Revised PE 2 Module For College
Revised PE 2 Module For College
Revised PE 2 Module For College
Dancing is an act of moving the body in rhythm, usually in time with music.
People seem to have a natural urge to express their feelings through rhythmic
movement. People organize the expressive movements of their bodies into rhythmic
and visual patterns.
Dancing is both an art and a form of recreation. As an art, a dance may tell
story, set a mood, or express an emotion. As a form of recreation, dancing has long
provided fun, relaxation, and companionship. Today dancing, either at a party or
gathering continues to be a very popular way of people to enjoy themselves and to
make new friends.
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Objective
This is the first part of the lesson on Philippine Folk Dances and Ethnic
Dances. In this phase, various activities and challenges will enable the
students to review and reveal their knowledge in the upcoming lessons. This
part will surely stimulate their excitement to perform folk dance and ethnic
dance as they get to understand them deeply. Remember to let them
accomplish every activity so that they will have excellent performances in the
next stages.
Activity
You will be given activities to display and enhance your skills in folk dancing
and ethnic dancing at the same time formulate your understanding as regards
the benefits of such activities to your fitness and well-being. As you go on and
overcome the challenges provided for you, you will learn that together,
dancing activities will be more fun and exciting, without knowing that you are
at the same time improving your fitness and social skills.
Lesson 1: Dances
Lesson Outcomes
Introduction
Despite of differences forced upon them by their respective heritages, the folk
dances different countries often have similarities of rhythm and pattern.
Variations among them are the results of geographical differences.
Explore
DANCES
Some of the more important features of the dance are rhythm, or the
relatively fast or slow repetition and variations of movements; design or the
arrangement of movements according to a pattern: dynamics, or variations in
the force and intensity of movement and technique; or the degree of body
control and mastery of basic steps and positions. Also important in many
dances are gestures, especially hand movements.
ETHNIC DANCES
The ethnic dances of the Philippines are classified into 2 major categories:
The dances of the Non-Christian Filipinos
a. Dance of the traditionalist or “pagan” groups.
b. Dance of Muslim group
The dances of the Christian and Lowland Filipinos or Western
Influenced
a. Dances are savage, vigorous, and mimetic in character.
b. Some are light-hearted and mimetic.
c. Some are performed without music or melodic accompaniment.
Dance in the Philippines influences the diversity of our cultural beginnings and
the drama of our everyday lives. It blends exotic customs and cultures in
many countries and races- Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Indian, Spanish and
American.
Filipinos possess natural grace, an inborn love for music and dance. Dancing
is considered a religious activity among them. They dance at many occasions-
birth, love, courtship, thanksgiving, wedding war, victory, marriage, planting
and harvesting, prosperous voyage, recovery from sickness and to heal the
sick.
Filipinos are also lovers of rituals as shown in ceremonial dances during town
fiestas, Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesdays. There are dances performed by
the priest and priestesses in thanksgiving for a plentiful harvest, a victorious
battle, to drive away evil spirits and invoking their gods and anitos.
1. Geographical locations
Examples:
Cariñosa Kuratsa Balitaw
Rigodon Pandango Surtido
Examples:
Alcamfor (Leyte)
Maglalatik (San Pablo, Laguna)
Basulto (Pampanga)
War Dances – intended to show imaginary combat or duel with the use
of fighting implement like bolo, kris or spear.
Examples:
Inabaknon Sagayan
Game Dances – dances that have some play elements and are for
recreational purposes.
Examples:
Lubi-lubi Gayong-gayong Pabo
Basic movement skills are the bases of precise dance skills for folk and social
dancing, gymnastics and natural dancing. Locomotion is moving through
space. There are two basic types of movement skills: the locomotor
movements and non-locomotor movements. These movements are simple
and easy to execute but it would be an interesting form of dance expression
when two or more of these steps are combined and performed with music.
These simple steps will make one’s body parts coordinate by the movements
with the music.
Walk – a movement through space done by shifting weight from one foot to
the other with a short period of non-support while the body and feet are off the
floor.
Run – a movement through space by transferring weight from one foot to the
other with short period of non-support while the body and feet are off the floor.
The tempo is faster than the walk.
Hop – a spring on one foot and landing on the ball of the same foot.
Experience
Examine
Lesson Outcomes
2. appreciate the beauty of folk dance by executing the fundamental positions of the
arms and feet; and
3. execute the five fundamental of the arms and feet in folk dance.
