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A l B l C l D l E l F l G l H l I l J l K l L l M l N l O l P l Q l R l S l T l U l V l W l X l Y l Z
Mambo**Manager**Measures per Minute**Mechanical Style**Medal Ball**Medal Tests** Member
Merengue**Modern Beat or Rhythm**Modern Section**Moshing**Motivation**Move Limbs A to B**Music
MAMBO: In the 1940s Americans
became fascinated by Latin American rhythms. The Mambo combined American
Jazz with the Afro-Cuban beat. For dancers, the Mambo was an exciting challenge.
Today, the Mambo is 'fun' to dance and to watch. The wild unreleased feeling
within you, will explode into harmony of movement and music as you manoeuvre
through the magnificent Mambo actions.
MAMBO TIMING and RHYTHM:
The Mambo and Salsa
music is written in 4/4 time, which means; there are 4 notes or beats to
the bar (or measure) of music and the accented beats are the 2nd and 4th.
You may choose to dance 'off beat', in which case you'll begin the basic
on the 2nd beat, i.e. hold count one and step your first step of the basic
on beat 2.
Dancing 'off beat' is the more advanced means of adding rhythmic expression. Or you may choose to dance 'on beat' by starting the basic the customary way - on the 1st beat of the music. Although this is the recommended approach for beginners, it is by no means less exciting, in fact, many advanced dancers prefer to dance on the beat. The basic timing of both these dances can be counted; quick, quick, slow; quick, quick, slow or break, &, stop; break, &, stop, or 1, 2, 3, hold; 1, 2, 3, hold. Note; when dancing 'off beat', count 'one' is held, and when dancing 'on beat', count 'four' is held, i.e. the 'slow' or 'stop' or 'hold' count when dancing 'off beat' would be the 1st beat that is held and when dancing 'on beat' the 4th beat that's held.
Both Mambo and Salsa are packed with dynamic, rhythmic expression and to interpret or release this Cuban-American flair, every lover of Latin dancing would do well to know a few of the finer essentials. Because of its powerful Jazz influence, Mambo and Salsa music is peppered with a pulsating mixture of melodic rhythms and syncopation - there's just nothing boring about this music.
To interpret or 'feel' the rhythm, means going beyond just dancing to the beat. It is synchronising the movements with the many fluctuations that this exotic music offers. Start by holding the 'stop', 'slow' or 'hold' count of your basic a little longer than regulation time, then snap up your next quick. Or flick-kick during 'hold' counts. As you become familiar with this 'beat-interplay', apply the same principle to the variations of these dances. Only once you have mastered this and can do it without conscious effort, must you attempt to blend your movements in with the 'whole' music by listening closer to what the melody tells you. When the melody shouts stop! Stop. When it says freeze, listen and so on. This 'light and shade' adds an extra dimension to the body rhythms of these exotic dances.
Next time when dancing Mambo or Salsa, try the triple-beat action; step 1, 2 as usual but now count 3 becomes count 1 of the triple timing and count 4, which you would normally hold, you step 2 and 3 of the triple-beat. Do the same with the 2nd half of your basic and keep going - let the rhythm take control - count 1, 2, 1,2,3, 1,2, 1,2,3.
MAMBO HOLD (SOCIAL): To assume the correct posture in the Latin dances, the man and the lady face each other directly - a half a metre apart, with their weight poised slightly forward to allow the hips to move freely. In this position both brace up, by pulling the tummy and the tail in. This braced-up posture helps strengthen the unity of movement between the two, and helps play an indispensable part to sound leading and following. The man, with his right hand, holds the girl around the left shoulder blade (a little higher than in the ballroom dances), and the girl's left arm rests on his right arm. In his left hand he holds the girl's right hand.
The man's hold must be firm because the girl, in this stance, creates a slight resistance by lightly pushing against the man with her left arm. For beginners, this slight resistance between the man and the women forms the togetherness which is absolutely essential to good leading and following, particularly in the Latin dances where most of the communication is done through the arms which form an extension of the body.
