This time I'll explore Latin dances and rhythms. I've always enjoyed Latin music, particularly where it crossed over into Big Band - Bossa Nova, etc (there's that Band Nerd thing again), but I ended up not listening to it all that much. I'm beginning to suspect that what I needed was a context, specifically, a context of dance. I'm getting one.
Tango - another favorite dance, and one that also has music distinctive and dramatic enough for me to recognize easily. I love that passion and the sexuality of this dance, and seeing "Scent of a Woman" didn't hurt one bit, either. I'm not sure I'll end up with a rose in my teeth at any point, but so far, I'm having fun with Tango and looking forward to more. Of course, this dance, more than any other, sacrifices my social goals for total passion. The only people I'm going to meet tangoing are going to be people in the tango club, and it's not something you just go out and do. In the US, it's a niche dance. Oh well, Art for art's sake, I suppose. Tango tunes: Nothing that's ever been played on Pop Radio in North America that I can remember or imagine (see? There's that niche thing again!), but the other night I danced a Tango to a piece with Lyrics in German, but I don't know the name of it. Funky. The Internet claims you can tango to "Roxanne" by The Police And "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers, but they both feel like they're a big stretch to me... What do I know.... The whole POINT of tango music is dancing to it - since I haven't danced, is it any wonder I don't know any Tango tunes?? Edit - "Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets) by Sarah Vaughan" is a tango.
Rumba - One of the many uses of the box step, I think of this as the slow, sexy end of the Latin dance continuum. But there's a lot of Rumba music out there that you've heard, and a lot of it doesn't sound Latin to me - "And I love her" and "In My Life" - The Beatles (which have a bit of a latin feel), and "With or Without You" - U2, "You've got A Friend" - James Taylor, "Stand By Me" - Ben E King, "One of These Nights" - The Eagles, "Let's Stay Together" - Al Green. The large menu of musical choices and the obvious social possibilities of a slow dance make it a serious contender for the Dance short list.
Salsa - We've spent some time on this in class, in fact this is probably the dance I'm farthest along in - which is not that far! I've gotten the footwork options in my head pretty clearly, and we worked on a cross-body lead and spin combo in group class last week, which I almost got, need to drill it another 1000 times or so... The social possibilities of Salsa are quite good in New Mexico (maybe elsewhere too, I dunno...), and the music is a hoot, even if not much of it is stuff that I ever listened to on the radio (this is probably mostly a comment on my pedestrian musical tastes, rather than on availability). Salsa is all about the clave. Salsa tunes I've heard of (maybe you have too) are "Livin' La Vida Loca" - Ricky Martin, "Mambo #5" - Lou Bega and "Tequila" - Champs. Interesting (to me anyway) that Salsa beats seem not to have been adopted as widely in Pop music as Rumba rhythms, but Salsa keeps that Latin Fire even on the "crossover" hits, where as Rumba sneaks in and pretends to be pop. And as far as the dance, this is one of the more fun and energetic dances out there - I definitely get why so many people end up wanting to dance Salsa - it's fun even to watch.
Merengue - This is the first Latin musical style that I was able to distinguish from Salsa once I started dancing and it became important to pay attention. Salsa tends to be 4/4, and the characteristic Clave rhythm makes it swing, where Merengue is (or feels) much more 2/4 and more straight ahead, and it has less swing, more urgency. Merengue as a dance is so easy, even
a caveman
I can do it - we've spent maybe an hour on it, and the footwork is locked for me, and as far as I can tell, it's so straightforward that you can pretty much do anything at any time - which doesn't mean *I* can pull it off yet, it just means I'm not having to ask myself "Is this the right time for a spin? (or any other move)" With Merengue, the answer is always "Yes, it's a fine time!". This Dance feels like something you only spend a few hours learning, after that you just need practice. Lots and Lots of practice. Salsa, Rumba, Foxtrot, Tango all get basically fractally complex very fast, where as Merengue at least starts out as basic and regular as a brick wall (which doesn't mean you can't build tall and complex dances on top of a Merengue, clearly). "Hot Hot Hot" by Buster Poindexter is a Merengue, but my favorite surprise Merengue tune is "(Nothing but) Flowers" by the Talking Heads.
Bachata - Initially I had a hard time telling a Bachata tune from a Salsa (maybe I still do, let me know!), but thanks to Amazon.com, I ordered a few CD's to listen to, and I think I've got it. Bachata is slowest, Salsa is Medium, and Merengues tend to be faster. In Salsa, the Clave is the signature percussion element; whereas Bachatas tend to have (or feel) the slow, classic guiro scrape. The other characteristic of a bachata (to my Wikipedia-informed ear, at least) is that the lyrics tend to be forlorn and heartbroken. I have vanishingly little spanish, but I can hear it in the melody and delivery - understanding the lyrics is apparently optional. I've only spent about 20 minutes with the bachata as a dance, so far, but all I can say is: Hip bump. The only song I can think of that feels like a bachata to me is "Guantanamamera" (particularly the slower versions), but that's a Cuban classic, and Bachata hails from the Dominican Republic, so I'm not confident of that. (Edit - the more I think of this, the more I doubt it. Maybe a Rumba???)
Cha Cha - I've spent very little time on this in dance class, and not a lot of listening time, but to me Cha Cha music feels like Bachata's faster cousin. I often hear the same Guiro figure as Bachata, but, well, faster - though the Cha Cha Guiro can get a lot more complex, as well. The other difference from Bachata music is that there are a bunch of cha cha's you've heard, most of them feel pretty Latin, but there are a few surprises..
Oye Como Va - Santana
Smooth - Santana/Rob Thomas
All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow
Soak up the Sun - Sheryl Crow
Barbie Girl - Aqua
Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) - Us3
Guantanamera - Los Lobos (this version is a little faster, feels like a slowish Cha Cha to me....)
Walkin' on the Sun - Smash Mouth
Short Skirt / Long Jacket - Cake
Spill the Wine - Eric Burdon & War - (This one feels like it's got one foot in the Cha Cha camp, and the other in Bachata...)
So that's my take on Latin music you can dance to. I'm sure I'm off base with a lot of this, please chime in, the point of all this is to help me figure this stuff out...
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