Latin Dances - Types

The dance forms which have their origin in Latin American countries (Central and South America) are known as Latin dances. These dances are categorized into social and ballroom dances. The adjectives which best describe the different Latin dance types are expressive, passionate, suggestive and romantic. The different types of Latin dances are Salsa, Samba, Rumba, Cha-cha-cha, Merengue, Danza, Mambo, Bolero, Cumbia, Bachata and Tumba. The Latin dances' list presented below should help in understanding more about them. Read more on history of Latin dance.

Latin Dance Names

The following dance forms represent the core or most of the Latin dance steps. The origin of these dance forms and their evolution can be understood by means of the information presented below.

Samba
One of the popular Latin dance types, the samba is classified into two forms/types; these are the traditional samba and modern ballroom samba. This dance form originated in Brazil at the beginning of 20th century. In this partner dance, the moves do not change with music. The music in 4/4 or 2/4 time is used to perform samba. Counting of the basic steps is either 1-a-2 or 1-2. A slight, dropping action is used to perform the basic steps of samba. This dance has its origins in traditional dances of Afro-Brazilian origins. Read on samba dance steps.

Mambo
Invented by Perez Prado, the Mambo was a popular dance form in Cuba, New York and Mexico City. The original Mambo dance of Cuba was based on a thought that body movements and sound of music should converge together. In this form of dance, feeling the music is of great importance. This concept or practice of dancing didn't go well with the dance teachers based in USA. The Mambo dance was thus, 'standardized' to make it suitable for ballrooms. Learn these simple mambo dance steps.

Salsa
The salsa dance developed from the confluence of European and African cultures. This is a partner dance which first reached Puerto Rico and then spread to the Caribbean islands. The word salsa means 'sauce' in Spanish. The connotation of this word in American Spanish is a 'mixture of ingredients'. One has to follow a four-beat measure in salsa and there are three weight changes in these four beats. Read to know more about salsa dancing.

Cha-cha-cha
This Latin American dance has its origin in Cuba. The cha-cha-cha dance is based on music which has the same name. Enrique Jorrin, a Cuban violinist and composer introduced this form of music. The shuffling of dancer's feet and rhythm of guiro led to the formation of this name, cha-cha-cha. Today's form/style of cha-cha-cha dancing was developed by Monsieur Pierre a dance teacher from London. Monsieur Pierre traveled to Cuba and studied the dance. He noted that the cha-cha-cha dance starts in the second beat and has a split fourth beat. When he came back home, a new dance called ballroom cha-cha-cha was created. Read about cha cha cha dance steps.

Merengue
It is a Latin American dance performed in two-beats and a partner is required. Leader in this dance holds the waist of the follower with his right hand. Left hand is used by the leader to hold the follower's right hand. The knees, in this dance are bent at the left and right sides alternately. It facilitates the hip movements sideways. In this form of dance, the partners circle each other and also walk sideways by taking small steps. Merengue is the official dance form of the Dominican Republic. Read more on merengue dance steps.

The Latin dance styles and steps described in the article should be useful in learning them. The different Latin dance types take us close to the cultures of their countries of origin.