Dance Terminology*
American Tango -
Born on the
back streets of Buenos Aries, the Tango is a passionate and expressive
dance. The dance has an earthy and dramatic nature. Its
movements can be slow and stealthy, other times sharp and staccato. While the Tango Argentino is
more personal and stylized for the bar scene, the American Tango is more
appropriate for the social ballroom dancer. Learning the dramatic
Tango is exciting, and increases your dance stamina, creativity, and
elegance.
Cha Cha -
Dance one of the
most popular of Latin-American dances. Similar to the Mambo and Rumba, the
Cha Cha rhythm splits on the fourth beat, creating a 2-3-4 & 1 beat.
This allows for fun and infectious dance with movements filled with turns
and breaks that let your own personality shine through. A fast dance
designed for small spaces, you'll love dancing the Cha Cha.
Foxtrot
- appropriate for all 2/4 and 4/4 time signatures,
the slow-slow-quick-quick steps of the Foxtrot make it a classic and
timeless dance technique. The Social Foxtrot is ideal for confined
spaces and, for more advanced dancers, the Slow Foxtrot provides a graceful
posture to which most dancers aspire. On the faster end, the Foxtrot
gives way to its speedier slow-quick-quick-slow variant - the
Quickstep.
Mambo -
expand your knowledge of the American Style Rhythm dances and add the Mambo
– translated as ‘shake it.’ A Latin dance and parent to Cha Cha and Salsa;
Mambo is a mixture of Cuban and American jazz dancing using ‘cuban motion,’
flirty movements, and earthy rhythms. Generally following a
quick-quick-slow beat, this fun dance helps develop your own expression,
confidence and style!
Merengue - this popular
Latin style comes from the Dominican Republic in the Carribbean.
Following an explicit one-two rhythm, the purposive slow-slow-slow-slow
steps of the Merengue are ideal for club dancing, as the partners can repeat
many of the eight-count steps in a relatively small area of dance space.
Rumba
- it is said that, if Tango is the dance of passion, then
Rumba is the dance of love. Both the male and female dancers
demonstrate strength and power in this intense Cuban classic. Rumba
music follows a 4/4 beat, with the emphasis placed on the last beat of the
bar. The action of the forward and backward walks of the Rumba is a
dance step recognized and loved around the world.
Salsa - a 1928 music piece, Echale Salista ("spice it up"), gave rise to the Salsa beat and eventual
corresponding dance style. Often, the term Salsa is used as a generic
term to refer to all forms of Latin style dances. Broken into four
equal beats, the Salsa step generally includes three equal steps and a tap,
though some variations use a quick-quick-slow (two count) pattern. The
most important element to a good Salsa is enjoying yourself on the dance
floor. Samba
- Originating from Rio de Janeiro, this Portuguese
style is the dance of celebration and joy each year at Carnival. Over
the years, the 2/4 timed style has developed its own unique pattern of
quick-quick-slow followed by a slight knee lift. Heads held still,
Samba dancers flow gracefully and joyfully around the room.
Swing -
you've all heard it...."it don't mean a thing if you ain't got that
swing.... " With the slow-slow-rock step as its foundation, the
variants of this 1920's American dance creation manifest themselves in such
styles as Boogie-Woogie, West Coast, Jive, and the Lindy Hop.
Okay Dance focuses mostly on
the East Coast Swing and the Jitterbug. If you love the Big Band era
sound and high energy movements, the Swing is the dance for you. Waltz -
one of the favorite and most romantic social dances, often associated with
special events such as weddings. Stemming from an 18th century
Austro-German folk dance, the waltz has evolved over the years to reflect
changing times and fashions. Danced to music in 3/4 time, the waltz is
characterized by a graceful rise and fall, and allows for fluid movement
around the dance floor. The American Waltz is especially elegant. |