The connection with the ground
The natural grace of Cuban dance is part of a hidden spirituality. It’s a sign of the greatest vitality where dynamism is in its purest state.
In African culture people cherish mother Earth. That is why their bodies communicate with the ground while dancing and yet are fluid doing so. Surging from this way of feeling dances like danzón and son were born.
El danzón
Danzón is a fusion of European influences with African influences. Among all the Cuban dances, the danzón has been coined as the “national dance”.
El danzon deals with the sinuosity, sensuality and the virility theme specific to lots of dances of African origin. It is a romantic couple dance and it’s one of the first social dances that allowed a close position in the couple.
El son
The origin of the Cuban son is Creole. This style is usually danced in contretemps. Because of its rural origin and that it was danced in the popular village festivals, the repertoire of figures is simple. But that does not exempt it from difficulty.
El son incorporates many of the figures of the Danzón that are executed in a closed/frontal position or the typical walks. It also begins to emerge figures and turns executed from a transient open position and even acrobatic movements.
Rumba Guaguancó
In Cuban Rumba the man and the woman dance together. It becomes a dance of sexual conquest. The dancers do not hold, each one dances without making physical contact. Its characteristic movements, its sensuality and flavor give dancers body expressions for their choreographic works. It expands the creative abilities to dance.
The Guaguancó dancers move to the rhythm of the percussion instruments, which are surrounded by a choir led by a soloist. They perform a very erotic choreography. The man goes in search of women through very strong and increasingly expressive pelvic movements.
Regarding the role that the woman assumes, she evades and rejects it, until in the end she submits to the advances of man. As for the final act, it means that the conquest is finally executed and this is known as the “vaccunao” (vaccination). When a man attempts to give a woman a vacunao, she uses her skirt to protect her pelvis and then whip the sexual energy away from her body.
Cuban chachachá
While the Cuban is sensual and with complex rhythms, the ballroom is energetic and with a fixed timing. It can also vary in the chassé place in the rhythmic structure. In the case of the original Cuban chachachá and the ballroom, the rhythm is “two, three, chachachá”.
Competitive Latin American dances now barely resemble Cuban. Sadly, since their development, they took a very different direction. Only the basic figures are still there. Sometimes the politics, the institutions, the judges, the competition take over. Fear creeps in and we lose authenticity.
Cuban dances = lots of feeling
Unlike dancesport, Cuban dances put emphasis on improvisation. The dancer is feeling the music, is consumed by it. Moreover, we can borrow the playfulness of the act and the organic side of it in some aspects of competition dances.
If you’re wish is to get a refresh and replenish yourself with pure joy and energy simply watch the online documentary Back to the roots. Barbara’s voice will guide you through the dance performances and explain how you can adapt Cuban movement to competitive dance.
In Western dances we express partly through the self. In Cuban dances the self becomes less important. Cuban dancers don’t wish to show of. They are just feeling alive and enjoying the music – something we might just have to learn again.
For more info on the project you can visit the Cuban Experience Facebook page.
To go in depth with the learnings from this project, you can buy the Cuban Experience book.