Rumba
Pre-Bronze/Student Teacher
1. Basic Movements
2. Cucarachas
3. New York
4. Spot Turns Left and Run
5. Shoulder to Shoulder
6. Hand to Hand
7. Progressive Walks Forward & Back
8. Side Steps
9. Cuban Rocks
Bronze/Associate
10. Fan
11. Alemana
12. Hockey Stick
13. Natural Top
14. Opening Out Right and Left
15. Natural Opening Out Movement
16. Closed Hip Twist
Silver/Licentiate
17. Open Hip Twist
18. Reverse Top
19. Opening Out From Reverse Top
20. Aida
21. Spiral Turns: Spiral; Curl; Rope Spinning
Gold/Fellow
22. Sliding Doors
23. Fencing
24. Three Threes
25. Three Alemanas
26. Hip Twists
This had its origin with the African slaves imported into Cuba, whose dances
emphasized the movements of the body rather than the feet. The tune was
considered less important than the complex cross rhythms, being provided by a
percussion of pots, spoons, bottles, etc.
It evolved in Havanna in the 19th century by combination with the Contradanza.
The name 'Rumba' possibly derives from the term 'rumboso orquestra' which was
used for a dance band in 1807, although in Spanish, the word 'rumbo' means
'route', 'rumba' means 'heap pile', and 'rhum' is of course an intoxicating
liquor popular in the Caribbean, any of which might have been used descriptively
when the dance was being formed.
The name has also been claimed to be derived from the Spanish word for
'Carousel'. The rural form of the Rumba in Cuba was described as a pantomime of
barnyard animals, and was an exhibition rather than a participation dance. The
maintenance of steady level shoulders while dancing was possibly derived from
the way the slaves moved while carring heavy burdens.
The step called the 'Cucaracha' was stomping on cockroaches. The 'Spot Turn' was
walking around the rim of a cartwheel. The popular Rumba tune La Paloma' was
known in Cuba in 1866. The Rumba was introduced into the U.S.A. in the 1930's as
a composite of this rural Rumba with the Guaracha, the Cuban Bolero (unrelated
to the Spanish Bolero) and the Son.
The British dance teacher Pierre Lavelle visited Havanna in 1947 and discovered
that the Rumba was danced with the break step on beat 2 of the bar, rather than
on beat 1 as in the American Rumba. He brought this back to Britain, together
with the names of the many steps he learned from Pepe Rivera in Havanna. These
together with dancing the break on beat 2 rather than beat 1, have become part
of the standard International Cuban Rumba.
With only a transfer of weight from one foot to the other on beat 1 of each bar,
and the absence of an actual step on this beat, the dance has developed a very
sensual character. Beat 1 is a strong beat of the music, but all that moves on
that beat are the hips, so the music emphasises the dancing of the hips. This
together with the slow tempo of the music (116 beats/minute) makes the dance
very romantic. Steps are actually taken on beats 2, 3, and 4. Knee
straightening, weight tranfer, and turns are performed on the intervening half
beats. Again, as in the Samba, the weight is kept forward, with forward steps
taken toe-flat, and with minimal torso movement.