Introduction
Many of our so-called native dances are of Spanish origin. Others shows
French, English, Malayan influences. Our fore fathers have performed them
for so long, giving them their own interpretation, execution, and expression
that they have become traditionally Filipino.
FEET POSITIONS
FIRST POSITION
Feet close and toes and heels parallel
Touching toes at 45 degrees
SECOND POSITION
Open parallel stride sideward
FIFTH POSITION
Feet close-toes
THIRD POSITION
One arm encircles overhead in the other raised sideways
FIFTH POSITION
Both arms overhead
The dance steps listed below are the fundamental or basic steps most commonly
used in Philippine folk dance. In some cases the names of the steps are the same as
those found in foreign dances, but the manner of execution is entirely different.
Dome dance steps have no English equivalent names, so the native names are
retained, such as “Kurandang,” “Bacui,” “Engano,” etc.
6/8 Step 1, 2
Cut 3
Step 4, 5
Cut 6
HOP POLKA 2/4 Hop & step close step pause 1&2&
ABRASETE- Girl at the right side, holds RIGHT arm of partner with her LEFT hand,
free hands
down at the sides. This term is of Spanish origin and is used in Rigodon and other
dances.
ARMS IN LATERAL POSITION- both arms are at one side, either sideward right or
left. this maybe done at shoulder, chest, or waist level.
ARMS IN REVERSE “T”- arms are side horizontal, elbows bent at right angles,
forearmsParallel to head, palms forward or facing inward, fist loosely closed.
BILAO- to turn palms of hands up and down alternately, hands at waist level in front,
elbows close to waist.
CLOCKWISE- like the motion of the hands of the clock. R shoulder is toward the
center of an imaginary circle. When facing center, the movement is toward the left.
DO-SI-DO (DOS-A-DOS)- the vis-à-vis (opposites) both advance forward, pass each
other’s right (or left) side, step across to the right (or left) move backward without
turning around pass each other’s left (or right) side to proper places. This is of
foreign origin and is used in many Philippine dances.
FREE FOOT- the foot not bearing the weight of the body.
FREE HAND- the hand not placed anywhere or not doing anything.
HAYON-HAYON- to place one forearm in front and the other at the back of the
waist. This is a Visayan term.
HOP- a spring from one foot landing on the same foot in the place or in any direction.
The other foot maybe raised in any direction (in front, in rear, sideward or across).
KUMINTANG- moving the hand from the wrist either in a clockwise or counter
clockwise direction. This term is an Ilocano term.
MASIWAK- to turn the hand from the wrist half way clockwise, then raised and lower
wrist once or twice. This is an Ibanag term.
POINT- to touch the floor lightly with the toes of one foot, weight of the body on the
other foot.
SALUDO- partners bow to each other, to the audience, opposite dancers, or to the
neighbors with feet together. This term is of Spanish origin and is used in almost all
Philippine dances.
“SALOK” (or “SAROK”)- cross the R (or L) foot in front of the L (or R), bend the
body slightly forward and cross the hands (forearms) down in front with the R (or L)
hand (forearm) over the L (or R). This is a Visayan term.
SARONG- a short version of the malong usually worn by Subanon and other
Mindanao men.
SET- a dance formation like a square or a unit formation composed of two or more
pairs.
SLIDE- to glide foot smoothly along the floor. The movement may be finished with or
without transfer of weight.
STEP- to advance or recede by raising or moving one foot to another resting place.
There is a complete transfer of weight from one foot to another.
WHIRL- to make fast turns by executing small steps in place to right or left.
Experience
TEST I. I-MOVIE: create your own video performing the Fundamental Dance
position and steps.
TEST II. COMPLETION TYPE: Below are basic folk dance steps in 2/4 time
which are usually used in folk-based dancing. Supply the missing step pattern
and counting of each basic step enumerated.
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Objective
What to know?
This is the first part of the lesson in Social Dancing. In this phase, you will be
provided with activities that will activate your prior knowledge as regards the
lesson. From here, follow-up activities will be given to elicit your tentative
What to process?
You will be given activities to display and enhance your skills in Social
dancing at the same time formulate your understanding as regards the
benefits of such activities to your fitness and well-being. As you go on and
overcome the challenges provided for you, you will learn that together,
dancing activities will be more fun and exciting, without knowing that you are
at the same time improving your fitness and social skills.
