This article traces the some of the history of the International Dancing Championship 'Latin-American' Dances: Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Cha Cha, and Jive.
Many dances popular around the world have originated in Latin America, for example the Bachata, Bolero, Carimbo, Conga, Cueca, Cumbia, Joropo, Lambada, Macarena, Mambo, Merengue, Rueda, and the Salsa. Three such dances : the Samba, Rumba, and Cha Cha, plus the Paso Doble from Europe and the Jive from North America, have been singled out and are now performed all over the world as Latin-American dances in international dancing competitions, as well as being danced socially. These dances are for couples, usually each consisting of a man and a lady. The holds vary from figure to figure in these dances, sometimes in closed ballroom hold, sometimes with the partners holding each other with only one hand. The figures in these dances are standardised and categorised into various levels for teaching, with internationally agreed vocabularies, techniques, rhythms and tempos. But it was not always so. These 'Latin-American' dances were only been introduced into Western-European society in the twentieth century, and have some diverse origins in previous eras.
The Romance languages (for example : Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Rumanian) are derived from the ancient Latin language, and define a culture that has spread over a substantial part of the Americas. Three dances from this area plus one from Spain/France and one from the U.S.A. constitute the set of dances now internationally standardised as the 'Latin-American' dances. Note that the term 'Latin-American' here is an abbreviation of 'Latin and American' rather than a reference to the geographic area of 'Latin America'.
The three dances from Latin America evolved as a fusion of Indigenous, European and Negro forms. The European conquerors imported Negro slaves from various parts of West Africa into a large part of the Americas at an early stage, mainly because of the difficulty the Europeans had in persuading the Indigenes to work for them. The African slaves were imported in such number that by 1553, they outnumbered the Europeans in Mexico, and the Viceroy, Luis de Velasco, urged Charles V of Spain to prohibit further influx.
Dancing played a substantial part in all three component cultures: European, Negro and Indigenous. In 1569, the Viceroy of Mexico ordered the Aztec Calendar Stone to be buried because the main recreation of the Negroes had become dancing around it. Subsequently, Velasco decreed that dancing be confined to Sundays and feast days only, and then only in the afternoons between the hours of noon and 6 p.m.
Through the 17th and 18th centuries, a gradual fusion of the three cultures occurred to produce a new culture: Creole. As European dances were imported into Latin America, they were adopted and 'creolized'. In Cuba, the Contradance became the Contradanza Habanera (i.e., from Havana). With the adoption of a syncopated rhythm:
it became just the plain 'Habanera'. This musical form became world famous in the aria 'Habanera' in Bizet's Opera 'Carmen'.
Later, the music became more syncopated with the inclusion of bars with the rhythm:
although this rhythm had been used as early as 1795 in Brazil in a Modinha (love song) which had become popular in Europe at the turn of the 19th Century.
Subsequently: over the years, as the dance evolved, its name changed to the 'Danzon', and in due course, this evolved into a slower more refined version with the even more abbreviated name: the 'Son'.
The Portuguese imported many slaves from Angola and
Congo into Brazil in the 16th century, who in turn
brought their dances such as the
Caterete, the
Embolada and the
Batuque. These dances were
considered sinful by the Europeans as they involved the
touching of navels. The Embolada
is about a cow with balls on its horns for safety, and
became a term meaning 'foolish'. The Batuque became so popular that
Manuel I passed a law
forbidding it. It was described as a circle
dance with steps like the Charleston done to hand clapping and
percussion, and with a solo couple performing in the centre of
the circle.
A composite dance evolved in the 1830's combining the plait figures
from these Negro dances and the body rolls and sways of the
indigenous
Lundu. Later, carnival steps were
added like the
Copacabana (named after a popular beach near Rio de Janeiro).
Gradually members of the high society in Rio embraced it, although
they modified it to be done in closed ballroom dancing position
(which they knew was the only correct way to dance anything).
The dance was then called the Zemba Queca,
and was described in 1885 as "a graceful Brazilian dance".
This was later called the
'Semba' or
'MeSemba'.
The origin of the name 'Samba' is
unclear, and perhaps it is a corruption of Semba,
although another suggestion is that is derived from
Zambo
which means the offspring of a Negro man and
a native woman.
The dance was later combined with the
Maxixe.
This was also originally Brazilian: a round dance described as
like a
Two Step,
and named after the prickly fruit of a Cactus,
although now the word is used in Portuguese to denote a
gherkin.
The Maxixe dance was
introduced into the U.S.A. at the turn of the 20th century
(Stetson 1956,30). It became
popular in Europe after a demonstration in
Paris in the early twentieth century.
It was described as having the steps of the Polka
done to the music of the Cuban Habanera.
The present day Samba still contains a step called the Maxixe,
consisting of a chasse and point.
