WALTZ | RUMBA
| TANGO | MERENGUE | FOXTROT
| SWING
Waltz
With the sweeping differences in tempo among Slow Waltz, Medium
Waltz and Viennese Waltz, there is an inevitable wide variation
in movement style for each speed. Originally a turning, traveling
dance for couples in 3/4 time popularized in Vienna in the mid-nineteenth
century, the Waltz remains as “Queen of the Ballroom."
People were shocked when the Waltz was first introduced. A man dancing
with his hand upon a lady’s waist? No proper lady would permit
it and society matrons declared it wicked and compromising. Yet
in the United States, where there was no blue-blood caste, it proved
an immediate success and was danced by the citizenry as early as
1840. Young people, when requesting a dance once shouted ‘a
waltz and a waltz again.'
In the early days of Waltz history Strauss, Waldteufel and Chopin
wrote their exquisite melodies to be played at the exciting tempo
of fifty-eight to sixty-six bars per minute. Then in the closing
decades of the last century American composers began to write waltzes
to be played at a tempo ranging from forty-four to forty-eight measures
per minute. These were compositions like “After the Ball”
and “A Bird in a Gilded Cage." At that time the dance
form was modified to accord with this new music. Later, after the
Ragtime Revolution of 1910, an even slower tempo waltz, typified
by “My Wonderful One” claimed the talents of American
composers, and again the waltz form was modified to fit the new
music.
The Waltz proved its mettle by being the only classical dance to
survive the “ragtime revolution,” albeit with diminished
popularity. With the introduction of ragtime in 1910, the Waltz
slipped into second place in the public’s fancy, being supplanted
by the many walking, strutting dances of the era. People who had
not mastered the techniques and whirling patterns of the Waltz quickly
learned the simple walking patterns, paving the way for the great
ragtime rage and the birth of the Foxtrot.
American Waltz: Box Step.
Count 1 2 3, 4 5 6. Six steps to six beats.
Time signature: 3/4.
Speed: 31 - 36 measures per minute.
Rumba
The Rumba’s origins date back more than 400 years to the cultures
African slaves brought with them to Cuba. In its most basic form,
it was an expressive pantomime danced by the Africans to hypnotic
rhythms. A variation on this ritual pantomime is still performed
today in Cuba’s countryside.
A stationary or spot dance internationalized in the 1930s, the Rumba
combines undulating African isolations of the hip and rib-cage,
the syncopated rhythms of many of the African musical traditions
and the embrace position first seen in the waltz. It was an instantaneous
success, for Americans were completely beguiled by the exciting
Cuban Music – a fusion of Spanish melody and African rhythm,
and by the movement style of this importation from the Caribbean.
The body rhythm was an expression new to the American ballroom.
The upper body remained quiet, while the shift of weight was manifested
through the hips.
But the dance we’ve come to call the Rumba is to a certain
extent an American fabrication. Since the diamond-shaped step of
the Cuban “son”, (the most popular Cuban social dance)
was alien to us, and since the body shift on count “One”
– instead of our customary stepping on count “One”
was alien also, - we made the Rumba basic into a form of the box,
and also interpreted the music by making a foot placement on count
1.
Despite these changes from the original, the Rumba’s popularity
rivaled that of the Foxtrot for many years. Then the dance called
the Mambo took its place in popularity in some sections of the country.
However, in many other sections and in many segments of society
the American styled Rumba continues with its popularity unabated.
Rumba: Box Step starting to the side.
Count quick, quick, slow. Quick, quick, slow.
Time signature: 4/4.
Speed:32 measures per minute.
Tango
The Argentine Tango which came to being in Buenos Aries, refers
not only to dance steps, but music, song and poetry. Like other
dances influenced by African traditions, its rhythms are punctuated
and complicated. Unlike many other forms, there are none of the
common percussion instruments in a Tango orchestra. Rather, accordion
and guitar are used to provide the percussion.
The Tango has no clearly defined origin: it may have originated
in Argentina, Brazil, Spain or Mexico. Descended from an early Spanish
folk dance, the Milonga, and bearing traces of Moorish and Arabic
ancestry, the Tango acquired its name in the early 20th century
in Argentina, although it was being danced under various other names
throughout South America. As the Tango developed, it is believed
that many Argentine immigrants of Italian descent mixed dance and
musical styles with the Spanish and African populations of Argentina.
Many male workers, finding themselves without their families, frequented
Tango halls where they danced to songs of longing, despair and bad
luck. With its intriguing, asymmetrical style, the image of the
Tango is one of dancers who thrust their legs between one another
with quick, sharp moves, then pause and unexpectedly change directions.
