Bravo, Franceen Joyce M.

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Latin Aerobics
Cha-cha
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Cha-cha is danced to authentic Cuban music, although in ballroom competitions it is

often danced to Latin Pop or Latin Rock. The music for the international ballroom chacha-ch is energetic and with a steady beat. The cha-cha is more sensual and may
involve complex polyrhythms.
Styles of cha-cha-cha dance may differ in the place of the chasse in the rhythmical
structure. The original Cuban and the ballroom cha-cha count is "two, three, chachacha",
"four-and-one, two, three" or "one, two, three, chacha". The dance does not start on the
first beat of a bar, though it can start with a transfer of weight to the lead's right.

Basic steps:
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The basic pattern involves the lead (usually the man) taking a checked forward
step with the left foot, retaining some weight on the right foot.

The partner takes a step back on the right foot, the knee being straightened as
full weight is taken. The other leg is allowed to remain straight. It is possible it will
shoot slightly but no deliberate flexing of the free leg is attempted.

Hip Movement:
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In traditional American Rhythm style, Latin hip movement is achieved through the
alternate bending and straightening action of the knees, though in modern
competitive dancing, the technique is virtually identical to the "international
Latin" style.

Samba
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is a Brazilian musical genre and dance style originating in Brazil, with its roots in Africa
via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions, particularly Angola and
the Congo.

The Portuguese verb sambar, to do joiner's work; and the Portuguese noun sambco
(Latin sambuca), a historic string instrument, a kind of harp or lute.

Although samba exists throughout Brazil especially in the states

of Bahia, Maranho, Minas Gerais, and So Paulo in the form of various popular

rhythms and dances that originated from the regional batuque, a type of music and
associated dance form from Cape Verde, the samba is most frequently identified as a
musical expression of urban Rio de Janeiro, where it was born and developed between
the end of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th century.

Mambo
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is a Latin dance of Cuba. Mambo was invented during the 1930s by the native Cuban
musician and composer Arsenio Rodrguez, developed in Havana by Cachao and made
popular by Dmaso Prez Prado and Benny Mor.

In the late 1940s, Perez Prado came up with the dance for the mambo music and
became the first person to market his music as "mambo", meaning "conversation with
the gods" in the Kongo language, spoken by Central Africans, After Havana, Prado
moved his music to Mexico, where his music and the dance was adopted. The original
mambo dance was characterized by freedom and complicated foot-steps.

. It is termed "mambo on 2" because the break, or direction change, in the basic step
occurs on count 2.

Rumba
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The Latin rumba originated from a Cuban song - To do this classic dance, follow
the slow-quick-quick-slow pattern of the 4-count measure.

There are two sources of the dances: one Spanish and the other African. Although
the main growth was in Cuba, there were similar dance developments which took
place in other Caribbean islands and in Latin America generally.

the "rumba influence" came in the 16th century with the black slaves imported from
Africa. The native Rumba folk dance is essentially a sex pantomime danced
extremely fast with 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 a staccato beat in keeping with the vigorous expressive
movements of the dancers. Accompanying instruments include the maracas, the
claves, the marimbola, and the drums.

Belly Dance
Belly dance is a Western-coined name for a type of Middle Eastern dance. Originally a "solo,
improvised dance involving torso articulation", belly dance takes many different forms depending on
the country and region, both in costume and dance style, and new styles have evolved in the West
as its popularity has spread globally.
The term "belly dance" is a translation of the French term "danse du ventre", which was applied to
the dance in the Victorian era, and probably originally referred to the Arabic tribe Ouled Nail dancers
of Algeria, whose dance used more abdominal movements than the dances described today as
"belly dance". It is something of a misnomer, as every part of the body is involved in the dance; the
most featured body part is usually the hips.

Movements found in belly dance:

- Percussive movements - Staccato movements, most commonly of the hips, which can
be used to punctuate the music or accent a beat. Typical movements in this group
include hip drops, vertical hip rocks, outwards hip hits, hip lifts and hip twists.

Fluid movements - Flowing, sinuous movements in which the body is in continuous

motion, which may be used to interpret melodic lines and lyrical sections in the music, or
modulated to express complex instrumental improvisations, as well as being performed
in a rhythmic manner.

Shimmies, shivers and vibrations Small, fast, continuous movements of the hips or
ribcage, which create an impression of texture and depth of movement. Shimmies are
commonly layered over other movements, and are often used to interpret rolls on
the tablah or riq or fast strumming of the oud or qanun (instrument).

Health and belly dancing:

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Belly dance is a non-impact, weight-bearing exercise and is thus suitable for all ages.
It is a good exercise for the prevention of osteoporosis in older people
Many of the moves involve isolations, which improves flexibility of the torso.
Belly dance moves are beneficial to the spine, as the full-body undulation moves
lengthens (decompress) and strengthens the entire column of spinal and abdominal
muscles in a gentle way.