Ballroom Dance (International Latin)

BALLROOM DANCE

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

Ballroom dance may refer, at its widest, to almost any type of social dancing as recreation. However, with the emergence of dance sport in modern times, the term has become narrower in scope. It usually refers to the International Standard and International Latin style dances. These styles were developed in England, and are now regulated by the World Dance Council (WDC). In the United States, two additional variations are popular: American Smooth and American Rhythm.

CLASSIFICATION OF BALLROOM DANCE

Ballroom dance is classified into International Ballroom (or Standard) and International Latin.

International Latin

There are different types of international ballroom such as; salsa, cha-cha, rumba, samba, merungue, paso-doble, jive, bachata, pachanga, mambo, flamenco etc.

·         Salsa

This is a dance created by Spanish speaking people from the Caribbean. Salsa dancing is a fine elegant mixture of African and European dance influences through the music and dance fusions that are the roots of salsa. Salsa dancing is related to dirty dancing. This is usually a couple partner dance although there are also solo forms, line dancing (suelta) and Rueda de Casino where groups of couple exchange partners in a circle.

This is a syncretic dance form with origins from the Cuban Son (circa 1920s) and Afro-Cuban dance (specifically Afro-Cuban rumba). It is generally associated with the salsa music style, although it may be danced under other types of tropical music.

There are a few basic steps of Salsa. The most common is the three weight changes (or steps) in each four-beat measure. The beat on which one does not step might contain a tap or kick, or weight transfer may simply continue with the actual step not occurring until the next beat. The option chosen depends upon individual choice and upon the specific style being danced. One of the steps is called a "break," which involves a change in direction. Different styles of Salsa are often differentiated by the timing of the break step. After 6 weight changes in 8 beats, the basic step cycle is complete. While dancing, the basic step can be modified significantly as part of the improvisation and styling of the people dancing.

In many styles of Salsa dancing, as a dancer changes weight by stepping, the upper body remains level and nearly unaffected by the weight changes. Caught in the middle are the hips which end up moving quite a bit —- famously known as the "Cuban hip movement." Perhaps ironically, the Cuban Casino style of Salsa dancing actually has significant amounts of movement above the waist, with up-and-down shoulder movements and shifting of the ribcage.

The arms are used by the "lead" dancer, to communicate or signal the "follower," either in "open" or "closed" position. The open position requires the two dancers to hold one or both hands, especially for moves that involve turns, putting arms behind the back, or moving around each other, to name a few examples. In the closed position, the leader puts the right hand on the follower's back, while the follower puts the left hand on the leader's shoulder. In the original Latin America form, the forward/backward motion of Salsa is done in diagonal or sideways with the 3-step weight change intact.

In some styles of salsa, such as LA and New York style, the dancers remain in a slot or line (switching places), while in some Latin American styles, such as Cuban style, the dancers circle around each other, sometimes in 3 points. This circular style is especially true for casino rueda dancing.

·         Mambo

This is one of the most sexual and emotional Latin American ballroom dances. Swaying hip movements, facial expressions, arm movement and holds all add to the sexuality of the dance. Mambo music was invented during the 1930s by Arsenio Rodríguez, developed in Havana by Cachao and made popular by Dámaso Pérez Prado and Benny Moré.

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". After Havana, Prado moved his music to Mexico, where his music and the dance were adopted. The original mambo dance was characterized by freedom and complicated foot-steps. Some Mexican entertainers became well known dancers like Tongolele, AdalbertoMartínez, 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 Cuba, Mexico City, and New York is completely different to the modern dance that New Yorkers now call 'Mambo', 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 The modern dance from New York was popularized in the 70s by Eddie Torres and his contemporaries who were 1st or 2nd generation Puerto Rican immigrants. This style is not danced to Mambo music, for which it is poorly suited, but instead to Salsa music.

The Eddie Torres version of Mambo (or Salsa On 2) was actually developed by dropping the chase from cha cha, when the music became too fast to diligently carry out the chase as a technique. Since the forward break is on 6 it would suggest that the cha cha from which the dance was derived was; counted in 4s not 8s and was started with the back break and not the forward break. So, arguably, it is actually on 6. Note, all aspects of the moves are shifted more than one beat which also gives the hint it is miss named.