Lesson Outcomes
Introduction
People dance socially mostly for the pure joy of it. For a dance enthusiast,
nothing compares to the thrill of moving with grace and harmony to a beautiful
piece of music with a wonderful partner.
Social dancing, which is simply group dancing for pleasure or recreation, has
probably existed in some form since the beginning of human society. Most
group dances were originally ceremonial rites grouped around three basics
aspects of human existence: food supply, sexual impulse, and relationships
with the spirit world.
For primitive people, dancing was a formal expressions of religion or
superstition. When dance abandoned its primitive, pantomimic forms, when it
Explore
Various changes in social dancing through the ages clearly demonstrates its
interdependency with the world around it.
During the 14th century, for example, when social dance and folk dance were
virtually indistinguishable, popular ring dances moved inside English upper-class
homes as part of the evening entertainment. As long as the hearth occupied the
center of the room, the dances retained their circular, and egalitarian form. With
the introduction of the chimney about 1368, however, the hearth could be moved
to a side wall, which cleared the floor of obstacles and allowed processional
dances- then favored in the royal courts where rank determined the order of
procession- to replace the ring informations.
Through the Renaissance and the 16th century, social dance became more firmly
ensconced in the courts, whose members systematically dressed up and
formalized the lusty folk dances to suit their elaborate codes of manners and
attire.
The 17th century minuet was nothing but manners, the final flourish of aristocratic
elegance before national and then industrial revolutions returned social to the
masses. When fine demarcations of rank and title vanished, square formations
like the Cotillion and Quadrille, with partners constantly changing, filled the
ballrooms. The Waltz- whose dizzying speed was derived as much from the
newer, more polished surface of dance floors and the abandonment of hobnailed
shoes as it was from the public’s enthusiasm-also became popular. The
embracing, closed hold of waltz successfully defied the polite convention of the
period.
Advancing technology and two world wars so continually restricted life in the 20 th
century that social dance has been changing almost constantly, quickly altering
with the values and practices surrounding it. The syncopated rhythms of
American ragtime music inspired the foxtrot and shimmy.
After the 19th amendment gave women the vote in 1902, they became
“emancipated” the flapper was born, as well as the Charleston. The jitterbug burst
the swing improvisations of the 1930’s and 40’s. Long playing phonograph
records appeared in 1949; thus, in the 1950’s, the teenagers born during the
postwar “baby boom” could launch the rock ‘n’ roll phenomenon in both music
and dance. By then, the once-shocking waltz position and the sexual attitudes it
In a world that pride itself on the speed of its transformations, new forms are
inevitable. Social dance no doubt will continue to evolve as society does.
A. THE WALTZ
B. POLKA
C. TANGO
D. FOXTROT
E. SWING
F. RUMBA
G. QUICKSTEP
H. PASO DOBLE
I. SAMBA
J. MAMBO
K. CHA-CHA
L. JIVE
In the following we touch on a few of the more important aspects of dancing. For
more details see the accompanying article “Elements of Dance Etiquette.”
Never blame your partner for anything that may happen on the dance
floor. Not if you want him/her to dance with you again.
A request for a dance must be accepted under almost all circumstances. If
you decline a dance, you yourself cannot dance until the end of the music.
No unsolicited teaching on the dance floor! There is a good chance this
will make your partner feel small and humiliated. Not exactly a great way
of encouraging him/her, or others, to dance with you.
Do not monopolize a partner on the dance floor. Dancers are polite and
rarely say no to a dance, but this is no carte blanche to impose on their
kindness. Dance with everyone, and let everyone dance.
Lesson Outcomes
Introduction
The Waltz is a dance born in the suburbs of Vienna and in the Alpine region
of Austria.
Explore
THE WALTZ
During the middle of the 18th century, the allemande form of the waltz was
very popular in France. By the end of the 18 th century, this old Austrian
peasant dance had been accepted by high society, and three-quarter rhythm
was here to stay.
In July of 1816, the waltz was included in a ball given in London by the Prince
Regent.
Around the close of the 19th century, two modifications of the waltz were
developed. The first was the Boston, a slower waltz with long gliding steps.
The second was the hesitation, which involves taking one step to three beats
of the measure. Hesitation steps are still widely used in today’s waltz.