A form of the Samba called the Carioca
(meaning: from Rio de Janeiro) was revived in U.K. in 1934.
It was popularised by
Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers in their first film together:
'Flying Down to Rio'.
The Carioca spread to the U.S.A. in
1938. In 1941, its popularity was boosted by
performances by
Carmen Miranda (Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha)
in her films, particularly
'That Night in Rio'.
The Samba was further popularized in the 1950's by
Princess Margaret,
who played a leading role in British society.
The Samba was formalised for international propagation by Pierre Margolie
in 1956.
The dance in its current international form still has figures
with very different rhythms,
betraying the heterogeneous origins of the dance,
e.g. the Boto Fogo is danced to a '1 & a 2' quarter beat rhythm,
whereas the Natural Rolls are danced to the simpler
'1 2 &' half beat rhythm.
The dance still retains a hip movement on the half beats between
steps (the 'samba tic'), a flat carriage of the torso, and is danced
with the weight forward onto a bent standing leg.
This had its origin with the African Negro slaves imported into
Cuba, whose dances emphasized the movements of the body rather
than the feet. The tune was considered less important than the complex
cross rhythms, being provided by a percussion of pots,
spoons, bottles, etc.
It evolved in Havanna in the 19th century by combination with the
Contradanza. The name 'Rumba'
possibly derives from the term 'rumboso orquestra' which was used
for a dance band in 1807, although in
Spanish, the word 'rumbo' means 'route', 'rumba' means 'heap
pile', and 'rhum' is of course an intoxicating liquor popular in
the Caribbean, any of which might
have been used descriptively when the dance was being formed.
The name has also been claimed to be derived from the Spanish
word for 'Carousel'.
The rural form of the Rumba in Cuba was described as a pantomime
of barnyard animals, and was an exhibition rather than a
participation dance.
The maintenance of steady level shoulders while dancing was
possibly derived from the way the slaves moved while carrying
heavy burdens.
The step called the 'Cucaracha' was stomping on cockroaches.
The 'Spot Turn' was walking around the rim of a cartwheel.
The popular Rumba tune
'La Paloma'
was known in Cuba in 1866.
The Rumba was introduced into the U.S.A. in the 1930's as a
composite of this rural Rumba with the
Guaracha,
the
Son Cubano,
and the
Cuban Bolero
(unrelated to the
Spanish Bolero).
It was particularly popularised in 1935 by
George Raft, who played the part of a suave dancer
who wins the heart of an heiress through dance,
in the movie
'Rumba',
although the male dancing was done mainly by
Frank Veloz.
The British dance teacher
Pierre Margolie visited
Havanna in 1947
and decided that the Rumba was danced with the break step on
beat 2 of the bar, rather than on beat 1 as in the American Rumba.
This is not entirely true, as the 'beat' of the music is
traditionally determined by the rhythm of the
Claves (two sticks being hit together).
The Claves are hit on half-beats numbers 1,4,7 in the first bar of
a two-bar phrase, and half-beats 3,5 of the second bar.
Counting full beats, these correspond to beat 1, the half beat before 3,
and beat 4 of the first bar, and beats 2 and 3 of the second bar.
Ideally one might dance 5 steps over the two bars to match the
Clave beats. But instead it was decided to dance only on one
of the bars of the Clave sequence.
The American Rumba is danced on the first bar Clave beat.
Pierre decided to use the second bar,
stepping on beats 2 and 3, and he added an extra step on beat 4
for no obvious reason.
He brought this back to Britain, together with
many steps he learned from Pepe Rivera in Havanna.
These steps together with dancing the break on beat 2 rather than beat 1,
after many years of heated debate in the 1940's and 1950's,
became part of the standard International Cuban Rumba.
With only a transfer of weight from one foot to the other
on beat 1 of each bar, and the absence of an actual step on this beat,
the dance has developed a very sensual character.
Beat 1 is a strong beat of the music, but all that moves on
that beat are the hips, so the music emphasises the dancing of the hips.
This together with the slow tempo of the music (116 beats/minute) makes
the dance very romantic. Steps are actually taken on beats 2, 3,
and 4. Weight tranfer and turns are performed
on the intervening half beats. Again, as in the Samba,
the weight is kept forward, with forward steps taken toe-flat,
and with minimal movement of the upper torso throughout.
The name 'Paso Doble' in Spanish means 'Two Step',
and may be distinguished from 'Paso a Dos' which means
'Dance for two'.
"Two Step" refers to the marching nature of the steps,
which may be counted '1,2' for 'Left, Right'.
This may be contrasted with its alternative description as the
'Spanish One Step', so called because only one step is taken to
each beat of music.
The Paso Doble was one of many Spanish folk dances associated
with various facets of Spanish life. In particular, the Paso
Doble is based on the
Bullfight. It portrays the Torero (the male dancer) and his
cape (his partner), and is danced to the characteristic march
music used for procession at the beginning of a corrida.