·         Cha-cha

            This was originally called cha-cha-cha because its main tempo movement is based on triple step. The cha-cha style of ballroom dancing originated in the Cuban mambo and became popular in the United States in 1950s. It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrín in 1953. This rhythm was developed from the danzón by a syncopation of the fourth beat. The name is onomatopoeic, derived from the rhythm of thescraper and the shuffling of the dancers' feet.

The basic pattern involves the lead (usually the man) taking a checked forward step with the left foot, retaining some weight on the right foot. The knee of the right leg must stay straight and close to the back of the left knee, the left leg having straightened just prior to receiving part weight. This step is taken on the second beat of the bar. Full weight is returned to the right leg on the second step (beat three).

The fourth beat is split in two so the count of the next three steps is 4-and-1. These three steps constitute the cha-cha-cha chasse. A step to the side is taken with the left foot, the right foot is half closed towards the left foot (typically leaving both feet under the hips or perhaps closed together), and finally there is a last step to the left with the left foot. The length of the steps in the chasse depends very much on the effect the dancer is attempting to make.

The partner takes a step back on the right foot, the knee being straightened as full weight is taken. The other leg is allowed to remain straight. It is possible it will shoot slightly but no deliberate flexing of the free leg is attempted. This is quite different from technique associated with salsa, for instance. On the next beat (beat three) weight is returned to the left leg. Then a cha-cha-cha chasse is danced RLR.

Each partner is now in a position to dance the bar their partner just danced. Hence the fundamental construction of Cha-cha-cha extends over two bars. The checked first step is a later development in the International Cha-cha-cha. Because of the action used during the forward step (the one taking only part weight) the basic pattern turns left, whereas in earlier times Cha-cha-cha was danced without rotation of the alignment. Hip actions are allowed to occur at the end of every step. For steps taking a single beat the first half of the beat constitutes the foot movement and the second half is taken up by the hip movement. The hip sway eliminates any increase in height as the feet are brought towards each In general, steps in all directions should be taken first with the ball of the foot in contact with the floor, and then with the heel lowering when the weight is fully transferred; however, some steps require that the heel remain lifted from the floor. When weight is released from a foot, the heel should release from the floor first, allowing the toe to maintain contact with the floor.

·         Rumba

        This is a ballroom dancing sometimes known as the Latin waltz. The American rumba is a variation of a slow rhythms Cuban dance called the “son” that was brought to the United States in the 1920s. The rumba is danced on the spot, rather than all over the dance floor, with hip and other body movements in a slow, quiet, quick beat.

Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance which as already known comes from Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word “rumbo” which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no religious connections. People of African descent in Havana and Matanzas originally used the word rumba as a synonym for party. OlavoAlén states that over time, "rumba ceased to be simply another word for party and took on the meaning both of a defined Cuban musical genre and also of a very specific form of dance." The term spread in the 1930s and 1940s to the faster popular music of Cuba (the "Peanut Vendor" was a classic), where it was used as a catch-all term, rather like salsa today. Also, the term is used in the international Latin-American dance syllabus, where it is a misnomer: the music used for this slower dance is the bolero-son. Ballroom rumba, or rhumba, is basically son and not based on the authentic folkloric rumba. Similarly, the African style of pop music called African Rumba or soukous is also son-based.

·         Samba

        It is possibly the most popular of all Brazilian ballroom dances, the samba is popular with young people as well as older generations. The samba can be performed solo or with a partner. This type of dance is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia, Brazil, and with its roots in Rio de Janeiro and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival. Considered one of the most popular Brazilian cultural expressions, samba has become an icon of Brazilian national identity. The Bahian Samba de Roda (dance circle), which became a UNESCO Heritage of Humanity in 2005, is the main root of the samba carioca, the samba that is played and danced in Rio de Janeiro.

