THE DANCES

EL FLAMENCO Flamenco is a genuine Spanish art form, or, to be more exact, a genuine Southern Spanish art. Gypsies are often credited with the "invention" of flamenco, and it is at least certain that they played an important part in its creation. But the popular songs and dances of Andalusia also had a major influence on early Flamenco. Andalusia Flamenco guitar, originally just a backdrop for the dancing and singing, is now recognized as an art form in its own right. The virtuoso Paca de Lucia is one of most influential pioneers of flamenco guitar. SPAIN

FLAMENCO

EL TANGO Tango and its associated dance forms that originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay, and spread to the rest of the world soon after.Buenos AiresArgentinaMontevideoUruguay Early tango was known as tango criollo, or simply tango. Today, there are many tango dance styles, including Argentine Tango, Uruguayan Tango, Ballroom tango (American and International styles), Finnish tango and vintage tangos. What many consider to be the authentic tango is that closest to that originally danced in Argentina and Uruguay, though other types of tango have developed into mature dances in their own right.danceArgentine Tango Uruguayan TangoBallroom tango (American and International styles)Finnish tango ArgentinaUruguay ARGENTINA

TANGO

EL MERENGUE The Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic, and also to some extent, of Haiti, the neighbor sharing the island. Not only is it used on every dancing occasion in the Republic, but it is very popular throughout the Caribbean and South America, and is one of the standard Latin American dances. There is a lot of variety in Merengue music. The Merengue was introduced in the United States in the New York area. Merengue is a combination of two dances, the African and the French Minuet, from the late 1700's - early 1800's. The black slaves saw the ballroom dances in the Big Houses and when they had their own festivities started mimicking the "masters' dances". But the Europeans dances were not fun, they were very boring, so over time, the slaves added a special upbeat provided by the drums. The original Merengue was not danced by individual couples, but was a circle dance, each man and woman faced each other and holding hands - at arm's length. They did not hold each other closely and the original movements of this dance were only the shaking of the shoulders and swift movement of the feet. There was no blatant movement of the hips like there is today. Ballroom Merengue is slower and has a modified hip action. Ideally suited to small, crowded dance floors, it is a dance that is easy to learn and essentially a "fun" dance. REPúBLICA DOMINICANA

LA SALSA The Latin music we hear today has its origins in Cuba where the blending of African drum rhythms and Spanish guitar evolved into a variety of Latin American music: Son, Danzón, the rhythms of Carnival, Cha cha cha, Mambo, Salsa.....even Tango came out of Cuba. 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. PUERTO RICO

SALSA

LA CUMBIA Cumbia has its origins in Africa. During the 17th and 18th century African slave populations of Colombia’s Caribbean coastal towns lived, worked and died alongside the indigenous Amerindian’s, a population similarity exploited by the colonial powers of Europe. Out of this society cumbia emerged as social and courtship dance, taking its name from the Guinean dance “cumbè”. On certain holidays and special occasions these people would gather to dance cumbia, accompanied by African drumming and singing. The basis of all cumbia is this percussion, to which native Amerindian flutes and shakers were added as the music developed. This fusion of African and Indian elements created “gaitero” music, which is the traditional folkloric form of cumbia whose sounds can still be heard today in places like the town of San Basilico de Palenque, a walled city founded by escaped slaves as a refugee from the colonial forces. The name comes from the large native Amerindian flute, the gaita Spanish and European influences permeated cumbia, blending guitar, lute and orchestral arrangements. In the 1920’s Colombian dance bands began playing cumbia and adding horns, brass and other orchestra instruments.gaitero San Basilico de Palenque COLOMBIA

CUMBIA

EL MAMBO Mambo by combining danzón with African rhythms from the street. The Mambo dance originated in Cuba where there were substantial settlements of Haitians. In the back country of Haiti, the "Mambo" is a voodoo priestess. The fusion of Swing and Cuban music produced this fascinating rhythm It first appeared in the United States in New York's Park Plaza Ballroom A modified version of the "Mambo" (the original dance had to be toned down due to the violent acrobatics) was presented to the public at dance studios, resort hotels, and at night-clubs in New York and Miami. CUBA

MAMBO

EL FIN