BASIC FOOTWORK and STYLE:
Because Mambo and Salsa music is
generally played at a brisk pace, the steps are danced on the toes. The
footwork here has an earthy feel to it, i.e. a 'push into the floor' action
- toe first.
CUBAN HIP STYLE:
The rhythmic swaying of the hips
in the Mambo and Salsa is known as Cuban motion or Cuban hip style. It
is a soft, subtle style that was borrowed from the Rumba, the grandpa of
the Latin American dances.
Some social schools believe that the easiest way to achieve this hip movement is by stepping without weight, in the same way you would climb stairs. Practise the following exercise on the spot and in time to the count of quick, quick slow; quick, quick slow. With your feet together, place your weight over your right leg. At the same time swing the left knee across the right knee (quick). Now transfer your weight onto your left leg and swing your right knee across your left knee(quick). Now transfer your weight onto your right leg and swing your left knee across your right knee(slow). Repeat this exercise a few times and while doing so, keep the shoulders still and feel the hips swinging from side to side.
Note, the leg that has the weight on it, must be very straight while the leg without the weight (the knee that swings across the other) must be bent. Other schools say, to feel this 'Cuban style' when dancing the Mambo or Salsa basics, straighten the knee as you push the toe into the floor on all forward, side and back breaks, i.e. your 1st and 4th steps. The straightening of the knee causes the hip to automatically swing. This method, compared with the 'stepping without weight' action, gives a more natural hip swing to the Cuban style and is much easier to apply.
Mambo
vs Salsa
Where did the term Salsa come from?
Latin Beat magazine says that Chano Pozo and some of the others used to
call out Salsa (which means sauce as in hot sauce) during the really hot
jams. Another story is that like a good sauce, they added more and more
ingredients from the jazz influence that it mutated the danzon roots) Remember
this stuff was called latin jazz in the 40's & 50's. When Latin music
underwent a resurgence, in the 80's rather than reviving a dead horse,
the movers and shakers gave it the term Salsa and the dance caught fire.
In theory Salsa and Mambo are really the same dance. They are both based on the Clave beat, yet the feel is totally different. Musically it's still Mambo yet mutated. When you hear the Salsa bands they are usually playing slower than the bands of 10 years ago. Listen to El Gran Combo (the #1 Puerto Rican band for decades) their stuff is really fast. Listen to Niche, Oscar DLeon, Hansel Martinez. They will occasionally play something fast but usually its slower than Mambo.
What's the difference step wise? Primarily, which country's style you are doing. Columbians though Salvadorans dance more side to side like an off time Samba whisk which is because of the Cumbia influence. Cubans and Puerto Ricans dance more forward & back which comes from the Mambo influence.
All the young Salsa kids in the clubs are doing more of a nightclub twostep (yes Buddy Schwimmer's) version than anything else. Why? Because Salsa is a street dance, the best dancer in a club sets the style, creates the moves and everyone copies them. 1) Mambo originated in Cuba but it was discovered in Mexico where Perez Prado made it famous. 2) The best dancers dance Mambo on the 2 beat not because the beat is there but because they dance their hips on the 1 and fall into the 2 on a forward beat.
The salsa dancers still use the body but not in the same fashion as one would in Mambo. 3) Most Cubans dance on 2, and from what I have heard most Puerto Ricans do as well. Those that break on one are usually untrained dancers or what many people call foot dancers. Puerto Rican style looks different from Cuban style with a lowered shoulder into the break while Cuban dancers dance more upright, but otherwise pattern wise they still do the fwd-back Mambo pattern.
Having trained in both Mambo and Salsa, I dance Mambo when the music has an edge to it. Mambo steps are cut. By that I mean Mambo has a quick feet-hold feeling while Salsa has an undulating feeling more like an ocean wave. While mambo is a stop in the middle dance, many salsa dancers close feet on the end of the pattern (where most mambo dancers would rock fwd or back). An advanced salsa basic is close, fwd, fwd pause, close back back pause. the feet have much less tone, foot arch, but the feet are much more active because they are always either flicking or dragging the slow.
