Introduction to Latin dance and the basics of Latin dance duet

1. Posture

In the pairing, the arms of both men and women should be kept aligned whether moving forward or backward. Bend moderately to form an arc. Center the hands on both sides and keep the distance from the hands to the elbows constant during the movement. It should be noted that no matter how you jump, when two people have a point of contact, it should be an arc from the point of contact to the back, so that they can drive each other.

2. Principle of force

There are two types of force for pair matching: buckling and squeezing. Buckle: The force of the buckle when no dance steps or movements are produced. The force of "buckle" is generated with the back, which is the outward force of both men and women. When the direction of the force is unchanged and relatively stationary, use the force of the buckle. Squeeze: It is the inward direction of both men and women. Produced with midsection and one side of the body. When the direction of movement changes, backlog of force will be generated. Note: The direction of movement referred to here is that the two people have different directions. If the directions are the same, there is no need to turn into squeezing. The squeezing force is only once and does not last. It quickly turns into a kickback force after squeezing.

3. Example

Take boys as a reference to give an example. When a boy puts his hand on a girl's back, the girl moves backwards. It feels like the boy's hand is a wall and the girl is leaning against the wall. When a boy puts his hand on a girl's chest (shoulder or clavicle), the direction of the girl's force is towards the boy. The boy puts his hand on the right side of the girl's body. The girl moves to the right and the boy moves to the left. The direction of force generation is always corresponding to men and women.

4. The degree of force

The degree of force should be appropriate. It is appropriate for one party to let go and the other party not to shake. During the movement of the dance steps, the two strengths of "buckle" and "squeeze" should always be kept even, and the change in strength should not be too large. Power is just a tool to convey signals to the other party, not to control the dance partner. Therefore, the strength does not need to be great. Both parties must be able to stand on their own center of gravity and cannot rely solely on the strength of the dance partner to stand firm. The origin and development of Latin dance

The full name of Latin dance is Latin American dance. It is a folk dance popular in Latin America. It uses a man and a woman as the basic form. The dance steps and style are basically derived from the folk dances of the area. The origin of Latin dance has a very close relationship with Africa.

Since the 15th century, colonialists such as Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Britain, and France have been engaged in the slave trade, trafficking large numbers of African blacks as commodities across the Atlantic to various parts of the Americas... Needless to say, these blacks Folk dances with strong tropical African characteristics will also be brought to Latin America. It affects and integrates Latin American dances. In addition, it absorbs the dance styles of immigrants from other countries in Latin America, gradually forming Latin American dances with Latin American characteristics.

In 1925, the "Royal Institute of Teachers of Dance (ISTD)" scientifically standardized social dance and issued the "International Standard Dance" to the world. Latin Dance Steps". However, it took nearly half a century to truly systematically summarize, research and apply the theories, principles, movements and technical skills of Latin dance...

Latin dance has a long history. There are many variations of Latin dance, and there are many varieties, but the most popular ones that have stood the test of time are rumba, cha cha cha, samba, gaife and pasteur. These five dance types are regarded as Latin dances. representatives were included in ballroom dance as a competition event. In 1960, Latin dance officially participated in the World Ballroom Dance Competition.

Latin dance has already received widespread attention in the West. In our country, due to many reasons, it started late. Latin dance is suitable for crowd dances

In recent years, sports dance in our country has developed rapidly, and many fitness methods have emerged. For workers who are busy every day, choosing an appropriate fitness and entertainment method , and perseverance is still important.

I have been thinking about which type of people should choose Latin dance as a way to exercise, and which type of Latin dance is more suitable. Later, I carefully observed the characteristics of Latin dance enthusiasts and gained some basic understanding.

Chinese classical dance pays attention to "heart, mind, and energy", focusing on hardness, crispness, toughness, and softness. Ballet also pays attention to Qi, but it is more about the control of the body by the muscles and bones. Latin dance is classified as a sports dance, which shows that it not only has artistic beauty, but also has the effect of strengthening the body. Compared with other dances, for Asians who don’t pay much attention to muscle training, long-term practice of Latin dance can exercise most of the muscles in the body and play a more obvious fitness effect.

