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 y 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 uneven cannon, salsa, Techno music and reggae ton. Salsa and the more popular Latin dances were created and embraced into the culture In the early and middle sass. The diversity is so great that the only universal feature is the use of Latin-derived language in the songs.

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The dances for he 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 chaw-chaw being done In honks-ton country ears for Instance; Mammal has been a large contributor of the united states involvement in Latin dancing. With such a huge Puerco Rican and Cuban population one can find Latin dancing and music in the streets at any time of day or night. The dances of Latin America are derived from and named for the type of music they are danced to. For example, Rumba, Meringue, Samba, Flamenco, Mambo, Salsa, Chaw-chaw Chaw, Backchat, and, probably most recognizable, the Tango are among the most popular.

ORIGIN OF LATIN AMERICAN DANCE MUSIC Many dance music styles have evolved from the original Latin American dance music. It roots are found in Cuba where the rhythmic drums of Africa met the Spanish guitar. Latin America has produced a variety of genres born at the crossroads of European folk music, African music and native traditions. Since we know that both African music and Spanish guitar music are part of the origins of Latin American dance music, it is important to understand how each of these music styles influenced Latin American dance music.

African Music and Rhythms Most of the African people used drums in their worship. In these ancient times, certain rhythms were created to call upon certain god splats. There were over two hundred deferent rhythms that created for worship. As the years passed on, the 1 OFF worship, calling their gods Christian names so as to avoid being punished. Today, there are secret societies in the Cuban region that are keeping the ancients rhythms alive. Spanish Guitar Music In the 17th and 18th centuries, Spanish music was defined by the Spanish guitar.

By the end of the 19th century, the flamenco style of playing and dancing was born. Flamenco is a dance where rhythms are tapped out with the shoes and castanets (percussion instrument (dopamine), used in Moorish, Ottoman, ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American music) in the hands while the guitar offers accompaniment. A man or a woman may dance the flamenco, and often the rhythms are improvised. Other elements of Spanish and European music also made its way into Latin American dance music, as did some American musical styles, like jazz and even big band music.

Each of the types of music has specific steps that go with the music, the counts, the rhythms, and the style. TYPES OF LATIN AMERICAN DANCE MUSIC It is also helpful to look at several popular types of dance music in Latin America. I m going to focus on a few which am very familiar with these being the Samba, Rumba, Chaw-chaw chaw and the Tango. * The Samba; It was a blend of an African dance and a Brazilian dance. The first appearance of the word “samba” dates from 1838. The “samba” was originally a dance of African origins, the ensemble, which came from Bah and was probably related to the Condonable rituals.

It wed a Brazilian dance, the “Maxine”, which was an evolution of the Hibernia (a European dance craze created by Maurice Move in 1912 on the basis of the Cuban Hibernia) and of the polka, and soon became a musical genre in its own. The samba was probably invented by African-Brazilian in the working-class slums of ROI De Jeanine. A young white musician from the ROI middle class, Noel Rosa, became famous with the samba song Com queue Rap? (1930) and started a less “African” and more song- oriented form of samba.

Samba was the generic name of the music employing a kind of rhythm, but there were different kinds of samba. The rhythm of the samba was designed as to fulfill three roles: to sing, to dance and to parade (at the carnival). Samba music can actually be a ballad or exciting music for Carnival. * The Rumba; The rhythm is more important than the melody and was originally made with spoons, pots, bottles, or whatever. This had its origin with the African Negro slaves imported into Cuba, whose dances emphasized the movements of the body rather than the feet.

The tune was considered less important than the complex cross rhythms, being provided by a percussion of pots, spoons, bottles, etc. (Raffle, 1964, 431). The name ‘Rumba’ possibly derives from the term ‘rumors orchestra’ which was used for a dance band in 1807 (Sadie, 1980, 5/88), although in Spanish, the word ‘rumba’ means route’, ‘rumba’ means ‘heap pile’, and ‘rheum’ is of course an intoxicating liquor popular in the Caribbean (Smith, 1971, 502), any of which might have been used descriptively when the dance was being formed.

The name has also been claimed to be derived from the Spanish word for ‘Carousel’ (Morris, 1969, 1134). This dance is very sensual, because on the first beat of every bar, the only thing that moves is the hips. It is also romantic because of the slow tempo, or speed, of the music. * The Chaw-chaw Chaw; It gets its name from the lively Cuban dance called the curaçao. It has 1952; he realized that sometimes the Rumba was danced with extra beats. This is said to be an innovation introduced in 1948 by the musician Unripe Jarring, combining two Cuban dances, the ‘Daemon’ and the ‘Mouton’.

When Pierre returned to Britain, he started teaching these steps as a separate dance (Level, 1975, 2). The name could have been derived from the Spanish ‘Coach’ meaning ‘nursemaid’, or ‘charka’ meaning ‘to chew coca leaves’ (Smith, 1971, 161), or from ‘char’ meaning “tea’ (Taylor, 1958, 1 50), or most likely from the fast and cheerful Cuban dance: the Curaçao (Lifted, 1974,59). This dance has been popular in Europe from before the turn of the century. A guiro is an instrument made from a gourd which is rubbed with a serrated stick (Brickfield, 1976, 1/1318).

The music for the Chaw-chaw chaw is energetic and has a steady beat. The basic movement of stepping forward or backward and shifting weight between feet, the chaw-chaw-chaw adds a quick set of three steps to the side. This gives the dance its name, as many dancers will count out these steps as “Chaw-chaw Chaw” * The Tango; It is one of the most sensuous Latin American dances. During the “belle pique” (sass), the working class of the “Boca” of Buenos Aries (Argentina) invented a new rhythm, the tango. Tan-go was the name given to the drums of the African slaves.

The choreography originally devised in the brothels to mimic the obscene and violent relationship between the prostitute, her pimp and a male rival eventually turned into a dance and a style of music of a pessimistic mood, permeated by a fatalistic sense of an unavoidable destiny, music of sorrow enhanced by the melancholy sound of the band neon. Tango was embraced enthusiastically in Europe and landed in the USA in the sass. The Viennese waltz and the Polka had been the first dances to employ the close contact between a male and a female. The tango pushed the envelope in an even more erotic direction.

Its magical rhythmic sounds have spread its influence throughout the Caribbean, North and South America and greatly in Europe. This music has a passionate, fiery and ‘hot blooded’ emotional affect on people. Any music that has such an instant, profound emotional impact on people has to be highly regarded. Latin American dance music takes on an influence of both traditional Spanish and Native traditional. Guitars and Drums largely figure as Latin Music relies great deal on these instruments. Today the Music is more main stream with Latin Music charts, CDC and Videos Online.

Latin Music also influences Pop and there are now many music stars that have crossed the musical divide. Many Latin entertainers who perform Latin American dance music sing in both Spanish and English. Their musical influence therefore spreads even more with a much larger global market covering much of the Spanish and English speaking world and beyond. Not all Spanish music is a serenade with a Spanish guitar, which is very traditional. The electric instruments and traditional instruments to help achieve the maximum impact.