Ballroom rumba

Ballroom rumba is a specific genre of music and dance. It first appeared on the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. This style combines American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms. It primarily uses the son cubano rhythm, but also includes conga and rumba rhythms.

Some authors use the spelling "rhumba" to distinguish it from Cuban rumba. This distinction is important because the ballroom version differs completely from the Cuban rumba. Both in music and in dance, they are separate traditions.

The music of the rhumba craze was created through complex arrangements. A famous early example is "El manisero," or "The Peanut Vendor," recorded in May 1930. This song was a son-pregón composed by Moisés Simons. It was arranged for a big band by saxophonist Alfredo Brito. The orchestra used three saxophones, two cornets, banjo, guitar, piano, violin, bass, and trap drums. This recording featured vocals by Antonio Machín and a trumpet solo by Remberto Lara. This specific solo was the first recorded in the history of Cuban music.

There are two distinct styles of ballroom rumba used today. The American style was brought to the United States by band directors between 1913 and 1935. It is often danced using a box step. This pattern follows a slow-quick-quick rhythm. It is danced on the 1, 3, and 4 beats of 4-beat music.

The International style was developed later in Europe. It was created by a teacher named Monsieur Pierre, also known as Pierre Zurcher-Margolle. This style uses a quick-quick-slow pattern. It is danced on the 2, 3, and 4 beats of 4-beat music.

The history of the rhumba is marked by massive popularity. The song "El manisero" became the first Latin song to sell 1 million copies in the United States. This success helped spark the "rhumba craze." Many Cuban artists like Armando Oréfiche and the Lecuona Cuban Boys toured internationally during the 1930s. They sometimes played a style called ballroom conga. They used conga rhythms in songs like "Para Vigo me voy." Other famous bandleaders included Xavier Cugat and Jimmy Dorsey. Even classical composers like George Gershwin incorporated rumba into symphonic pieces.

International style rumba is a major part of modern dance competitions. It is one of the five competitive international Latin dances. These five dances are the pasodoble, samba, cha-cha-cha, jive, and rumba. Of these five, the rumba is the slowest.

The International style is a slower dance of about 120 beats per minute. This tempo corresponds to the bolero-son rhythm used by older generations in Cuba. The dance was officially canonized in 1955.

Learning the movement of the rumba requires great skill and control. The dance is derived from the Cuban bolero-son. In social dances in Cuba, people use a hip-sway over the standing leg. This movement is very pronounced in the slow ballroom rumba.

Dancers transfer their full weight to one foot. This allows the pelvis to move sideways and back. The knee of the supporting leg is locked back. Steps are kept compact, and the dance is performed without a rise and fall. Dancers also use free arms in various figures to maintain elegance.

The rumba connects many different musical and cultural systems. It was the first of three major Latin music crazes in the early 20th century. The other two were the mambo craze and the cha-cha-cha craze. The name "rhumba" is used for ease of reference and marketing. This is similar to how the term "salsa" is used for many types of Cuban music. The dance continues to evolve through studies of Cuban dance from the pre-revolutionary period. It remains a vital part of both social dancing and professional competition.