I've been in two different studios, and the first, an Arthur Murray, taught the traditional Cuban Motion. The second teaches the revised. The instructors competed primarily in international.

They also revised the timing to QQS from SQQ that I had previously been taught. I've heard enough Rumba music to know that some sounds QQS and some sounds SQQ, and I'm rather of the opinion that you should dance to the sound, not follow a rigid rule, but opinions don't pass the checkout.

ericlund. If you do eventually get into the Internation Slyle I would give that counting Q Q S or S Q Q away and count 2 3 4 1. If in the American Style you check on one then why not count it 1 2 3 4 the same as Salsa.

Actually, you SHOULD dance to the Clave rhythm, which can and does occasionally reverse from 3/2 to 2/3 .

The majority of " teachers " will probably not understand this concept.

it is critically important, because its how the dance should be structured rhythmically.

Not that it really matters, because everyone probably devises some form of counting that works for them, but when doing the square Rumba, I have always counted it QQ1, QQ2, QQ3, QQ4, mainly because it helps remind me that most of my turns or block turns or Open Cuban Walk, etc. are going to be triggered on QQ3. When we do the Grapevine, then it can go up to QQ8 to do the entire sequence, and so on.
This topic came up once before, but the square Rumba is the only one I've ever learned. But it does incorporate some Rumba walks and such that I believe are more common in the International style.
Regardless, it is a very cool dance that I have always enjoyed. The hardest thing, really, was keeping my steps super small. It didn't take long to figure out that the square Rumba looks a lot better as a pretty much stationary dance when you are first learning it.

The " count " is not the problem.. its the commencing direction .

There is something known as " call and response " in Cuban rhythms, all emanating from a cultural aspect.

It dictates that the man " beckons " and the lady moves away.. she then responds by moving fwd .

So.. in Sq rumba, the side, together commence, is more accurate than a fwd start ( it follows 1-2 of the bar on QQ )but.. it MUST be on the 1st bar of the couplet .

Terence. Dancing cannot stand still. The type of dancing you often speak of. Can it be danced to Enya singing Only Time or Colm Wilkinson singing
Till You Came into my Life. or Chris de Burgh The Lady in Red. How about Shirley Bassey singing The Greatest Performance of my Life. All of these have been danced , and can be seen, by Wentink. Killick. Burns. How about Lets Get Loud Jenifer Lopez which at the moment seems to be most popular for a Cha Cha. This is the future of Latin Dancing to music. As well as dancing to music not yet written. I think the writting is on the wall. traditional music will take a walk.

Does the words " Latin Music " mean anything thing to you ???....

I seriously doubt it... what is it that you do NOT understand , that the latin dances were predicated on LATIN music.. ya know clave and tumbao.

There is NOTHING remotely latin about the pop garbage you list.

There are hundreds of thousands of latinos that have never, and probably never will ( with few exceptions ) dance to the " music "that you have implied as "suitable latin ".

Your references are ALWAYS about the B/room, social and comp. arena. As i have previously stated.. there is a whole world out there that will NEVER subscribe to the dis service that has been done to their culture thru dance.

I do, however , teach what is presribed in the Intern. style if requested.. even then. I only use authentic rhythms .

Now, do understand... I am not against using such type music for a show or dem. ( even then, its a maybe ).. and the public , as usual, is extremely ignorant ( and many teachers )on the wealth of the indigenous melodies that are readily available .

This is largely due to the mis conceptions ,that movies and TV shows have foisted on the general public.

I have taught Rumba, cha salsa, Mambo etc. for more yrs than you care to know,, I have NEVER resorted to the " pap " that is frequently championed as latin music .

As to " trad. music " walking ,,, there are more latin music releases every week, than can even begin to becompared with the " songs " that you seem to believe are the new trend.. again you show little or no knowledge about the music scene .


Just to qualify and make it clear..

the reference is to Rumba and Cha only.. and so as you know why.. the number of remixes from the 40/50 and 60s being remastered, is huge .

Terence. Like a good captain you will go down with the ship. Torpedoed by the changing music. Tomorrow we have a big competition at our Casino on the Gold Coast. Two of the worlds top dancers will be demonstrating, or if you like to call it , putting on a show. I will be interested in their choice of music.

Personal choice may have little to do with the indigenous background of ANY dance...

The most important point is this... the dances are and have been evolving to a point where they no longer reflect their beginnings ( you may like to know, that this type of discussion has been had at the highest levels ).

There are many in the higher echelons who are seeking a return to a more reflective nature of the genre.

As to music.....Remember this.. its the world of LATINOS that write 95% of all latin music.. they were around writing music ( and still are ) eons before the so called " latin dance music ", and trust me, they arent going anywhere !!

Lastly... the world of dance is NOT driven by the competitive arena ( its probably less than 5% of most schools teaching ) the social arena is what does, and has, always kept studios open, and the reality is.. we dont ( I hope ) promote the " show " style dance, that you seem to anchor your beliefs upon .

Terence. I mentioned I was going to watch a couple of the worlds best One Latin One Ballroom. The Latin couple for the Rumba beleive it or not danced to Barbara Strisand and Neil Diamond. You Don't Bring Me Flowers any More.There were many pauses and acting during the parts where they stood still. It was something to see. The ballroom couple were a complete show on there own also. In the Tango they had two chairs pushed together and did some almost stationary Argentine Tango stuff . To reach the floor the guy pushed the chairs apart with his feet holding the lady in the centre and slowly lowered her to the floor inbetween his spread legs, all to music. When he finaly came down they went for it. You'd have to see to beleive how they danced. It was entertainment plus from both couples.