Doris Travis made a lot of firsts, especially in Michigan, where she owned and operated 19 Arthur Murray Dance Studios after opening the company’s very first franchise in Detroit, Michigan in 1938. This story of the ‘dancing queen’s’ 1992 triumph in receiving her degree from the University of Oklahoma is…
For the brides and grooms planning a wedding now is the time to start working on that special first dance. Captured on videotape, photographed and sent today by video email to friends who can’t attend the wedding, those first steps will be memorialized for many years to come. Here’s what…
If you think that most young couples today dream of their first dance at their wedding as a graceful waltz across the floor, think again! Most of today’s soon-to-be newlyweds are abandoning slow, romantic ballads in favor of something that would have been considered quite shocking not too long ago……
Originally a Spanish dance in 3/4 time, it was changed in Cuba initially into 2/4 time then eventually into 4/4. It is now present as a very slow type of Rumba rhythm. The music is frequently arranged with Spanish vocals and a subtle percussion effect, usually implemented with Conga or…
From the less inhibited night clubs and dance halls the Mambo underwent subtle changes. It was triple mambo, and then peculiar scraping and shuffling sounds during the “tripling” produced the imitative sound of Cha Cha Cha. This then became a dance in itself. Mambo or triple Mambo or Cha Cha…
Said by some to have been originated by Harry Fox (1913). It is now a standard ballroom dance the world over and serves as a good foundation for social dances in 2/4 or 4/4 time. NOTE: See also Two Step.
A number of similar-style disco dances which had its beginning in the mid-70’s and enjoys some continuing popularity as a swing style today. The record “Do The Hustle” was followed by the movie “Saturday Night Fever.” The movie portrayal of partner dancing by John Travolta to the popular beat of…
The fusion of Swing and Cuban music produced this fascinating rhythm and in turn created a new sensational dance. The Mambo could not have been conceived earlier since up until that time Cuba and the American Jazz were still not wedded. The Victor records of Anselmo Sacaras entitled “Mambo” in…
Merengue was made the official music and dance of the Dominican Republic by Rafael Trujillo. Partners hold each other in a closed position. The man holds the woman’s waist with his right hand while keeping his left hand/her right hand at the woman’s eye level. The merengue is a two-step…
The Rumba was originally a marriage dance. Many of its movements and actions which seem to have an erotic meaning are merely depictions of simple farm tasks. The shoeing of the mare, the climbing of a rope, the courtship of the rooster and the hen, etc. It was done for…
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