Dance Trivia

Swing Dance is featured in "Blast from the Past" starring Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone.
Enrico Caruso gave Arthur Murray the idea for his famous footprints. Caruso was a student of Mr. Murray's. Knowing that Mr. Murray was having difficulty succeeding with his dancing-by-mail-classes, he jokingly suggested that Mr. Murray begin selling lessons for one foot only, and then when paid, send lessons for the other foot. The thought of lessons "by the foot" gave Mr. Murray the idea for the famous footprints that became an Arthur Murray trademark to define the dance steps.
Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Eleanor Roosevelt, John D. Rockerfeller, the Duke of Windsor, Groucho Marx, and Ed Sullivan were ALL Arthur Murray Students.
In the movie "My Blue Heaven", Steve Martin and Rick Moranix perform the Merengue
In Merengue, the first beat is interpreted by the dancers as a slight limp and was inspired by attempts to spare an injured war hero's feelings.
Jennifer Lopez was a member of the Fly Girls dance group from the TV show, "In Living Color"
The Cha Cha, Mambo, Rumba, and Salsa all have origins in Cuba
Michael Jackson used Fred Astaire as inspiration for his music video "The way you make me feel"
The Tango was performed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in the movie "True Lies"
Christopher Walken is the famous actor seen dancing in the Fat Boy Slim music video "This and That"

Polls

What type of dance would you like to learn the most?
 
Latin
Tango PDF Print E-mail

 

Arthur Murray Tango Dance Lessons

 

 

There are essentially three types of Tango: Argentine, American and International Style.

 

 

Argentine Tango (Arrabalero): A dance created by the Gauchos in Buenos Aires. It was actually an attempt on their part to imitate the Spanish dance except that they danced it in a closed ballroom position. The Tango caused a sensation and was soon to be seen the world over in a more subdued version.

 

American Tango: Unlike the Argentine Tango, in which the dancer interprets the music spontaneously without any predetermined, slows or quicks, the American Tango features a structure which is correlated to the musical phrasing. The dance is executed both in closed position and in various types of extravagant dance relationships, which incorporate a particular freedom of expression that is not present in the International Style.

 

International Tango: This is a highly disciplined and distinctively structured form of the Tango which is accepted worldwide as the format for dancesport events. The dancers remain in traditional closed position throughout and express both legato and staccato aspects of the type of music appropriate to this style.
 
Samba PDF Print E-mail
The Brazilian dance was first introduced in 1917 but was finally adopted by Brazilian society in 1930 as a ballroom dance. It is sometimes referred to as a Samba, Carioca, a Baion or a Batucado. The difference is mostly in the tempo played since the steps in all three dances are very similar. The style is to bounce steadily and smoothly in 2/4 meter. They say that the late Carmen Miranda introduced the Samba to the United States in 1939.
 
Salsa PDF Print E-mail
This is a favored name for a type of Latin music, which for the most part, has its roots in Cuban culture and is enhanced by jazz textures. The word, Salsa, means sauce denoting a “hot” flavor and is best distinguished from other Latin music styles by defining it as the New York sound developed by Puerto Rican musicians in New York. The dance structure is largely associated with mambo type patterns and has a particular feeling that is associated mainly with the Clave and the Montuno.
 
Rumba PDF Print E-mail
The Rumba was originally a marriage dance. Many of its movements and actions, which seem to have an erotic meaning, are merely depiction of simple farm tasks. The showing of the mare, the climbing of a rope, the courtship of the rooster and the hen, etc. It was done for amusement on the farms of Cuba. However, it became a popular ballroom dance and was introduced in the United States about 1933. It was the Americanized version of the Cuban Son and Danzon. It is in 4/4 time. The characteristic feature is to take each step without initially placing the weight on that step. Steps are made with a slightly bent knee, which, when straightened, causes the hips to sway from side to side in what has come to be known as “Cuban Motion.”
 
Paso Doble PDF Print E-mail
The Spanish March or One Step. It makes an especially good exhibition routine when the man styles his body movements to look like a bullfighter’s and leads his partner in and out of the patterns as if she were a cape. It is usually in 2/4 time.
 
Merengue Dominican PDF Print E-mail
This is 2/4 time with syncopation of the first beat interpreted by the dancers as slight limp. It became popular in 1957
 
Mambo PDF Print E-mail
Arthur Murray mambo The fusion of Swing and Cuban music produced this fascinating rhythm and in turn created a new sensational dance. The Mambo could not have been conceived earlier since up until that time Cuba and American Jazz still were not wedded. The Victor records of Anselmo Sacaras entitled “Mambo” in 1944 were probably the beginning and since then other Latin American band leaders such as Tito Rodriquez, Pupi Campo, Tito Puente, Perez Pardo, Machito, and Xavier Cugat have achieved styling of their own and furthered the Mambo craze. The Mambo was originally played as a Rumba with a riff ending. It may be described as a riff or a Rumba with emphasis on the fourth beat in 4/4 time. Originally played with some musicians in 2/4 time with a break or emphasis on 2 and 4. Native Cubans or dancers without any training would break on any beat.
 
Latin American Dances PDF Print E-mail
These are essentially divided into two categories: 1) The authentic, traditional dances that fall lately into the domain of the folkloric dances, many of which vary from region to region, and generally involve a rhythmic character as opposed to a set of choreographic distinctions; and 2) The standardized expression of popular Latin dances embraced by cultures other than Hispanic, such as: Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Bolero, Mambo, and Paso Dole. These dances are danced both on a social and competitive level.
 
Cha Cha PDF Print E-mail

 

 

Arthur Murray Dance Lessons chacha

 

From the less inhibited nightclubs and dance halls the Mambo underwent subtle changes. It was first known as triple Mambo, and then peculiar scraping and shuffling sounds during the “tripling” produced the imitative sound of Cha, Cha, Cha. This then became a dance in itself. Mambo or triple Mambo, or Cha Cha, as it is now called, is but an advanced state in interpretive social dancing born of the fusion or progressive American and Latin music.
 
Bolero PDF Print E-mail
Originally a Spanish dance 3/4 time, it was changed in Cuba initially in 2/4 time then eventually in 4/4. It is now present as a very slow type of Rumba rhythm. The music is frequently arranged with Spanish vocals and subtle percussion effect, usually implemented with Conga or Bongos.
 



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