Rumba

The Stare

Rumba The dance of Love --- sensual and seductive.

Small, rhythmic steps, with swinging hips requiring a flat-footed action with strong legs - to motivate good hip action.

The rhythms and the bodily expressions of this dance make it one of the more popular of ballroom dances to watch and perform.

Originating from Cuba in the 1890's and originally danced extremely fast with exagerated hip movements and a sensual/aggresive behavour from the man while the woman took on a defensive part.

Over the years it has become a lot slower and a little more refined.

When this is danced correctly it is most definately a show of smouldering tension between the couple performing it.

This dance only takes up a small area of the dance floor, the performers do not need to take large steps.

In the dance it is not unusual for your feet to end up apart after some moves.

An experienced dancer will use the first half of each beat to place their foot into position while keeping the body still.

They then use the second half of the beat to transfer their weight onto their foot.

When taking sideways steps, where there are two beats the dancer uses the first half of the beat to put their foot into position - next they tansfer their weight onto the foot with a more deliberate and slow movement, using the remaining half beat and the next full beat.

When first attempting this style of dance you will find the timing difficult to master - but practice makes perfect.

The best music to dance this style to is that performed by Latin-American bands.

Keep your eyes on this page for links to some suggestions for music you can dance to!

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