Rumba History
Rumba is a common term involving various names. It could mean differently from varied places. The word "rumba" may probably came from the verb "rumbear" which means dancing, going to parties, and other merriment. It could also mean Guaracha, Naningo, Danzon, Guagira, Son, for a type of West Indian music or dancing.
Originally, Rumba was an African folk dance that shows a wild sexual encounter. One version of the Rumba known as the Son was very popular with the middle class in Cuba. It is slower but no less expressive.
Others stated that it might originate from African and other Spanish dances. There were similar dance developments which took place in other neighboring Caribbean islands and in Latin America generally though originally it came from Cuba.
During the 16th century, the "rumba influence" came thru the black slaves imported from Africa. The native Rumba folk dance is essentially a sex dance thru gesture and facial expression. It is extremely fast with overstated and exaggerated hip movements and with a sensually aggressive attitude on the part of the man and a defensive attitude on the part of the woman. The music is played with an abrupt beat in keeping with the physically expressive movements of the dancers. Instruments like the maracas, the claves, the marimbola, and the drums accompany the dance.
The "Son" was the widely accepted dance of middle class Cuba as early as the second World War. It is a modified polite, polished and slower version of the native Rumba. The "Danzon", the dance of wealthy Cuban society is still much slower than the “ Son”. Very small steps are taken, with the women producing a very delicate tilting of the hips by alternately bending and straightening the knees.
A modified version of the "Son" is the American Rumba. It was first introduce to the United States was by American dance partners Lew Quinn and Joan Sawyer in 1913. Ten years later band leader Emil Coleman imported some rumba musicians and a pair of rumba dancers to New York. In 1925 Spaniard Benito Collada opened the Club El Chico in Greenwich Village and found that New Yorkers did not know what Rumba was all about.
Real interest in Latin music began about 1929. Xavier Cugat , a Spanish-American band leader, formed an orchestra that specialized in Latin American music. He opened at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and appeared in early sound movies such as "In Gay Madrid". Later in the 1930's, Cugat played at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. By the end of the decade he was recognized as having the most outstanding Latin orchestra of the day.
In 1935, George Raft, an American film actor, played the part of a gracious dancer in the movie "Rumba", a rather apparent and superficial musical in which the hero finally won the heiress played by Carol Lombard, an American film actress, through the mutual love of dancing.
In Europe, the introduction of Latin American dancing owed much to the eagerness and interpretive ability of Monsieur Pierre,(London's leading teacher in this dance form. Doris Lavelle partnered him in the 1930’s and they danced and popularized Latin American dancing in London. He visited Cuba in 1947, 1951 and 1953 to find out how and what Cubans were dancing at the time.
Rumba is the spirit and soul of Latin American music and dance. The captivating and fascinating rhythms and bodily expressions make the Rumba one of the most popular ballroom dances.