The slow waltz is danced to music written 3/4 meter with 30-32 measures per
minute.
RISE AND FALL is unique to the waltz. If possible, all the steps in the waltz
should be long. On the first step forward, the weight is taken on the heel, then
on to the ball of the foot. A gradual rise to the toes should be started at the
end of the first beat, and continued to the second and third beat bar of music.
Lower to the normal position at the end of the third time beat by lowering to
the heel of the foot which is carrying the weight.
Start position (facing line of dance rhythm- One, two, and three).
Start/finish position
Rhythm- one, two, three
Start position
Rhythm- one, two, three
Proceed with a left foot change, then 2 right turns and finish with a right foot change.
Start position:
1. Left foot forward
2. Right foot side
3. Left foot crosses behind right foot
POLKA is defined as vivacious couple dance of bohemian origin in duple time; was
a basic pattern of hop-step-close-step; a lively Bohemian dance tune in 2/4 time.
The Polka was originally a Czech peasant dance, developed in Eastern Bohemia
(now part of Czechoslovakia). Bohemian historians believe that the polka was
invented by a peasant girl (Anna Slezak, in LAbska Tynice in 1834) one Sunday for
her amusement. It was composed to a folk song “Strycek Nimra Koupil Simla (Uncle
Nimra brought a white horse). Anna called the step “Madera” because of its
quickness and liveliness.
The dance was first introduced into the ballrooms of Prague in 1835. The name of
the dance (pulka) is Czech for “half-step”, referring to the rapid shift from one foot to
the other.
The popularity of the polka led to introduction of several other dances from central
Europe. The simplest was the gallop or galoppade which was introduced in England
and France 1829. Dance position was the same for the waltz or polka, with couples
doing a series of fast chasses about the room with occasional turns. Music was in
2/4 time, often merely fast polka. The gallop was particularly popular as the final
dance of the evening.
For years, the polka remained popular, with its variance in style from robust to
smooth short, glide steps and every happy music. One of the most popular versions
of the polka is the “heel and toe and away we go” due to it ease to execute.
Polka is a popular dance in the country and western sector. Polka and schottische
are competitive country and western dances.
The basic polka steps consist of a preparatory hop followed by a chase done first to
the left and then to the right.
The polka is primarily a fast dance. It is danced to music written in 2/4 time with the
first beat more heavily accented. Polka music may also be written in 4/4 time. It is
generally danced to a quick, quick, slow rhythm.
POLKA STEPS
START POSITION
START
A music publisher liked his voice and hired him to sing songs from the boxes of
vaudeville theaters in San Francisco. In 1904 he appeared in a Belvedere Theatre in
a comedy entitled “Mr. Frisky of Frisco”. After the San Francisco earthquake and the
fire of 1906. Harry Fox migrated East and finally settled in New York.
The Fox-trot originated in the Jardin de Danse on the roof of the New York
Theatre. As part of his act downstairs, Harry Fox was doing trotting steps to
ragtimemusic, and people referred to his dance as “Fox’s Trot”. In the rise to fame of
the Vernon Castles, exhibition dancers of outstanding talent and charm, there was
no doubt that the foxtrot was the most original and exciting of their various dances.
As a result of the great popularity which ballroom dancing was enjoying, it was
necessary to evolve a form of dance that could express the slow syncopated 4/4
rhythm and yet could remain “on the spot”.
The foxtrot was the most significant development in all of ballroom dancing. The
combination of quick and slow steps permits more flexibility and gives much greater
dancing pleasure than the one-step and two-step which it has replaced. There is
more variety in the foxtrot than in any other dance, and in some ways it is the
hardest dance to learn! Variations of the foxtrot include the Peabody, the Quickstep
and Roseland foxtrot. Even dances such as the lindly and the hustle are derived to
some extent from the foxtrot.
FOXTROT STEPS
Start position
Start
Rhythm – slow, slow, quick, quick
Start
Rhythm – slow, quick, quick
Start position
Rhythm – slow, quick, quick
FOXTROT TWINKLE
Man’s foot position
In this activity, you will be provided with a review on the implication of dancing
activity to your fitness by way of determining your range of Target Heart Rate.
Here’s how:
This is how to determine your THR (Target Heart Rate) range. Follow the
steps provided and you’ll arrive at your own PMHR and THR which you could
use in determining the intensity of your dancing activity and raising it to a
higher level if necessary.