Who is suitable to choose social Latin dance as a form of fitness?

Social Latin dance does not require high physical ability, is easy to learn, and can mainly be performed in dance halls or bars. Jump in and relax your tense nerves. People who have been practicing social Latin dance for a long time have some common characteristics: they are willing to spend money, like social activities, like to pursue novelty but not very perseverant, and prefer to focus on their career than dancing. Needless to say about money, the high consumption in the bar for a long time is a lot of money. Most of them put their career in a more important position and only use Latin dance as a pastime. If you don't like dealing with strangers, you can't stick to it for a long time. There are both men and women in this category.

What kind of person is suitable for long-term competitive Latin dance?

Competitive Latin dance requires high technical skills and strong physical ability, which requires long-term study and practice. If you want to persist, you must first have a strong interest so that you can continue to persist when you experience frustration. Secondly, you must have relatively free energy. This does not mean free time. Some people’s work will bring greater pressure to their minds and they will focus on their work all day long. Such people are not suitable for choosing competitive Latin dance as a long-term career. fitness methods. Of course, those who choose competitive Latin dance must have a certain research spirit and like to explore complex things, so that they can learn, persist in, and continuously improve the five Latin dances for a long time. However, such people may inevitably let dancing affect their life or career, because if the leisure time spent on dancing is used to improve professional standards, certain results can be achieved. Perhaps due to life stress, there are fewer men than women in this category.

Which type of person is suitable for dancing flamenco?

Flamenco is a very expressive dance, and its fans can be considered a minority. This kind of dance with strong colors is suitable for people who are clear about love and hate, rich in emotions but not melancholy, very direct in expressing their emotions, and do not like to be restrained. Only such people can combine the bright percussive rhythm and provocation of flamenco. The dancing posture, strong explosive power and graceful arm movements are vividly performed. Of course, flamenco is also a kind of practice that requires a long period of concentration to achieve better mastery. What are the essentials of Latin dance?

Hip movements are one of the iconic movements of Latin dance. In addition to bullfighting, the other four dance types all have crotch movements, which express the femininity of women to the extreme. , it is difficult to imagine what Latin dance, such as Rumba, would be like without hip movements.

Crotch movements

Crotch movements are one of the iconic movements of Latin dance. In addition to bullfighting, the other four dance types have crotch movements, which make women more feminine. The performance is so extreme that it is hard to imagine what Latin dance, such as Rumba, would be like without hip movements. As the saying goes, "seeing is believing", but that's not always true. The eyes can sometimes deceive themselves. For example, if the hip movement of Latin dance swings left and right, and you think it is twisted, it would be a big mistake. The hip's left and right swing is its surface phenomenon, not its inner essence. Any movement of the Latin dance body is the result of the feet exerting pressure on the ground, fighting against the ground, and then squeezing the body. The movements formed in this way are very solid from the perspective of foot movements, nailed to the ground, and rooted on the ground; from the perspective of hip movements, they are full of toughness and strength, like a elastic rubber at all times.

Arm movements

The arms are extensions of the body, and arm movements are the aftermath of body movements. Many people in Latin dance do not use their bodies to drive their arms, but want to use their arms to drive their bodies, and end up dancing like a fool. In fact, Latin dance is easy to turn into a show dance, and modern dance is easy to turn into a walking dance.

Foot movements

The feet have to exert pressure on the ground, fight against the ground, and squeeze the body. This requires practicing the strength and kung fu of the feet. The basic rhythm of standing is to practice This is the simplest and most effective method of kung fu, but remember one thing: never take the initiative to twist your hips, otherwise no matter how much you practice, it will be in vain, because the inner things are wrong, which is the so-called "different direction". Next The greater the effort, the further the mistake will be. Unlike Chinese folk dancers who have many things on their hands, Western dances are mostly about things on their feet. Just look at ballet, tap dance, and modern dance. The Four Little Swans have no hand movements at all. When dancing, the floor is your best friend. The greater the force given to the floor, the stronger the expressive power given by the floor.

