Latin American Dance Classes in Barry & Cardiff, South Wales

Miranda Lee offers expert Latin American Dance Classes for all abilities.

Latin American Dancing – A Brief History

CHA CHA CHA                        RUMBA                   JIVE                           PASO DOBLE                          SAMBA

The Cha cha cha is from Cuba and is based on a rhythm introduced by Enrico Jorrin a very popular Cuban singer, composer and band leader during the 1950’s and 1960’s.

The Rumba is also from Cuba and the music and dance we know as Cuban Rumba stems from Guarjira, a dance which was popular with the country people in the mid 1800’s, from this a more sophisticated version developed in the 1930’s

The Jive is from the USA and was developed from the Lindyhop, Lindy, Jitterbug, Twelve Bar Blues and Boogie all based on Afro-American music. The East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing based on American Swing music and Rock ‘n’ Roll from the USA’s  1950’s heavy down beat music.

The Paso Doble is from Spain and developed in France and depicts the story of a ‘Bull Fight’ It is now popular to include Flamenco choreography.

The Samba is from Brazil and is said to be based on three dance styles – the Maxixe, Baion and Choro.  The classic Samba rhythm of Batucada was a late addition to the Samba danced in competitions from 1988.