The modern samba that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century is basically 2/4 tempo varied with the conscious use of chorus sung to the sound of palms and batucada rhythm, adding one or more parts or stanzas of declaratory verses. Traditionally, the samba is played by strings (cavaquinho and various types of guitar) and various percussion instruments such as tamborim. Influenced by American orchestras in vogue since the Second World War and the cultural impact of US music post-war, samba began to use trombones, trumpets, choros, flutes, and clarinets.

In addition to rhythm and bar, samba brings a whole historical culture of food, varied dances (miudinho, coco, samba de roda, and pernada), parties, clothes such as linen shirts, and the NAIF painting of established names such as Nelson Sargento, Guilherme de Brito, and Heitor dos Prazeres. Anonymous community artists, including painters, sculptors, designers, and stylists, make the clothes, costumes, carnival floats, and cars, opening the doors of schools of samba.

The Samba National Day is celebrated on December 2. The date was established at the initiative of Luis Monteiro da Costa, an Alderman of Salvador, in honor of AryBarroso. He composed "Na BaixadoSapateiro" even though he had never been in Bahia. Thus 2 December marked the first visit of AryBarroso to Salvador. Initially, this day was celebrated only in Salvador, but eventually it turned into a national holiday.

Samba is a root style in Southeastern Brazil and Northeast Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador and Belo Horizonte. Its importance as Brazil's national music transcends region, however; samba schools, samba musicians and carnival organizations centered around the performance of samba exist in every region of the country and, while regional musics prevail in other regions (for instance, in Southern Brazil, Center-West Brazil, and all of the Brazilian countryside, Sertanejo, or Brazilian country music, is the most popular style).Since Rio de Janeiro is the most popular Brazilian city worldwide, usually samba is used to identify Brazilians as part of the same national culture, even if nowadays Sertanejo is the most popular style in Brazil.

·         Paso-doble

       It is one of the liveliest ballroom dances originated in southern France. It is modeled after the sound, drama and movement of the Spanish bull fight.Paso Doble is a traditional dance from Spain march-like musical style as well as the corresponding dance style danced by a couple. It is the type of music typically played in bullfights during the bullfighters' entrance to the ring or during the passe just before the kill. It corresponds to the Paso doble dance (traditional and ballroom).

Paso Doble is a lively style of dance to the duple meter march-like pasodoble music. It is modeled after the sound, drama, and movement of the Spanish and Portuguese bullfight.A significant number of Paso Doble songs are variants of EspañaCañi. The song has breaks in fixed positions in the song (two breaks at syllabus levels,[clarification needed] three breaks and a longer song at Open levels). Traditionally Paso Doble routines are choreographed to match these breaks, as well as the musical phrases. Accordingly, most other ballroom Paso Doble tunes are written with similar breaks (those without are simply avoided in most competitions).

Because of its inherently choreographed tradition, ballroom Paso Doble for the most part is danced only competitively, almost never socially — or at least not without sticking to some sort of previously learned routine. This said, in Spain, France, Vietnam, Colombia, Costa Rica and some parts of Germany to the west of the river Rhine, it is danced socially as a lead (not choreographed) dance. In Venezuela, Paso Doble is a must in almost every wedding or big party, being especially famous the song Guitarra Española by Los Melódicos.

·         Jive

       This is a dance style in 4/4 tempo that was originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1940s. it is a lively and uninhabited variation of the jitter bug, a form of swing dance.In Ballroom dancing, Jive is a dance style in 4/4 time that originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1930s. It was originally presented to the public as 'Jive' 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.

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.

American soldiers brought Lindy Hop/Jitterbug to Europe around 1942, 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. In the UK variations in technique led to styles such as Boogie-Woogie and Swing Boogie, with "Jive" gradually emerging as the generic term.

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". English instructors developed the elegant and lively ballroom Jive, danced to slightly slower music. In 1968 it was adopted as the fifth Latin dance in International competitions. The modern form of ballroom jive in the 1990s-present, is a very happy and boppy dance, the lifting of knees and the bending or rocking of the hips often occur