Favorite Friday

In the interest of sharing even more about myself than I already do, I would like to share with all who read my blog some of my favorite things. I will try to post a video that represents my favorite thing every Friday and some info for those that want a little education to go along with their entertainment.

I began ballroom dancing in college and then taught professionally for 2 years after college. I love, love, love almost any kind of social dancing, but Rumba has been my favorite latin dance for some time now. The video at right shows a professional couple dancing the Rumba in competition. The things that draw me to the Rumba are it's beutiful, undulating, sensual expression and the often passionate, heart-tugging music that accompanies it. I have changed my playlist to give some examples of other songs one could dance the Rumba to.

Some info on the history of the Rumba courtesy of www.latindanceforever.com

"There are two sources of the dances: one Spanish and the other African. Although the main growth was in Cuba, there were similar dance developments which took place in other Caribbean islands and in Latin America generally. The original "rumba influence" came in the 16th century with the black slaves imported from Africa.
As recently as the second world war, the "Son" was the popular dance of middle class Cuba. It is a modified slower and more refined version of the native Rumba. Still slower is the "Danzon", the dance of wealthy Cuban society. Very small steps are taken, with the women producing a very subtle tilting of the hips by alternately bending and straightening the knees.
The American Rumba is a modified version of the "Son". The first serious attempt to introduce the rumba to the United States was by Lew Quinn and Joan Sawyer in 1913. Ten years later band leader Emil Coleman imported some rumba musicians and a pair of rumba dancers to New York. In 1925 Benito Collada opened the Club El Chico in Greenwich Village and found that New Yorkers did not know what Rumba was all about.
In Europe, the introduction of Latin American dancing (Rumba in particular) owed much to the enthusiasm and interpretive ability of Monsieur Pierre (London's leading teacher in this dance form). In the 1930's with his partner, Doris Lavelle, he demonstrated and popularized Latin American dancing in London.
Pierre and Lavelle introduced the true "Cuban Rumba" which was finally established after much argument, as the official recognized version in 1955.
Rumba is the spirit and soul of Latin American music and dance. The fascinating rhythms and bodily expressions make the Rumba one of the most popular ballroom dances."



Enjoy!