STEP 1: Find your PMHR in beats per minute by subtracting your age from
220:
Example:
220- 15 = 205 (PMHR of a 15 year-old individual)
STEP 2: you need to work out your lowest Target Heart Rate that you need to
aim for during exercise by multiplying your PMHR by 60% (or .6):
Example:
205 x .6 = 123 beats/minute (Lowest THR of 15 year-old individual)
STEP 3: lastly, you need to work out your Highest Target Heart Rate that you
can aim for during exercise by multiplying PMHR by 80% (or .8):
Example:
205 x .8 = 164 beats/minute (Highest THR of 15 year-old individual)
PROCESSING ACTIVITY:
1. Perform the Social dancing routine simultaneously 4 times with the music.
2. Stop and get your heart rate by placing your middle and pointing fingers in
your carotid pulse located just below your jaw, beside your throat. In 15
seconds, take your pulse. Multiply it by 4.
3. So, have you reached your minimum THR? If not yet, 5 repetitions is not
enough. Let’s dance more.
4. Do the same process in getting your THR.
Examine
Lesson Outcomes
Introduction
When talking about the history of the Tango, the reader should consider that
although there were many influences in the creation and life of the Tango, it is
very important not to assume that it was some form a linear development. So
the idea that you start with this dance or piece of music and along comes this
piece or step, and overnight the whole thing changes, is very wrong.
While dances and music from around the world have had some influences,
this rather detracts from the people who really created and from whom the
Tango evolved its current form. These are the people of Buenos Aires, who in
the bars, cafes and dance halls created the Tango, danced the Tango, lived,
loved and at times died for Tango.
TANGO HISTORY
Tango (the dance with the stop “Baille Con Carte” is one of the most fascinating of
all dances. Originating from Spain or Morroco, the Tango was introduced to the new
world by the Spanish settlers, eventually coming back to Spain with Black and
Creole influences.
In the early 19th Century, the Tango was a solo dance performed by a woman. The
Andalusian Tango was later done by one or two couples walking together using
castanets. The dance was considered so immoral with its flirting music.
Ballroom Tango originated in the lower social class of Buenos Aires, especially in the
“Barrio de las Ranas”. Clothing was dictated by full skirts for women and gauchos
with high boots and spurts for men.
The dance spread throughout Europe in the 1900’s. Originally popularized in New
York in the winner of 1910-1911, Rudolph Valentino made the Tango a hit in 1921.
As time elapsed and the music became more subdued, the dance was finally
considered respectable, even in Argentina.
Styles vary in Tango: Argentine, French, Gaucho and International. Still, Tango has
become oneof our American “Standards” regardless of its origin. The Americanized
version is a combination of the best parts of each version. The principles involved
are the same for any good dancing. First, the dance must fit the music. Second, it
must contain the basic characteristic that sets it apart from other dances. Third, it
must be comfortable and pleasing to perform.
For exhibition dancing, a Tango dancer must develop strong connection with the
music, the dance and the audience. The audience can only feel this connection if the
performer feels and projects this feeling.
“The Tango is the easiest dance. If you make a mistake and get tangle up, you just
Tango on.”
Tango dance steps are hot, passionate, and precise. They are also one of the most
popular social dances around. In spite of its reputation, the basic dance steps for
a Tango are quite easy to break down
The easiest way to remember the basic tango dance step is to think of the acronym
T-A-N-G-O, since there are five parts to the basic. At the same time, the steps have
a rhythm and duration that goes as follows: "Slow…slow…quick-quick-slow…"
Like many ballroom dances, the lead and follow mirror each other’s steps in the
basic. Many of the more complicated Tango dance steps give each part their own
specific roles to play. The lead also always begins with the left foot, the follow with
the right, and the lead steps are "heel leads" - that is, the heel of the foot comes
down first, not the toe.
1. T (slow): the lead steps forward with the left foot, the follow mirrors by
stepping back with the right.
2. A (slow): the lead steps forward with the right foot, mirrored again by the
follow's right.
3. N (quick): the lead steps forward again with the left, a slightly smaller step,
preparing to step to the side with the right.
4. G (quick): the lead steps to the right with the right foot, using a technique
known as "collecting" the foot. This simply means that the right foot comes up
alongside the left before stepping to the right, and doesn't move in the diagonal.