Bullfights date back to
ancient Crete, but only in the 1700s were they held in
Spain. The dance itself became
popular amongst the upper classes of Paris in the 1930's, and
acquired a set of French names for many of the steps .
The dance has still only limited popularity amongst English
speaking society. The only places in Sydney where it is played
regularly at social dances are the Italian and other European
clubs.
The competition version of the Paso Doble is danced with
a high chest, the shoulders wide and down, and with the head
kept back but inclined slightly forward and down,
("keep your eyes on the bull" urged my latin teacher).
The weight is forward, but most forward steps have heel leads.
Often it is choregraphed to the tune
'Espana Cani' (the Spanish Gypsy Dance),
which has three crescendos in the music.
These highlights are usually matched in the choreography
by dramatic poses, adding to the spectacular nature of the
dance.
When the English dance teacher
Pierre Margolie visited Cuba in
1952, he realised that sometimes the Rumba was danced with extra beats.
This is said to be an innovation introduced in 1948 by the musician
Enrique Jorrin, combining two Cuban dances, the
'Danzon' and the
'Montuno'.
When Pierre returned to Britain, he started teaching these
steps as a separate dance.
The name could have been derived from the Spanish 'Chacha'
meaning 'nursemaid', or 'chachar' meaning 'to chew coca leaves',
or from 'char' meaning "tea',
or most likely from the fast and cheerful Cuban dance: the
Guaracha. This dance has been popular in
Europe from before the turn of the century. For example it is
listed on the program of the Finishing Assembly in 1898 of
Dancie Neill at Coupar Angus in Scotland.
It has also been suggested that the name Cha Cha is
derived onomatopoeically from the sound of the feet in the chasse
which is included in many of the steps. This
would account for it being called the 'Cha Cha Cha' by some
people, after the rhythm:
whereas others call it the 'Cha Cha' after the rhythm:
These differ only as to which
beat of the musical bar is stressed by the dancing: beat 4 in the
first case, beat 1 in the second.
The Cha Cha and the Salsa both evolved out of
the Mambo.
The Mambo originated in
Haiti, and was introduced to the West in 1948 by
Perez Prado.
The word "Mambo" is the name of a
Voodoo priestess in the religion brought by the
Negroes from Africa.
The original Mambo was danced on beats 2,3,4 of the bar,
but many people, including
Baby in "Dirty Dancing"
found that too hard, dancing it on beats 1,2,3,
which version was subsequently renamed
Salsa.
There were three forms of Mambo: single, double, and triple.
The triple has five (!) steps to a bar,
and this is the version that evolved into the Cha Cha.
So, in 1954, the Cha Cha was described as a "Mambo with a guiro rhythm".
A guiro is a musical instrument
consisting of a dried gourd rubbed by a serrated stick.
Indeed it has also been suggested that the name 'Cha Cha' is derived
onomatopoeically from the sound of the seeds in the guiro
being shaken.
Thus the Cha Cha
had its origins in the religious ritual dances of West Africa.
The modern "Cha Cha" is danced at about 120 beats per minute.
The steps are taken on the beats,
with a strong hip movement as the knee straightens on the half beats
in between. The weight is kept well forward,
with forward steps taken toe-flat,
and it is danced with minimal upper-torso movement.
A chasse or lock is often danced on the beats 4&1 of the music,
the third step of which is used to emphasise beat 1,
which may then be held a moment longer than the other steps
to match the emphasis of the beat in the music.
This dance originated with the Negroes in the South East of
U.S.A., where it had an affinity with the war dances of the
Seminole Indians in Florida. One reference suggests that the
Negroes copied it from the Indians. Another
suggests that the Indians copied it from the Negroes,
who brought the dance from Africa.
The latter is more likely,
as the word "Jive" is probably derived from "Jev" meaning "to
talk disparagingly" in the West African
Wolof language.
The word "Jive" also has a similar meaning in Negro slang :
"misleading talk, exaggerations",
although this could have been derived from a modification
of the English word "jibe". The word has
several other slang meanings : "gaudy merchandise", "marijuana",
and "sexual intercourse". It is unclear whether any of these
meanings predated the use of the term for the dance, and hence
which is a metaphor for which.
In the 1880's, the dance was performed competitively amongst the
Negroes in the South, and the prize was frequently a cake, so the
dance became known as the
Cake Walk.
It often consisted of two parts performed alternately : a solemn
procession of couples, and an energetic display dance, all done
in finest clothes. The associated music became known as
Ragtime,
possibly because the participants dressed up in their best
"rags" or clothes, or possibly because the music was syncopated
and "ragged". The music and dances subsequently
became popular amongst the Negroes in Chicago and New York (Javana,
1984, 34).