The Argentine Tango was introduced in Paris and the Riviera by the
Argentines early in the 1920’s. This version was widely accepted
almost immediately, and in many countries became equally popular
with the Foxtrot and Waltz. In the United States in order to simplify
the rhythm and leading, a form of the Tango evolved in the late
1920’s which employed four beats or two measures for the basic
figures. This style came to be known as American Style Tango and
is a practical way to enjoy the Argentine rhythm. It does not, however,
have the maneuverability of the true Argentine Tango and therefore
requires more room for its execution.
American Tango: Three walks, side, close with
no weight. T-A-N-G-O.
Time signature: 4/4.
Speed: 30 measures per minute.
Merengue
The Merengue, originally a folk dance of the Dominican Republic,
is a stationary or spot dance with a vigorous feel. A dance in 2/4,
it is certainly a combination of African and Spanish culture. It
has been linked both to the word merenguearse, which means to dance
with real abandon, and also to an African dance in duple time called
the Meringha. After reaching stature as a dance of the salon in
the Dominican Republic, it made its formal entry into the dance
scene in this country in 1955. Along with other Latin dances such
as the Mambo, Cha-cha, and Bossa Nova, the Merengue possessed the
requisite elements for a lasting social dance – and now seems
to be a permanent part of our dance repertory.
Merengue: Marching dance on the beat, moving
the hips.
Count side together side together.
Time signature: 4/4.
Speed: 56 measures per minute.
Foxtrot
Before 1910 and the startling emergence of Ragtime music, ballroom
dancing existed mostly in the hot-house atmosphere of private balls
and parties. Dancing was based on a modified ballet technique. The
Schottische, the Polka, the Two-Step and the Waltz were the fashion.
Feet were daintily turned out, partners held each other at arm’s
length, and dance steps followed set sequences. Cuts, slides and
points were the dancer’s equipment. Then suddenly the patterned
elegance of pre-modern ballroom dancing disappeared with amazing
finality.
The intoxicating Ragtime music touched off a dance craze that circled
the globe. Newly opened public dance spots were crowded with couples
who lurched around the floor, holding each other closely, just happy
to keep time to the wonderful, pulsing music. But – as it
inevitably had to be – a measure of order began to develop
from the chaos of Turkey Trot, Bunny Hug and Grizzly Bear. By 1914
the rage for fast tempo Ragtime dances had died down. A sweet, lilting
kind of music began to pour out of Tin Pan Alley. The old Two-Step
and the new One-Step, producer of Ragtime, were blended, and the
Foxtrot in common four-four time, danced to this smooth, sweet music,
became an international dance favorite.
Webster’s NEW WORLD DICTIONARY defines Foxtrot as “1.
A slow, mixed gait of a horse in which it trots with the forelegs
and paces with the hind legs; hence, 2. A dance in 4/4 time with
a variety of steps, both fast and slow”. This manner of derivation
is in line with the tendency prevalent from 1910 to 1914 to introduce
dances characterized as “walks” “canters”
and “trots” and to give them animal names.
Dance lore suggests that a vaudeville performer named Harry Fox
choreographed the original Fox Trot in 1912-1914. As danced by Fred
Astaire in the 1930’s, the Foxtrot is a joyful, creative dance,
emphasizing improvisation within the overall tempo of the music.
In the past, over 75% of all popular songs were written in Foxtrot
tempo.
Foxtrot: Two walking steps and a side together.
Count slow, slow, quick, quick.
Time signature: 2/4.
Speed: 34 measures per minute.
Swing
SWING at the present time, is a name given to an American jazz dance
typified by subtle movements and syncopated timing. Related to such
memorable dances as the Black Bottom and Shag, it traces its origins
to the Lindy Hop of 1927 and American jazz sounds and rhythms. Early
twentieth century Rag Dances and the Charleston in the 1920’s
led directly into Lindy Hop, which is said to have been named after
Charles A. Lindbergh and his epochal flight across the Atlantic.
In its original form, the Lindy Hop was noted for its spectacular
muscular contortions and the acrobatic feats of both partners.
In the 1930’s young people in Harlem danced a complicated
air born version at the Savoy Ballroom, often performing in ad hoc
competitions and creating more and more aerial movements. Initially,
the Lindy was performed as a modified box step (a basic took 8 counts)
with a distinct shuffling movement. This shuffle is what makes the
faster tempo of the Lindy into a single time Lindy. The more popular
Triple Lindy is danced to slower tempi.
In order to survive, all dances must have a firmly established basic
pattern from which to improvise. The Swing has this attribute, (it
has a 6 count rhythm) and furthermore, can be danced expertly in
a relatively small area. American GIs can be seen in many Hollywood
movies dancing to the sounds of big bands such as Benny Goodman,
Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
Single time Swing: Side, side (replace weight
on the spot), back rock.
Count slow, slow, quick, quick.
Time signature: 4/4.
Speed: 42 measures per minute.
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