Latin America thrives on its culture. Its dance and music is known to be very sexy and promiscuous, and is recognizable by anyone familiar with dance. Salsa and the more popular Latin dances were created and embraced into the culture in the early and middle 1900s. Latin American music has had a large influence on the form the dances have today. It was the mariachi bands of Mexico that stirred up the quick paced rhythms and playful movements at the same time that Cuba was embracing similar musical and dance styles. Traditional dance was blended with new, modern ways of moving, and became a whole new dance rage. The dances from those days evolved and were influenced by modern music as the sexy style and hip gestures became more accepted. There are stories claiming that when Elvis performed live on television, broadcasters could only show him from the waist up. Considering this, a Latin ballroom competition would have had significant difficulties being broadcasted in the United States. Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Cultural studies developed in the late 20th century, in part through the re-introduction of Marxist thought into sociology, and in part through the articulation of sociology and other academic disciplines such as literary criticism. ... A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance (from Old French dance, further history unknown) generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression (see also body language) or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Music Look up Music on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikisource, as part of the 1911 Encyclopedia Wikiproject, has original text related to this article: Music Wikicities has a wiki about Music: Music MusicNovatory: the science of music encyclopedia Science of Music... Salsa dancing. ... // Events and Trends Technology Lawrence Hargrave makes the first stable wing design for a heavier-than-air aircraft Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first documented flight in a powered heavier-than-air aircraft Mass production of automobile Wide popularity of home phonograph Panama Canal is built by the United... Mariachi is a type of musical group, originally from Mexico, consisting of at least two violins, two trumpets, one Spanish guitar, one vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar) and one guitarrón (a small-scaled acoustic bass), but sometimes featuring more than twenty musicians. ... Elvis Aron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known as The King of Rock and Roll, or as just simply The King, was an American singer who had an immeasurable effect on world culture. ...

Today, America is very accepting of these dances. You can find Latino night in most dance clubs. Ballroom studios teach lessons on many Latin American dances. One can even find the cha-cha being done in honky-tonk country bars. Miami has been a large contributor of the United States’ involvement in Latin dancing. With such a huge Puerto Rican and Cuban population one can find Latin dancing and music in the streets at any time of day or night. For the dance, see Cha-cha-cha (dance). ... A Honky tonk was originally a type of bar common throughout the southern United States, also called honkatonks, honkey-tonks, tonks or tunks. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ...

The dances of Latin America are derived from and named for the type of music they are danced to. For example, Mambo, Salsa, Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Merengue, Samba, Flamenco, Bachata, and, probably most recognizable, the Tango are among the most popular. Each of the types of music has specific steps that go with the music, the counts, the rhythms, and the style. Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. ... Salsa dancing. ... For the dance, see Cha-cha-cha (dance). ... Rumba is both a family of music rhythms and a dance style that originated in Africa and traveled via the slave trade to Cuba and the New World. ... Merengue is a type of lively, joyful music and dance that comes from the Dominican Republic. ... Samba is a lively, rhythmical dance of Brazilian origin in 2/4 time danced under the Samba music. ... Flamenco dancer Belen Maya, photograph taken by Gilles Larrain at his studio, 2001 Flamenco is a song, music and dance style which is strongly influenced by the Gitanos, but which has its deeper roots in Moorish and Jewish musical traditions. ... Bachata is a form of music and dance that originated in the countryside and rural marginal neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic. ... Tango in the streets of Buenos Aires Tango is a social dance form that originated in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. ...

The style of Latin American dancing is very risqué. These dances for the most part are done with a partner as a social dance, but there is never a reason not to dance by oneself. The music is so inviting one would be hard pressed to hear a Latin beat and not see everyone feeling the rhythm. However, there are many conservatives that are offended by the extreme hip movement and the connection between partners. Many of the dances are done in a close embrace while others are more traditional to ballroom dancing and hold a stronger frame. Social dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing. ...

All dancing evolves, and Latin dancing has made many contributions to other types of dances we have today. The music is still popular as well. Many popular artists are modernizing the music while there are others who hold true to their traditional roots. Either way there will be more Latin dancing to come, but luckily the traditional dances are being embraced and conserved just as strongly.

External Links

• Salsa, Samba and Rumba Downloads