This exuberant dancing and music amongst the Negroes contrasted
with the limited and dour dancing of the upper white classes of
the U.S.A. and U.K. in the wake of
Prince Albert's death in 1861.
With the death of
Queen Victoria in 1901, English speaking society perhaps
felt more free to engage in more and energetic
dancing, and a series of simple dances based on those of the
Negroes become popular in white society e.g.: the
Bombershay),
the
Funky Butt,
the
Grind,
the
Itch,
the
Mooche,
the
Squat,
the
Texas Rag,
the
Yankee Tangle,
and also many with animal names, betraying perhaps a rural and pantomimic origin :
the
Bunny Hop,
the
Bunny Hug,
the
Buzzard Lope,
the
Camel Walk,
the
Crab Step,
the
Eagle Rock,
the
Grizzly Bear,
the
Horse Trot,
the
Kangaroo Hop,
the
Lame Duck, and
the
Turkey Trot,
Tap Dance still has the Bombershay, and the modern Jive still has a Bunny Hug.
The dances were all done to 4/4 Ragtime music,
with stress on beats 2 and 4, and have syncopated rhythms.
They all used the same elements:
couples doing a walk, rock, swoop, bounce or sway.
The closed position was still considered by many to be indecent,
and sometimes the lady wore "bumpers" to preclude body contact.
An interesting change occured around 1910, when
the individual dances were brought together,
and the dancers encouraged to do these in an arbitrary order.
It made every male dancer into an instant choreographer.
The change was described as a change of
interest from steps to rhythm.
It coincided with the publication of Irving Berlin's
"Alexander's Ragtime Band" in 1910,
which rapidly became a worldwide hit.
As Ragtime evolved into
Swing through the 1920's, new dances
became popular. The
Foxtrot was invented by Harry Fox for a
stage show in New York in 1913.
The Charleston was said to have originated in the
Cape Verde Islands.
It evolved into a round dance done by Negro dock workers in the
Port of Charleston, and
became popular in white society after inclusion in the stage show
"Running Wild" in 1923 by
James P. Johnson, which toured
U.S.A. It subsequently became so popular
worldwide that many sedate ballrooms put up notices saying simply
"PCQ" , standing for "Please Charleston Quietly".
The
Black Bottom
became popular after inclusion in the stage show:
George White's 'Scandals of 1926'.
Various authors have said it originated in New York,
or in Nashville, or in New Orleans,
but it seems more likely that it originated in the
a suburb of Detroit of the same name.
In 1926, the
Savoy Ballroom
opened in Harlem in New York
with the famous jazz band of
Fletcher Henderson.
The dancers there soon combined
the Foxtrot, Charleston, Black Bottom, and the various animal
steps to form a new dance to fit with the jazz music.
This dance soon became known as the
Lindy Hop, after
Charles Lindbergh who made the first solo non-stop transatlantic
flight that year, because of the amount of time the
dancers appeared to spend in the air.
In 1934, the dance at the
Savoy in Harlem was described by
Cab Calloway as "like the frenzy of jittering bugs",
so it soon became known as the
Jitterbug.
The current version called the Jive has basic steps composed of
a fast syncopated chasse (side, close, side) to the left
followed by another to the right (right then left for the lady)
followed by a slower break back and replace forward.
The hips are moved half a beat after each of the steps,
and the weight is kept well forward with all steps being taken
on the toes. In the chasses, by keeping the leading foot high
on the ball of the foot, and the trailing foot fairly flat,
an optical illusion is created called the "moonwalk", which gives
dancer an attractive weightless appearance.
In its beginnings, in 1927, the dance became equated with youth.
Older adults disapproved of it and tried to ban it from
dance halls by the rationalisation that because Jive was
non-progressive, it disturbed the other dancers
who were progressing anti-clockwise around the dance floor.
The association between youth and this dance has continued through
its subsequent metamorphoses as
Swing ,
Boogie-Woogie ,
B-Bop ( Beach Bop ) ,
Shag ,
Rock & Roll ,
Twist ,
Disco ,
Hustle and
Ceroc.
Young adults have always been
inclined to feel alienated by insecurity from parental criticism,
and by inadequacy from lacks in understanding and coordination.
From time to time throughout history, they have obtained
emotional satisfaction by identifying with peers in a cult of
dancing. Of the various responses possible to alienation such as
illness, crime, rebellion and religious cult,
a dancing cult is perhaps the most benign.
As always, dance is involved in the deepest emotional responses
of our personalities, and hence with the foundations of society.
revised 2 May 2020
SAMBA
Neale and Nicole Byrnes
dancing the Paso Doble.
PASO DOBLE
JIVE
A couple in their finest 'rags' doing
the cakewalk
on the cover of one of Scott Joplin's musical pieces.
The Charleston
Life Magazine Cover, Feb. 18 1926, by John Held Jr.