5. O (slow): probably the most sultry step in the basic, this is a slow almost-drag
of the left foot towards the right, ready to begin the basic again. For the follow,
it's the joining of the right foot to the left with a slow, deliberate motion.
Basic steps
Cha cha music is composed in 4/4 time (four beats to a bar of music). For each bar
of music there are 2 slow and 3 quick steps, which may be counted as – one, two,
cha, cha, cha or step, step, step, quick step, quick step. The footwork is simple and
mostly focuses on just shifting weight from one foot to another.
Remember, five steps are taken to four beats of music. Also don't forget that the
movements tend to be somewhat flirtatious. This is definitely a party dance
Partners face each other. Gentleman starts with the left foot, lady starts with the right
foot. Basic ballroom hold.
THE MAMBO
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, who serves the
villagers as counselor, healer, exorcist, soothsayer, spiritual advisor, and organizer
of public entertainment. However, there is not a folk dance in Haiti called the
"Mambo."
The Mambo was originally played as any Rumba with a riff ending. It may be
described as a riff or a Rumba with a break or emphasis on 2 and 4 in 4/4 time.
Native Cubans or musicians without any training would break on any beat.
It first appeared in the United States in New York's Park Plaza Ballroom - a favorite
hangout of enthusiastic dancers from Harlem. The Mambo gained its excitement in
1947 at the Palladium and other renowned places such as The China Doll, Havana
Madrid and Birdland.
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. Success was on the agenda. Mambo
happy dancers soon became known affectionately as "Mambonicks".
The Mambo craze did not last long and today the Mambo is much limited to
advanced dancers. Teachers agreed that this is one of the most difficult of dances.
One of the greatest contributions of the Mambo is that it led to the development of
the Cha-Cha.
The Mambo is enjoying a renewed popularity due to a number of films featuring the
dance as well as a man named Eddie Torres. Eddie is a New York dance pro and
Mambo fanatic who has launched a crusade to make sure the dance reigns in the
ballroom once again. Torres has become the leading exponent of the style, steadily
building a reputation as a dancer, instructor, and choreographer. He has become
known as the "Mambo King of Latin Dance". Torres is determined to reintroduce
dancers to what he believes is the authentic night-club style of mambo dancing,
which in the 1990's is increasingly known as Salsa.
"It's a great time for Latin American dances," says Torres. "The Mambo is hot now,
like it was in the '50's. It is a dance with many influences -- African, Cuban, Jazz,
Hip-Hop, even some ballet. You'll never run out of steps."
Popular Mambo songs include "Mambo Italiano", "Papa Loves Mambo", "Mambo
#5", "I Saw Mommy Do The Mambo", and "They Were Doin' The Mambo". 'Dance
City', the superb CD album featuring Hernandez and the Mambo Kings Orchestra,
stands on its own as one of the best recordings of its kind in years, an energetic big
band-style session that recalls the glory days of Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez.
Most people treat Mambo as a very fast dance. In essence, it is a slow and precise
dance that doesn't move very much.
The origins of salsa date back to the 1900s in Eastern Cuba, where musical
elements and rhythms from various styles were combined. Cuban son and Afro-
Cuban rumba, the two main styles, used diverse musical instruments to create the
basis of a rhythm that would later become known as salsa.
Almost 50 years went by before this new rhythm reached Havana. There, salsa
absorbed influences from other local Cuban music and from American jazz and
continued to evolve. Due to the Revolution in Cuba, many musicians relocated to the
United States, especially to New York City. Among the Hispanic community, these
musicians found an ideal environment to develop their rhythm into what we know as
salsa today; this was especially true in ''El Barrio'', also known as Spanish Harlem.
The definite rise and jump to fame of salsa isattributed to Fania Records, a record
label established in 1964 by musician Johnny Pacheco and Italian-American lawyer
Jerry Masucci. This label became extremely famous, producing one huge hit after
another. Many of the artists who signed with this label are now regarded as legends
of salsa, particularly the team of ''Fania All-Stars''. This group included celebrities
such as Celia Cruz, Héctor Lavoe, Cheo Feliciano, and Rubén Blades, among
others.
Fania Records edited the rhythms which originated in Cuba and gave them a sound
that was catchier and more easily acceptable to the New York Latin market. To
better merchandise their music, Fania called this new sound salsa.
