over eight counts
of music. The dances share many of the same moves.
In Salsa, turns have become an important feature,
so the overall look and feel are quite different
form those of Mambo. Mambo moves generally forward
and backward, whereas, Salsa has more of a side
to side feel.
A
look at the origin of Salsa By: Jaime Andrés Pretell
It
is not only Cuban; nevertheless we must give credit
to Cuba for the origin and ancestry of creation.
It is here where Contra-Danze (Country Dance)
of England/France, later called Danzón, which
was brought by the French who fled from Haiti,
begins to mix itself with Rhumbas of African origin
(Guaguanco, Colombia, Yambú). Add Són of the Cuban
people, which was a mixture of the Spanish troubadour
(sonero) and the African drumbeats and flavora
and a partner dance flowered to the beat of the
clave.
This
syncretism also occurred in smaller degrees and
with variations in other countries like the Dominican
Republic, Colombia, Puerto Rico, among others.
Bands of these countries took their music to Mexico
City in the era of the famous films of that country
(Perez Prado, most famous...). Shortly after,
a similar movement to New York occurred. In these
two cities, more promotion and syncretism occurred
and more commercial music was generated because
there was more investment. New York created the
term "Salsa", but it did not create the dance.
The term became popular as nickname to refer to
a variety of different music, from several countries
of Hispanic influence: Rhumba, Són Montuno, Guaracha,
Mambo, Cha cha cha, Danzón, Són, Guguanco, Cubop,
Guajira, Charanga, Cumbia, Plena, Bomba, Festejo,
Merengue, among others. Many of these have maintained
their individuality and many were mixed creating
"Salsa".
If
you are listening to today's Salsa, you are going
to find the base of són, and you are going to
hear Cumbia, and you are going to hear Guaracha.
You will also hear some old Merengue, built-in
the rhythm of different songs. You will hear many
of the old styles somewhere within the modern
beats. Salsa varies from site to site. In New
York, for example, new instrumentalization and
extra percussion were added to some Colombian
songs so that New Yorkers - that dance mambo "on
the two" - can feel comfortable dancing to the
rhythm and beat of the song, because the original
arrangement is not one they easily recognize.
This is called "finishing," to enter the local
market. This "finish" does not occur because the
Colombian does not play Salsa, but it does not
play to the rhythm of the Puerto Rican/Post-Cuban
Salsa. I say Post-Cuban, because the music of
Cuba has evolved towards another new and equally
flavorful sound.
Then,
as a tree, Salsa has many roots and many branches,
but one trunk that unites us all. The important
thing is that Salsa is played throughout the Hispanic
world and has received influences of many places
within it. It is of all of us and it is a sample
of our flexibility and evolution. If you think
that a single place can take the credit for the
existence of Salsa, you are wrong. And if you
think that one style of dance is better, imagine
that the best dancer of a style, without his partner,
goes to dance with whomever he can find, in a
club where a different style predominates. He
wouldn't look as good as the locals. Each dancer
is accustomed to dance his/her own style. None
is better, only different. ¡¡¡Viva la variedad,
¡¡¡Viva la Salsa!!!
WALTZ
Many
people consider tango to be the world's first
"forbidden dance." This is not so. The first dance
to earn this distinction was the waltz, due to
its nature and origins.
Waltz
comes from the German word "waltzen," which means
"to turn." The turn is the essence of the waltz
step. The waltz is done in 3/4 time with an accent
on the first beat of every measure. Each series
of movements is a turning step and a close. Today,
it is often danced on a light foot, although this
was not always the case.
Precursors
to the waltz were the allemande and the minuet.
The allemande was a stately dance done in two
lines. Partners faced each other and moved back
and forth, sometimes going under the arms of the
other line, or processing down the middle. The
minuet was a square-step dance performed in a
rigid and stately manner. The waltz itself is
Viennese, and it evolved in Austria and Bavaria
under such names as the Dreher, the laendler and
the Deutscher. It was created as a peasant dance
in early Austria, and involved robust moves and
lots of space. Often, partners were hurled into
the air in moves that occasionally led to injury
and miscarriage. Because peasants wore loud, thick
shoes, it was also very noisy. When it first became
popular in Viennese dance halls in late eighteenth
century, these aspects began to change.
The
waltz was termed the "forbidden dance" for one
reason. When it moved into Viennese dance halls,
partners were allowed to touch! This was unheard
of, and led to the dance being slandered by many
officials of the church and leaders of the Austrian
community. Because it was a favored dance of the
young, however, it continued to be danced. Because
of its transition to dance halls and city gathering,
it evolved into a light dance for polished floors
and parties. Its music also changed, becoming
more refined and orchestrated. Notable instruments
used to play it were the piano, the violin and
the bass. In 1787, it was brought to the operatic
stage, inviting huge debate. Mozart was a huge
fan of the waltz, and in one of his operas, Don
Giovanni, three waltzes are played at once in
one scene! Clearly, the dance could not be stopped.
By the 1800's, Paris had fallen in love with the
waltz. It did not arrive in England until later,
where it was first denounced, and then accepted.
A final public acceptance of it in 1819 allowed
the waltz to reach the popularity that it still
has today.
Today,
the waltz is danced in all corners of the world.
Its predecessors have mostly died away, but in
their place the waltz is acclaimed in Asia, Australia,
America, Canada and South America as a favorite
dance. Its label as the "forbidden dance" has
been taken instead by the tango, a dance that
arose from the slums of Argentina.
Argentine Tango class from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. The class is $10 or free with paid admission to the tango party. If you have never danced tango before this is the perfect class for you. Open roles, you can choose to lead or follow. Diversity and inclusion, everyone is welcome in our house LGBTQ+ friendly.
VENMO: @ALB8444
$10 Tango class only Tuesday cash or Venmo. VENMO: @ALB8444
Tango party 7-11PM
$10 Tango class only Tuesday cash or Venmo.
$18 in advance of Tuesday via Venmo. (includes lesson)
$20 at the door on Tuesday cash or Venmo. (includes lesson)
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