Samba
The international ballroom version of samba is a lively, rhythmical dance with elements from Brazilian samba. It differs considerably from the original samba styles of Brazil; in particular, it differs from Samba de Gafieira, a partner type of Samba in that country. Read more...
96-104 bpm
Cha-Cha-Cha
The cha-cha-cha (also called cha-cha), is a dance of Cuban origin. It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by the Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early 1950s. This rhythm was developed from the danzón-mambo. The name of the dance is an onomatopoeia derived from the shuffling sound of the dancers' feet when they dance two consecutive quick steps (correctly, on the fourth count of each measure) that characterize the dance. Read more...
120-128 bpm
Rumba
Although the term rhumba began to be used by American record companies to label all kinds of Latin music between 1913 and 1915, the history of rhumba as a specific form of ballroom music can be traced back to May 1930, when Don Azpiazú and his Havana Casino Orchestra recorded their song "El manisero" (The Peanut Vendor) in New York City. This single, released four months later by Victor, became a hit, becoming the first Latin song to sell 1 million copies in the United States. The song, composed by Moisés Simons, is a son-pregón arranged, in this case, for Azpiazú's big band featuring three saxophones, two cornets, banjo, guitar, piano, violin, bass, and trap drums. With vocals by Antonio Machín and a trumpet solo (the first one in the recorded history of Cuban music) by Remberto Lara, the recording, arranged by saxophonist Alfredo Brito, attempted to adapt the Cuban son to the style of ballroom music prevalent at the time in the East Coast. Read more...
96-108 bpm
Paso Doble
The paso doble, or pasodoble, is a Latin ballroom dance. "Paso doble" may have originated in either France or Spain—the term "paso doble" means "double step" or "two-step" in Spanish—as the briskly paced paso doble music accompanied the fast steps of a military march in both countries. The dance also has connections to bullfighting: Fast-paced paso doble music originally served as an introductory theme for Spanish bullfighters entering the ring. The movements of the matador and the bull inspired the dance, according to Spanish legend. Read more...
112-124 bpm
Jive
The jive is a dance style that originated in the United States from African Americans in the early 1930s. The name of the dance comes from the name of a form of African-American vernacular slang, popularized in the 1930s by the publication of a dictionary by Cab Calloway, the famous jazz bandleader and singer. In competition ballroom dancing, the jive is often grouped with the Latin-inspired ballroom dances, though its roots are based on swing dancing and not Latin dancing. Read more...
168-176 bpm