Latin American Dance Music
LATIN AMERICAN DANCE MUSIC
INTRODUCTION
Latin America thrives on its culture. Its dance and music is known to be very sexy and promiscuous, and is recognizable by anyone familiar with dance. Latin American music has had a large influence on the form the dances have today. It was the mariachi bands of Mexico that stirred up the quick paced rhythms and playful movements at the same time that Cuba was embracing similar musical and dance styles. Traditional dance was blended with new, modern ways of moving, and became a whole new dance rage. The dances from those days evolved and were influenced by modern music as the sexy style and hip gestures became more accepted.
The style of Latin American dance music is very risqué. Latin American music comprises the musical styles found in Latin American countries and the Caribbean. Four unique Latin American sounds are known as nueva cancion, salsa, Tejano music and reggae ton. Salsa and the more popular Latin dances were created and embraced into the culture in the early and middle 1900s. The diversity is so great that the only universal feature is the use of Latin-derived language in the songs. The dances for the most part are done with a partner as a social dance, but there is never a reason not to dance by oneself. The music is so inviting one would be hard pressed to hear a Latin beat and not see everyone feeling the rhythm. Many of the dances are done in a close embrace while others are more traditional to ballroom dancing and hold a stronger frame. Today, the world is very accepting of these dances. You can find Latino night in most dance clubs. Ballroom studios teach lessons on many Latin American dances. One can even find the cha-cha being done in honky-tonk country bars for instance; Miami has been a large contributor of the United States involvement in Latin dancing. With such a huge Puerto Rican and Cuban population one can find Latin dancing and music in the streets at any time of day or night. The dances
INTRODUCTION
Latin America thrives on its culture. Its dance and music is known to be very sexy and promiscuous, and is recognizable by anyone familiar with dance. Latin American music has had a large influence on the form the dances have today. It was the mariachi bands of Mexico that stirred up the quick paced rhythms and playful movements at the same time that Cuba was embracing similar musical and dance styles. Traditional dance was blended with new, modern ways of moving, and became a whole new dance rage. The dances from those days evolved and were influenced by modern music as the sexy style and hip gestures became more accepted.
The style of Latin American dance music is very risqué. Latin American music comprises the musical styles found in Latin American countries and the Caribbean. Four unique Latin American sounds are known as nueva cancion, salsa, Tejano music and reggae ton. Salsa and the more popular Latin dances were created and embraced into the culture in the early and middle 1900s. The diversity is so great that the only universal feature is the use of Latin-derived language in the songs. The dances for the most part are done with a partner as a social dance, but there is never a reason not to dance by oneself. The music is so inviting one would be hard pressed to hear a Latin beat and not see everyone feeling the rhythm. Many of the dances are done in a close embrace while others are more traditional to ballroom dancing and hold a stronger frame. Today, the world is very accepting of these dances. You can find Latino night in most dance clubs. Ballroom studios teach lessons on many Latin American dances. One can even find the cha-cha being done in honky-tonk country bars for instance; Miami has been a large contributor of the United States involvement in Latin dancing. With such a huge Puerto Rican and Cuban population one can find Latin dancing and music in the streets at any time of day or night. The dances
Bibliography: Ellfeldt, L.& Morton, V.L., "This is Ballroom Dance", National Press, 1974. Romain, E. (Ed.), "Popular Variations in Latin-American Dancing", I.S.T.D., London, 1982. Behague, G., "Music in Latin America", Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1979. bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.caravanmusic.com/GuideLatinMusic.htm.(visited 12/3/2010). Stewart, James. A Short History of Tango. http://www.edinburghtango.org.uk/tango/Historyoftango.php.(visited 12/4/2010). Smith, C., "Collins Spanish-English English-Spanish Dictionary", Collins, London, 1971. Taylor, J.L., "A Portuguese-English Dictionary", Stanford University Press, 1958. Lavelle, D., "Latin and American Dances", Pitman, London, Revised Edition, 1975. Raffe ', W.G., "Dictionary of Dance", A.S. Barnes and Company, New York, 1964. Sadie, S. (Ed.), "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians", Macmillan, London, 1980.