LATIN AND SWING BASIC STEP RHYTHM PATTERNS
Understanding rhythms is the key to understanding Latin music. It’s also the key to both enjoying and dancing to that music. I have had a great interest in rhythm since I was young. It is no accident that my dance company is named “DanceInTime.”
The simplest percussion instrument in a Latin band is called a “clave” which is the Spanish word for “key.” Salsa bands key off the clave’s rhythm, and therefore Salsa dancers do, too. In most styles of Salsa, within an 8-beat phrase of music, dancers step on beats 1, 2, 3 and 5, 6, and 7. They do not step on beat 4 or 8 although they continue moving slowly through those beats. Sometimes dance teachers say “pause” on beats 4 and 8, but I don’t care for that wording. What the teachers mean is not to take a step. But it can make the dancer think they are supposed to stop and then start moving again on the next beat. On the contrary, Salseros are generally advised to move fluidly and continuously rather than coming to a complete stop and then starting to move again. There is more detail on this in the chart below, under “Salsa.”
If you want to dance or play music and have difficulty recognizing the beat, attend a dance class and do your best. At a class, try to watch others and keep pace with them as you are executing moves. In any case, a dancer’s body gets accustomed to the typical range of beats per minute for the dance they are doing. That is, people develop muscle memory in the common range of tempos they dance to—but this takes practice. Then even if their timing isn’t completely perfect, they improve—-getting closer to the beat. See the “classes” page of this website if you are in the DC/MD/VA area for times and locations of classes.
To help dancers with timing, the Rhythm and Timing CD that Barb produced is now on this website. It has two dance instructors voicing the quick and slow steps over music. This enables people to practice with guidance which is also helpful. And note, more rhythm-related information is here in my Salsa & Rueda de Casino Guidebook.
CHART OF DANCE RHYTHMS:
When we dance, we step on the beats that are indicated in the chart below. You can see the steps vary according to which Latin dance you are doing.
Merengue: Quick Quick Quick Quick Quick Quick Quick Quick
This dance is very basic both rhythmically and in terms of the steps. It is often the favorite of beginning dancers for that reason. The music has a steady, repetitive quality. Dancing Merengue is like walking to music, stepping on every beat. Then you can do any moves such as turns, that the leader leads. This dance is also the National Dance of the Dominican Republic, and is popular in Haiti as well, which shares an island with the DR.
Salsa: Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick Slow
You can change direction on the first quick (beat one), or the second quick (beat two) when you dance Salsa. It is a little more musically challenging to change direction, which creates an emphasis, on the second beat. The beat on which dancers change direction is the beat on which they are said to be dancing. So Salseros can either “dance on 1” or “dance on 2.”
Dancing on 2 has a more direct relationship to the clave beat so it’s also sometimes referred to as “dancing on the clave.” The clave is a simple percussion instrument of two pieces of wood that are hit together. It’s most often hit on beats 1, 2 and a half, 4, 6 and 7. This is called the 3-2 clave because you are hitting 3 different beats in the first musical measure of 4 beats, and then hitting on 2 beats in the second musical measure. But the two measures can be reversed so that the clave is hit twice in the first measure (on beats 2 and 3) and then 3 times in the second measure (on beats 5, 6 and a half, and 8). Many dancers first learn to dance on 1 and then go on to learn how to dance Salsa on2. But in NY, Salsa on 2 is very common so Salseros there often start with on 2. Dancing on1 which is a little rhythmically simpler because beat one is the accented beat of the musical measure. That makes it the "easiest beat to find." But emphasizing the second beat by changing direction on that beat gives the dance a deeply rhythmic feeling. Most Rueda de Casino (Cuban Salsa) is danced with the direction change on beat one. Some folks prefer one of these styles over the other but they are both fun, and great ways to dance Salsa.
It should also be mentioned that there are about four or five (depending on how you count them!) different styles of Salsa dancing. These include NY Salsa, LA Salsa, Colombian Salsa etc. There is more information on these styles here: danceintime.com/dancemoves/2017/3/22/types-of-salsa and in my Salsa & Rueda de Casino Guidebook.
Bachata: Quick Quick Quick Tap Quick Quick Quick Tap
This dance became very popular since the early 2000’s. Dancers step on the first three beats of a four beat musical measure and they mark the fourth beat by touching the floor but not putting weight onto the step which is called a “tap”. Then they begin the next step on the same foot they tapped on. So for example, leaders move to the left to start the dance by stepping left, right, left and then tapping on the right. Then they step right, left, right and tap on the left foot, and then the pattern repeats. There are steps that alter and play with the above pattern but this is the basic step rhythm.
Mambo: Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick Slow
This rhythm pattern is identical to Salsa. However, Mambo is always begun on the second beat of the measure. Technically, Salsa in considered a "street dance" with a flavorful, expressive style while Mambo is a ballroom dance with more emphasis on technique. Salsa can be danced on one or two (the beat when dancers change direction) but Mambo is always danced on two. But these are not huge differences, and Salsa and Mambo are essentially the same dance. a
Cha-Cha: Step Step cha, cha, cha Step Step cha, cha, cha
What happens if you replace the "slow" in Mambo with the "cha, cha, cha?" The answer is that you get the Cha Cha rhythm. Cha Cha is done to slower music than Mambo, so there is time to fit in those three cha chas instead of the one "slow." So Cha Cha and Mambo are very closely related dances. Furthermore, like Mambo, Cha Cha begins on the second beat of the musical measure. That said, many Latin club dancers who don't have ballroom training, dance Cha Cha like a slowed version of Salsa. So they start on beat 1 and as with Mambo, they replace the Slow step with "Cha cha cha." Essentially, Cha Cha is a dance generated by slowing down Mambo or Salsa and inserting 3 steps instead of one slow step. All the Mambo or Salsa moves can be done in Cha Cha with the appropriate rhythm variation!
Rumba: Slow Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick Slow Quick Quick
Rumba is a ballroom dance that is the slowest of all the Latin Dances listed here. It is sometimes referred to as the dance of love due to the somewhat romantic character of both the steps and the music. Leaders do a “box step” for the basic step pattern, going forward on the left, then stepping to the right and closing the left to the right foot. Then leaders step back on the right, step to the left and close the right foot to the left foot.
Single Swing: Slow Slow Quick Quick
Triple Swing: Triple time (3 steps) Triple time Quick Quick
West Coast Swing: Quick Quick Triple time Triple time or…
Quick Quick Triple time Quick Quick Triple time
There are many forms of swing dancing. Single Swing is done to fast music, such as "Rock Around the Clock." Triple Swing is done to medium tempo music. Finally, West Coast Swing is done to the slowest swing music which has a "bluesy" sound. Swing and the Latin dances listed here are all musically "related" through their connection to Jazz.
Note: The "quicks" get one beat each and the "slows" get two beats in all patterns above.
Also: In this video you can see segments of a Latin Dance program done for Florida Southern College by DanceInTime. The rhythms of Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata were shown and demonstrated. Differences in the sound of the music for these dances was also explained. (For example, Merengue music generally pounds out a steady beat.) The program concluded with some dance instruction.
To read about issues in finding the beat, check these out:
If this subject of rhythm is still confusing, you can contact Barbsays5678@gmail.com to inquire about rhythm workshops.