Salsa dancers invariably break on
1 or 3. Untrained dancers hear the strong beat on 1 and step on it. The
more latin they are, the more they break on 3. Why? They usually hear it
as SQQ because of the dead 2 beat. If you are dancing SQQ, to dance a slow
you don't do Q,hold2,QQ - you would move through the 1, landing on 2, which
makes it a slow, and then do QQ on 34. (Yes that puts the feet on 2,3,4).
MANAGER is the person who is appointed by a dance school owner or principal to run or manage his/her studio's administration, staff and functions efficiently and profitably.
MEASURES PER MINUTE: (see bars Per Minute).
MECHANICAL
STYLE of dancing is usually found among dancers who need to improve
their muscular co-ordination. The symptoms of this unnatural style are
stiff legs and knees and a heavy throwing of the weight of the body over
each step taken. Mechanical dancing is more prevalent or noticeable in
the Latin-American or faster dances and often causes loss of rhythm.
The cures to this problem are:
MEDAL BALL is a special function held at the end of each year by some social schools to honour their students, who during that year, achieved a medal in Bronze, Silver, Gold or higher. To give recognition to these students, each medallist prepares an exhibition in his or her favourite dance. After their display, they are presented with their medal.
MEDAL TESTS: In most sports and recreations, it is possible to make a fairly accurate assessment of one's progress. Yet for many years devotees of ballroom dancing, unless they belonged to the comparative few who compete in public dance halls, have no yardstick by which to measure their skill.
Since the leading professional associations and societies instituted Medal tests, there is no doubt that the general standard of ballroom dancing has improved enormously. A few years ago the majority of pupils were content to reach a standard that would enable them to move round a ballroom without undue inconvenience to themselves or their partners; now the majority are only too glad to learn more thoroughly and to record their progress through the tests conducted by well-known professional examiners.
Since the adoption of Medal tests thousands of dancers have taken advantage of them. This is quite understandable, for ballroom dancing is such a delightful recreation, and the social atmosphere, in most schools of dancing, is so pleasant that to reach a reasonable standard is neither laborious nor expensive.
Between Medal tests and competition dancing there is a large gulf. The 'flare' and movement expected from the competition dancer is not expected in these tests. The main points to concentrate on in Medal Tests are:
Marks are not lost through the omission of a figure in any dance, but they are lost when a candidate dances a figure badly. Any qualified teacher can train and enter you for a Medal Test - or, if you prefer to enter direct, the entry form and syllabus can be obtained from the Head-quarters of any Society of Teachers of Dancing (see Dance exams).
MEMBER is the term used to describe an adjudicator's qualification between an 'Associate' and a 'Fellow' (Silver level). This being the second adjudication level, makes the professional eligible to judge both Festivals and Championships (see licentiate).
MERENGUE: Today the exciting rhythms of the Merengue inspire dancers all over the world to move to its intoxicating beat. The 'animation' that comes with having 'fun' and being willing to show it, is Merengue in its purest form. In the movie 'My Blue Heaven' with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis, Merengue was the feature dance which they were having so much 'fun' doing. To do it - it's as easy as counting to '8'.
Both Haiti and the Dominican Republic claim that the Merengue originated in their country. According to the Haitians, an early ruler of their country had a son who was lame but liked to dance. For his beloved prince not to feel self-conscious about his affliction, the entire populace danced as though they too were lame.
As can be read into these stories, the main characteristic of the Merengue is an unexaggerated 'lame-duck' appearance or a slight 'limp action'. Haitians and Dominicans alike, refer to the Merengue as their 'singing dance' because of the exhilarating brightness of its staccato rhythm. There is nothing monotonous or 'routine' about the Merengue, yet beginners generally have very little trouble learning the mechanics. A minimum of technique is required.
BASIC STYLE and CHARACTER
OF THEMerengue.
Merengue is a simple, fun dance.
The distinct march tempo is easy to hear and feel, and lends itself to
a spontaneous, improvisational style of dance. The music is charming and
happy, and often contains clever jokes or puns in Spanish. Learning the
Merengue is a good way to start familiarising yourself with Cuban Motion,
which is the way that your body moves in all the Latin dances.
