Mambo: History Of Latin Dance

When it comes to Mambo, the history of this dance is similar to other Latin dances. Like the Cha Cha, Rumba and Salsa, the Mambo is based in many different cultures, and the rhythms and steps have never grown stale.

Colonization And Latin Dance

Although many people would trace Mambo, Cha Cha and Salsa back to Cuba exclusively, the origins are much more complicated than that. Cuban band leaders helped popularize the music and brought it to New York and other metropolitan areas throughout the early to mid 20th century, but the roots of Latin music and the dances that went with it go back even further.

In the 19th century, music went through an exciting transformation in Cuba. During this time, Cuba was the cultural center of the Latin world. It was one of Spain's colonies and the richest one in the area by far. French and Spanish plantation owners flooded into the area and brought their slaves, who introduced the native people to West African music.

New Dance Forms Emerge

At the beginning of the 19th century, slaves merged their traditional music with the Spanish and French music that was already in the area. The homogenized music and dance was called "Danzon," which later split into the Mambo, the Cha Cha, the Rumba and Salsa dancing.

In the mid 1930s, Orestes Lopez created a version of the danzon that he named "Mambo." He combined the danzon with African street rhythms. The accompanying dance to the music was developed from studio dancers experimenting with the new beats and figuring out the best ways to move to the music. Mambo music and dancing was popularized with Perez Prado on his American tour with his band.

After the Mambo was developed, further experimentation resulted in the Cha Cha, which was a mixture of the Cuban Danzon and the Puerto Rican Danzonette. The Cha Cha style of music was characterized by singers singing in unison. The Salsa was also derived from the same basic beats, but it is much faster and more up tempo than its other Latin Dance cousins.

By learning a little about the history of Latin dance, you can understand how the movements developed. Although we think of these dances as permanent, they changed constantly and continue to evolve.

By: Courtney Ramirez

How To Dance Hip Hop

Learn how to dance hip hop? A popular dance move, the Harlem Shake, is a good place to start. Once you've mastered this move, you can add some basic pops, locks and breaks into your dance routine. You'll look like you belong out there on the dance floor, even if you're new to the scene.

The Harlem Shake is a hip hop move that's tougher than it looks. You'll need to get your body loose and warm before you try it, so stretch a little. Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, rock back and forth to the beat of the music. Once you feel limber and loose, you're ready to learn how to dance hip hop. Start moving your opposing shoulder and hip in opposite directions. This means you'll be popping the left shoulder up while the right shoulder goes down and the right hip moves out. On the next beat, reverse the move, popping the right shoulder up, the left shoulder down and the left hip out. You can practice this movement to the beat of the music until you feel you have the general move down. 

Moving the feet and legs is important when you learn how to dance hip hop. Stop all the upper body movement while you practice the lower body work. You'll want to practice moving across the dance floor while rotating your feet at the ankle, turning them in and out as you dance. Sometimes you'll pick up your feet and place them down again before rotating at the ankle, sometimes you'll just scoot across the floor. Turn both feet in towards one another, then both out apart from each other. When you get used to this motion, try crossing one leg behind the other as you slide around the floor. 

Now combine the upper body moves with the lower body moves and you have officially learned how to dance hip hop. Make sure you have some good music to dance to and a hardwood floor on which to dance so you slide appropriately. Add a shimmy to your upper body from time to time, and swing your arms around as you get used to the combined movements. Practice with other people who know how to dance hip hop well so you can pick up tips.

By: Rachel Mork