Salsa music is a mix of different Caribbean rhythms and instruments; that diversity
provides its unique sound. Salsa dance has similarly evolved and adapted over the
years to better suit the tastes of different localities, leading to the creation
of different regional styles of salsa. Some of the most popular regional styles are:
Rumba
The word Rumba is a generic term, covering a variety of names (i.e., Son, Danzon,
Guagira, Guaracha, Naningo), for a type of West Indian music or dancing. The exact
meaning varies from island to island. The word "Rumba" comes from the verb
"rumbear" which means going to parties, dancing, and having a good time.
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.
Century with the black slaves imported from Africa. The native Rumba folk dance is
essentially a sex pantomime danced extremely fast with exaggerated hip movements
and with a sensually aggressive attitude on the part of the man and a defensive
attitude on the part of the woman. The music is played with a staccato beat in
keeping with the vigorous expressive movements of the dancers. Accompanying
instruments include the maracas, the claves, the marimbola, and the drums.
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.
Real interest in Latin music began about 1929. In the late 1920's, Xavier Cugat
formed an orchestra that specialized in Latin American music. He opened at the
Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and appeared in early sound movies such as "In Gay
Madrid". Later in the 1930's, Cugat played at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.
By the end of the decade he was recognized as having the outstanding Latin
orchestra of the day.
In 1935, George Raft played the part of a suave dancer in the movie "Rumba", a
rather superficial musical in which the hero finally won the heiress (Carol Lombard)
through the mutual love of dancing.
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.
Regardless of where you find the rumba dance step diagram, it's going to look
something like the one at Dancing4Beginners. The first diagram shows footprints for
the lead, in sequence. The start position is with the feet together and the weight
balanced. The left foot is white and the right foot is a gray shaded color to help
differentiate them.
Download Rhumba lead dance steps Download Rhumba partner dance steps
SOURCE
Samba dance is a little bit of this and a lot of that. Originating in Brazil in the 19th
century, samba owes its rhythm and moves to the African slave dances on the
Brazilian sugarcane plantations. The traditional African circle dance with a lone
central performer relied on weight shifts, rapid steps, and slides to a 2/4 percussive
beat, and a fairly still upper body with arms and hands responding to the hip and leg
movements. Once slavery ended, the dancers migrated to the favelas or
shantytowns outside of cities, where freed slaves put together dance troupes
for carnival. The performances were boisterous and uninhibited, generally frowned
upon by Brazil's Portuguese upper class. But samba proved irresistible, its popularity
spilling across classes and borders, its gyrations richly colored by regional and
international influences. Today, it would be impossible to imagine a carnival without
samba. Fred Astaire and Delores Del Rio danced a version of samba, the carioca, in
the 1933 film Flying Down to Rio. Carmen Miranda, a Brazilian dancer who samba'd
her way through That Night in Rio, became synonymous with the dance worldwide.
The 1939 World's Fair cemented the American love affair with samba when the
music and dance was featured in the Brazilian pavilion. Today, the many iterations of
samba are a mainstay of pre-Lenten carnival in Rio De Janeiro and of Latin ballroom
dancing everywhere. Now it's a solo dance, a couple's dance, a street-dancing
exhibition, and a hybrid, merged with rock, acrobatics, and even reggae.
A Selection of Sambas
There has never been one definitive samba; the dance is as fluid as the pelvic
isolations that keep it hot. Solo samba and partner samba styles work off the same
rhythms with fast or slow percussive beats.
Solo Sambas
Samba no pé is traditional solo samba dance with simple, recognizable steps
spontaneously inspired by the music. It follows a 2/4 count with three steps in every
measure, a basic step-ball-change.
1. Begin with your feet together. Relax your knees and keep them soft and
bouncy throughout.
2. Step back onto the ball of the left foot, shifting your weight to that foot.
3. Take a half-step forward onto the ball of the right foot, again shifting your
weight to the stepping foot.
4. "Slide" (step) the left foot to just behind the right foot, landing on the ball of the
foot and taking the weight on that foot.
Directions: Tick the column that best describe your participation in the activities
below.
Assessment
Summarize in few sentences what the survey revealed about your fitness
habits and attitudes toward social dancing. Write your summary in your
activity notebook.
Book References:
These can be print or e-copy of other recent (preferably published in the last 5
years) or classic books which are supplementary materials that are accessible
to the students. The bibliography entries should follow the APA 7 th edition
format style.