The basic movement is that the man steps to the side with his left leg and the lady with her right leg, flexing the knee a bit more than usual and at the same time leaning the body slightly to the left. At this point no weight is placed on the side step and the man's right hip (lady's left hip) is swung to the opposite side while the knee of the supporting leg (man's right, lady's left) is straightened.
Three things happen as the weight is transferred onto the foot that moves to the side:
To capture the 'limp look', the body must lean to the one side only, then swing back to an upright position as the feet come together. Advanced Merengue dancers, however, prefer not to swing and sway the body. Except for this singular difference, the Merengue is danced with much the same motion as the Rumba, Bolero, Lambada, Mambo and Salsa; using the standard Cuban hip movement. Because the basic Merengue motion and chassé pattern (side, together, side, together, for 8 counts) is the predominant style of this dance, it is also the ideal step to use when practising this action.
FOOTWORK
Make your steps as neat and precise
as possible, taking one step to each beat of the music. Forward and back
variations are stepped on the ball of the foot, while side steps or Merengue
Chassé movements, are inside edge of the ball of the foot. Basically,
the Merengue Chassés are danced with an even, staccato action, using
small, marching steps with a slight flex of the knees. This, plus the swaying
of the body, gives Merengue its unique Latin flavour.
TIMING, RHYTHM and HOLD
As a Latin-American social dance,
Merengue rhythm is played in regular 4/4 time and counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8 with the accent on every odd beat, i.e. 1, 3, 5, 7. Its tempo is
played at 24 to 26 bars per minute (24-26 BPM)
or measures per minute (MPM), with each bar comprising four notes or beats.
24 BPMs is by no means fast but the busy, percussive sounds of Merengue
music make it seem very busy and when danced, the Merengue is definitely
not slow.
The reason for this is that every
beat is used for each step. There are no two-beat steps or slow counts
and what's more, one or two Merengue patterns are syncopated which simply
means you dance two movements to one beat, i.e. your action is double-time
- 'one and', 'two and', etc.
The Hold and Posture of the Merengue
is the standard Latin-American stance: the man and the lady face each other
with the lady standing slightly to the right of the man and a little away
or apart from each other. In this position they hold in either palm-to-palm
or the orthodox Latin hold. Palm-to-palm is the preferred hold in most
of the social schools that teach Merengue.
MODERN
BEAT or RHYTHM dance includes: Boogie, Disco, Freestyle, Rave, Head-banging,
Hustle, Rap, Hip-hop, Rock 'n Roll, East and West coast Swing, Jive, Twist,
Salsa or any dance that is danced to an accented modern beat.
MODERN
SECTION is the Ballroom, Standard or Swing section of International
competition dancing (see ballroom Dancing).
For an interesting history of modern, click
here
MOSHING:
A
dance done by the younger generation at Rave or Disco sessions in the 1990s,
where individual dancers scurry thunderously across the floor with grievous
intent to floor whoever's conveniently there to be Moshed. This 'prank'
dance is sometimes done to the beat of the music.
MOTIVATION
is the heart and the encouragement that all earnest competitors need regularly
and in abundance. It is the inspiration that spurs them on to greater heights,
particularly during low or stale spells of progress.
Competitors must not rely on their
tutor or others alone for encouragement; they should find ways and means
to motivate themselves, albeit artificially engendered. Many top dancers,
when in a stale state, watch videos of other top dancers performing exhibitions
or dancing in competitions. This method has a miraculous way of freshening
worn ideas, stale styles and banal actions. It gives dancers that get-up-and-go
spurt and enriches their immediate out-look. A body-builder would have
little or no inspiration to pump that extra inch without a mirror to motivate.
Like-wise, the dancer needs the video for motivation.
MOVE LIMBS
A TO B is to be able to move from one foot to the other quickly. To
make a point of getting there snappy and precisely. From foot to foot NOT
half way.
MUSIC: A
melodic, rhythmic flow of recurrent heavy and light accented sounds. These
sounds are produce by the fluctuating tones of drums and other musical
instruments to which dancers co-ordinate their movements and actions.