Latin dance terminology - Chinese and English version

Basic Movement Basic movements

Square square, rectangle (square step)

Fan fan step 9 (fan position)

Progressive Walks

(forward)

(backward)

Side Step

Shadow Position

Side by Side Position

Shoulder to Shoulder

Hand to Hand

Hockey Stick Hockey

Lady Underarm Turn (underarm turn, fixed point turn)

Cuban Rock Cuban swing

Natural Opening Out Movement Right split step

Natural Top Right gyro turn

Reverse Top Left gyro turn

Open Hip Twist Open Hip Twist

Closed Hip Twist Closed Hip Twist

Alemana Alemana

Spiral Spiral Step

Aida Aida

Rope Spinning Promenade and Counter Promenade (Check from Open P.P.and Open C.P.P.) From C.P.P.)

(New York)

Spot Turn

Cucarachas

Three Threes

Turkish Towel

Advanced Twist

Sliding door

Cross Basic Cross Basic Step

Bounce Action Bounce Action

Natural Basic Movement Right Basic Movement

Reverse Basic Movement Left Basic Movement

Progressive Basic Movement

Samba Walks in P .P. P.P. dance posture

Samba Whisks (Right and Left)

Side Samba Walks

Stationary Samba Walks

Samba Locks

Travelling Bota Fogos Contra Bota Fogos

Shadow Bota Fogos Contra Bota Fogos

Reverse Point Slide Step Reverse Botafergos

　Plait Rope Braid Step

　Volta Movement Step

　Travelling Volta (Criss Cross) Cross-cut Mat Volta Spot Turn (For Lady)

Continuous Volta Spot Turn (Right and Left) Volta Spot Turn (For Lady) )

Natural Roll Right Roll

Corta Jaca Push Step

Argentine Crosses

Basic Movement Basic Movement

p>

Link Rock

Fallaway Rock

Change of Places Left to Right

Change of Places Right to Left Change of steps from right to left

Link and WhipFallaway Throwaway

Change of Hands Behind Back

Jive Walk

Merengue Action

Stop and Go

Rolling off the Arm Turn

Spanish Arm

Wind Mill

American Spin

Chicken Walks

Toe Hell Swivel

Ball Change

Kick

Appel

Sur Place Step in place

Chasse to Right

Chasse to Left

Elevations (to Right and to Left) Elevations (to Right and to Left) and lifting step to the right)

Travelling Spin in P.P. Traveling Spin (in P. P. )

Travelling Spin in C.P.P. Traveling Spin (in C.P.P.

)

Spanish Line Spanish dance posture

Flamenco Tap Flamenco tap

Separation separation step

The Attack attack step

p>

　Huit 8-step variation

Sixteen 16-step variation

Promenade Close Sidestepping

Coup de Pique

p>

Syncopated Coup de Pique Syncopated Coup de Pique

Cape Step

La Passe Sixteen-Step Children’s Latin Dance Choreography Characteristics and Precautions

Nowadays, many children dance Latin dance and perform a lot. Rehearsing is a headache because children are always disobedient. Therefore, the dance arrangements need to be adjusted according to the characteristics of the children and must be considered in advance.

Choose 3-5 minutes of music with a clear rhythm and a slower speed. If it is performed by two children, it is recommended to choose rumba or cha cha. If dancing in a group, you can use Cha Cha or Cowboy.

For group dances, try to change formation only once, and also adopt the principle of proximity, which makes it easier to remember. Connect the basic steps they know and make changes according to the ups and downs of the music. At the climax of the music, you can choose more expressive movements or choose several shapes. It doesn’t take too many movements, it just needs to be finely tuned one by one and constantly adjusted.

For the duet dance, you need to choose a larger range of movements and move more, so that it does not look monotonous on the court. You can also choose more complex action combinations, especially if you practice more open movements and shapes, it will be easier to excel.

However, for group dances with a large number of people, it is best for each person to occupy only a small area to avoid disorder in the formation, and it is also easier to train.

There are generally three forms of choreography for children’s Latin dance group dances. One is to have each pair of children join hands and dance to complete the routine, and the effect is enhanced by changes in queue combinations. The other is to serve as the combination's routine and then combine it with the duo's routine. There are also a variety of combinations of five sets that can be interspersed together to create a better stage effect. This is more suitable for older children who have certain skills to dance. ;