Latin Dance (DANC 141-144) Links
Rumba
RUMBA
Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova
Rumba will serve as the foundation dance for this course, because so many elements of Latin dance (and Latin music) are beautifully illustrated in this dance style. Read the text and watch the musical and dance performances in order (indicated in BLUE).
Rumba Overview:
Yvonne Daniel (1995) writes, "Rumba is a passionate dance, considered beautiful by many. Often the highlight of a community event or social gathering in
Considered one of
Dating back to the late 19th century, Rumba emerged in the port city of
At first, Rumba was performed in the places where people in the neighborhood usually gathered together; the meeting place could have been an empty plot, a cafe or a small room. Everything with any potential for percussion was used to make music: the side of a cupboard, the drawer of a chest, a pair of sticks. Rumba started up, just like that, without need for a reason, just as did Ragtime, Condombe, Marinera and other Afro-American styles created all over the Americas. The original meaning of the word Rumba is not known; however, it belongs to a class of Afro-American words such as tumba, macumba, tambo, and cumbe that were used to describe a party, both on the continent and on the islands.
There are three main styles of Rumba: the Yambú (the oldest style dating back to the colonial period), the Guaguancó (the most popular of the three) and the C
Rumba Yambu
As the oldest style, Yambú was first played on wooden box drums called cajones (as African-derived drums were feared and often banned), the Cuban claves (simple wooden sticks that are probably one of the most important instruments in the island's history) and a metal shaker called the maruga. In addition, cucharas (spoons) were sometimes added, playing a counter rhythm to the claves. This counter rhythm would eventually be played by palitos (sticks) on a guagua (horizontal piece of bamboo on a stand).
The Yambú dance is sometimes
called the Old People's Rumba. It uses the slowest beat of the three Rumba styles and incorporates movements feigning frailty. It is danced alone (usually by women) or by men and women together. Although male dancers may flirt with female dancers during the dance, they do not use the vacunao of Rumba Guaguancó as you will see later.
Musical and dance performance: Rumba Yambu performance (Cuba)
This is an excellent performance of Yambu music and dance. You will see everyday footage of people in Cuba spliced in with the musicians as they perform. The dancers come in at 6:41. Watch what happens at 7:35 - can you see why many people call this "Old People's Rumba?" How do you think that movements like that one evolved into the vacunao (see below)?
Rumba Guaguanco
The Guaguancó style emerged later as a faster tempo form, and was (and still is) played on tumbadoras (conga drums), along with the claves, the palitos and the maruga. The conga drums are modeled after the Congolese yuka drums, direct descendents of the African ngomas, and would go on to be the most commonly used hand drums in all of Latin music. There are three main sizes (or widths) of tumbadoras: the tumba (bass), the segundo or tresdos (middle) and the quinto (highest, which is the lead drum), and each drum is tuned to a distinct pitch. (At first, tuning took place with heat as the skins were nailed on, but later, metal tuning hardware developed.)
Rumba Guaguancó is faster than Yambú, with more complex rhythms, and involves overtly flirtatious movements between a man and a woman in the roles of "Rooster" and "Hen." The woman both entices and "protects herself" from the man, who tries to catch the woman off-guard with a vacunao -- tagging her with the flip of a handkerchief or by throwing his arm, leg or pelvis in her direction in an act of symbolic sexual contact. To defend herself, she may cover herself with her hand, or use her skirt to protect her pelvis and whip the sexual energy away from her body. This rooster-hen dynamic is a feature of many African dances found throughout the
Musical performance: Rumba Guaguanco timbero performance
Dance performance: Guaguanco
In this performance, you can clearly see the incorporation of slower Yambu elements mixed with the faster Guaguanco moves.
Dance performance: Rumba Guaguancó - Performance by Ballet Folklórico Cutumba de Santiago, Cuba.
Watch the move at 0:51 and compare to the move at 7:35 in the Yambu performance. Incredible isn't it? the Yambu action of the woman helping the frail man from the floor has evolved into the male doing acrobatic and sexual moves on the floor to attract the woman. Also central is man's hands on his gentials throughout the performance. This became a central focus of the dance style of Michael Jackson, who in turn inspired modern R&B and Hip Hop dancers. Check out this video montage of classic Michael Jackson dance moves and you'll see where his "signature" crotch-grabbing moves really came from (and even the white glove):
Dance performance: Michael Jackson at his best
Rumba Columbia
The third of the styles, the C
Music and dance performance: Rumba Columbia Performance
Another fantastic performance by Ballet Folklórico Cutumba de Santiago, Cuba. Rumba Columbia was, as you can see, a divergence from the evolutionary path of Rumba that we've seen. Few elements of the Columbia style were incorporated in modern Rumba music or dance - they are however obvious in other styles of dance, from Salsa to Hip-Hop.
International Latin Rumba (Modern)
The structure of Rumba music has remained virtually the same since it first began. In the Yambú and Guaguancó styles, the claves begin the song, establishing the tempo with the distinct, five-note pattern (which is the heartbeat of most Cuban music as well as salsa). The remaining percussion instruments enter in layered fashion, and begin their repetitive patterns. The lead singer then sets the key with a series of scat-like vocalizations called the diana, followed by the verses of the song. The lead vocalist then initiates the call-and-response section and is responded to by the chorus while he/she improvises in between, and it is at this time that the dancing begins.
Traditional rumbas began to be recorded in
Dance performance: International Latin Rumba
Performance by two of the top Latin dancers in the world today, Slavik Kryklyvyy and Karina Smirnoff. Can you see how the vacunao has transcended into moves like the Sliding Door (0:44) and the classic Fan (1:07)?
Dance performance: Internation Latin Rumba Showdance
This is a Rumba Showdance from the Ohio Star Ball 2007 performed by Andre and Natalie Paramonov. Watch how they interact with one another throughout, and how powerful and intense they are (the move at 1:25 is so dramatic as she surrenders to him completely; at 1:59, he lowers her and she pulls up her own dress to deepen the pose). You can see how even the small gestures at the very end of the performance (Natalie's hands on Andre's face and how he "helps" her to cross her own leg) really demonstrate the power and erotic beauty of modern International Rumba. I absolutely LOVE this performance.