Salsa and New York

At this formal event, I experienced both individual and partner dancing. I would describe this style to be a mix of hip-hop and swing dancing. The dance movements involved fluid arm waving and rhythmic leg stepping. There was no set choreography so our movements were limitless. These movements reminded me of hip hop, because there were moments of jacking and lots of hip movements. Additionally, there were movements that reminded me of swing dancing because of the partner spinning, dipping, and swaying.

What I found interesting about salsa is it grew out of the wish to move away from the norm of Latin music that was already placed at that. The early form of salsa, Latin Boogaloo, allowed young Puerto Rican musicians a chance to express themselves

After dinner, presentations were given by the Student Organization of Latinos (SOL), Black Student Union (BSU), Hmong Student Union (HSU) and the Asian Student Association (ASA). SOL demonstrated the basics of celebrating a quinceanera, including the religious aspects and ritualistic behaviors. To prepare for this coming-of-age party, the family dresses up, goes to church, takes pictures and throws the actual party, where symbolic gifts and actions are reciprocated. Next, the BSU danced to the Cha Cha Slide and the Cupid Shuffle, which were noted to be common along with games in bringing people together at the BSU. The HSU and ASA collaborated on their presentation, performing two graceful dances in traditional Hmong garments. After the amazing performances, the group Salsa Manzana continued to perform until the end of the

Celiz Cruz was a popular salsa singer. Salsa developed in New York City from Cuban songs and rhythms fused with jazz. It became very popular in the 1970s and quickly spread back to Latin America. Salsa uses Cuban percussion and the “son” style of song mixed with the instrumentation and improvisation of the jazz and swing of the 1960s and 1970s. Salsa music generally consists of three sections: son, montuno and chorus. The son is a Cuban song built over clave rhythms. The montuno section is improvisation over an ostinato bass pattern, a practice called “guajeo”. The third section, the chorus, also uses improvisation. These three parts can be played in any order, and transitions between sections are generally marked with signals from the brass

Los Angeles doesn't have its signature type of Salsa. Bands here adopt the classical Puerto Rican music. The dancing style moves are both exciting and sexy. In Cuba, the type of Salsa is called Timba. The movement is fast influenced by Afro Cuban music. Musicians blend in the popular Reggae and Pop music in between the breaks. The dancing style is called "Casino" simply because when it was started it was played in gambling joints or casinos. One notable difference is that Cuban Salsa is circular rather than linear. The man keeps moving around the woman. The Columbians have maintained their Salsa Dura up-to-date. The dancing style is spectacular with a swift movement of feet and tight spins. The dancers stay close; bodies almost touching. The West Africans also have their Salsa. Traditional music instruments are relied upon to give the rhythm. The dancing style is what they call Salsa Mbalax more African than Latino. Some contemporary Salsa musicians are:

Compas can be a partner or a solo dance, and some people have described it as the Haitian version of salsa

Kecak dance dancer in motion do not have to have to always follow the rules of dance accompanied by "gamelan" orchestra. So in this Kecak dance gestures of dancers more relaxed because whichever comes first is the way of the story and the combination

Although this was a hip hop routine, the choreographers also added a simple form of a Reggaeton body wave in the performance. These elements made certain parts of the dance be more connected with the lyrics of the song. For instance, when Mark and Chelsie dipped lower and did the body wave entwined with a snake motion, the girl’s head was on the boy’s back. From this movement and previous movements, you could infer that the boy is venomous like a snake causing pernicious harm to the girl. Another example would be when the boy placed his hand over the girl’s heart, and then she popped her chest out. That made the audience realize the boy had stolen the girl’s heart. These moves were a visual interpretation of the lyrics. If the choreographers had chosen not to add these elements into the dance, the dance would have been bland, and Mark and Chelsie would have been less likely to deliver the message of the

The Cha Cha Cha Dance, also known as the Cha Cha Dance or Triple Mambo, is a spin off of two dances that were very popular in Cuba in the 1940s. The reason for this combination can be linked back to a musician named Enrique Jorrin when he combined the Mambo and the Danzon dances. Margolie noticed the fact that many had issues with the relation of a slower beat that the mambo-danzo combination created, along with the acute syncopated rhythm that was hard to sync up with. To resolve the problem, Margolie decided to compose new music that better matched the movements and lessened the intensity of the syncopated rhythm that had stopped the dancers before. Doing this caused the dancers to develop what they called a triple step which made a ‘cha-cha-cha’

With every type of music there is a type of dance to go with it, like the Tango or the Merengue. Dance and music is a way of celebrating in any culture but is most popular in Latin American Culture. Some of the most successful artists today have Latino heritage, and they infuse their songs with Latin rhythms reflective

Prior to actually taking Brazilian dance class, I just assumed it was another one of those slow moving ballad dances but for a different culture. This is due to barely being deduced to how the brazilian culture in like in reality, as the only two types of dance I was shown were Jazz dance, which I really enjoy, and New Orleans dance, which I’m actually not very fond of (85% percent of it involves bounce, which I am not a fan of at all). But after a few classes went by, I was proven wrong. Brazilian dance is very different from both Jazz dance and New Orleans dance.

Each dancing master had a sequence of dance steps, and they also constructed steps over time. This would be defined as "Step dancing" because 8 measures of music are considered as one "step", hence the name! Anyway, at a local festival, dancers would regularly compete against each other, winning

The Mambo is known to be a product of Cuba’s popular danzon dance along with some African rhythms and steps. The Mambo, in its earlier times, was a bit of a freeform dance. Although the Mambo first gained its popularity in Cuba, it branched over to New York when and developed more of its unique sense of style. The Mambo craze did not last long; however, its biggest contribution to Latin American dance was that it led to the creation of another dance known as the Cha-Cha. This dance has special meaning and history to the name, for it is believed to have gotten its name from “voodoo priests who used to think they could send dancers into hypnotic states”.

I am from Colombia, where dancing is part of our culture. In Colombia each state has a month where festivals take place. In these types of festivals there is food, music and a lot dancing. As mentioned in class dancing is ceremonial in these types of festivals. Our typical dance for Colombians is Cumbia. According to Discover Colombia, Cumbia brings together three cultures which are Africa, Indigenous and European. Discover Colombia mentions that Cumbia was born from a cultural mix of black and indigenous backgrounds, but the music and dance became very popular in the 1950’s in Colombia. Another typical dance for my culture is Salsa. According to Colombia reports the history of the typical Cali salsa began in the 1930s. This website also states

These dances eventually evolved to include praise songs and myths that were enacted by trained dancers and actors. By the end of the 5th century BC, these dance dramas were part of entertainment and provided social and political commentary on the times. Amongst the Romans, dance waxed and waned in acceptance by the powers that ruled. Until 200 BC, dance brought life to Roman processions, festivals and celebrations. However, in 150 BC all of the dancing schools were closed as Roman nobility considered dance as suspicious and even dangerous activity of the masses. Dancing has come a long way since ancient times. But there are still some similarities. When people thought up these dances they were trying to express themselves, their emotions, their problems and beliefs. Today we do the same thing. We make up dances according to our attitudes, beliefs, thoughts and feelings. The future will also contain dances that will reflect that society. There are many different kinds of dances. There is ballet, line dancing, slow dancing, the list goes on and on. Some of these dances are slow. Some of them are fast. They all use different type of instruments. Each dance representing a time, an event, an expression or feeling. Each dance expressing something different. Dances will never die. They are too interconnected in the