Rhumba
Rhumba | |
---|---|
Stylistic origins | Son cubano, American ballroom music |
Cultural origins | East Coast of the United States, early 1930s |
Typical instruments | Vocals, trumpet, saxophone, trombone, guitar, piano, violin, bass, maracas, congas, bongos, timbales, drums |
Subgenres | |
Ballroom conga | |
Regional scenes | |
New York City |
Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also conga and rumba. Although taking its name from the latter, ballroom rumba differs completely from Cuban rumba in both its music and its dance. Hence, authors prefer the Americanized spelling of the word (rhumba) to distinguish between them.[1][2][3]
Music
Although the term rhumba began to be used by American record companies to label all kinds of
Soon, Azpiazú's style was followed by other Cuban artists such as
The kind of rhumba introduced into dance salons in America and Europe in the 1930s was characterized by variable tempo, sometimes nearly twice as fast as the modern ballroom rumba, which was developed as a dance in the 1940s and 1950s, when the original music movement had died down. Nonetheless, the rhumba craze would be the first of three Latin music crazes in the first half of the 20th century, together with the
Dance
Two variations of rhumba with opposing step patterns are danced around the world. American style rumba was imported to America by band directors like Emil Coleman and Don Aspiazú between 1913 and 1935. The film Rumba, released in 1935, brought the style to the attention of the general public. American style rhumba is taught in a box step, known for its slow-quick-quick pattern danced on the 1, 3, and 4 beats of 4-beat music. International style rhumba was developed in Europe by Monsieur Pierre after he compared the established American style with contemporary Cuban dancers. International style is taught in a quick-quick-slow pattern danced on the 2, 3, and 4 beats of 4 beat music, similar in step and motion to the cha-cha-cha.[11] Both styles were canonized in 1955.
International style
Rhumba is one of the
The modern international style of dancing the rumba derives from studies made by dance teacher Monsieur Pierre (Pierre Zurcher-Margolle), who partnered Doris Lavelle.[13][14] Pierre, then from London, visited Cuba in 1947, 1951, and 1953 to find out how and what Cubans were dancing at the time.[15]
The international ballroom rumba is a slower dance of about 120 beats per minute which corresponds, both in music and in dance, to what the Cubans of an older generation called the bolero-son. It is easy to see why, for ease of reference and for marketing, rhumba is a better name, however inaccurate; it is the same kind of reason that led later on to the use of
All social dances in Cuba involve a hip-sway over the standing leg and, though this is scarcely noticeable in fast salsa, it is more pronounced in the slow ballroom rumba.
American style
There is also a variant, commonly danced in the United States, with box-like basic figures.
See also
- Son cubano
- Cuban rumba
- Conga (music)
- Mambo (music) / Mambo (dance)
- Cha-cha-cha (music) / Cha-cha-cha (dance)
References
- ISBN 9780313376092.
- ISBN 9780252075650.
- ^ ISBN 9780199339891.
- ISBN 0-415-97440-2.
- ^ Daniel (2009). p. 156.
- ^ ISBN 9780810882966.
- ^ Giro, Radamés (2007). Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba, Vol. 4. Havana, Cuba: Letras Cubanas. p. 147.
- ^ "The Peanut Vendor (Victor matrix BVE-62152)". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- ISBN 9780822971856.
- ^ Díaz Ayala, Cristóbal (Fall 2013). "Lecuona Cuban Boys" (PDF). Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban Music 1925-1960. Florida International University Libraries. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- ^ Daniel (2009). p. 164.
- ^ a b Lavelle, Doris (1983). Latin & American dances. 3rd ed. London, UK: Black.
- last namewas Lavelle.
- ^ Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing 2004. 100 years of nce: a history of the ISTD Examinations Board. London. p. 62
- ^ Lavelle (1983). The introduction tells the story of Pierre's visits to Cuba, but with inaccurate dates.
- ^ Laird, Walter (2003). The Laird Technique of Latin Dancing. International Dance Publications Ltd. p .9, puts it like this (after taking a step to side): "Transfer full weight to this foot allowing the pelvis to move sideways and back so that the weight is felt to be near the heel of the standing foot. The knee of the supporting leg is locked back." This description incidentally illustrates the difficulty of describing body movements in print.
- ^ bronze and silver medals of dance teaching organizations. (Medal examinations (dance))
- ^ Laird, Walter (2003). The Laird Technique of Latin Dancing. International Dance Publications Ltd.
- ^ McMains, Juliet E. (2006). Glamour addiction: inside the American ballroom dance industry.