RUMBA

What is Rumba and How to Dance the

Rumba Basic
“Rumbrear”. Definition: A Spanish verb meaning to go
to parties, having fun and dancing. Sound familiar?
This is how the dance style, rumba, got it’s name.
Today rumba is a fun, sassy latin-style of ballroom
dance that fits nicely with most modern types of music.
In this blog we will take a quick glance at the history of
rumba and even learn some of the basic steps and
nuances of this smooth and sassy latin style of dance.
 RUMBA HISTORY
Quite simply, Rumba was born all over the West Indies and but really
grew up in Cuba. Several styles developed on different islands that
include Son, Danzon, Guagira, Guaracha, Naningo. Aside from the latin
influence of Spanish culture, African folk dances played a huge role in
creating the rumba, with the ladies dancing with a defensive attitude
towards their male partners. American Rumba was modified from a
popular Cuban “Bolero-Son” dance, incorporating small steps of the
dancers and the hip movements as a result of the bending knees.
Because of the movie industry, rumba became even more well-known
during the 1930’s. It began to represent the essence of Latin American
dance through its romantic subtleties and rhythmic body motions.
RUMBA CHARACTERISTICS

The dancers of rumba usually embody a sassy, smooth,

and sensual demeanor. The moveset is very particular
in the details but the most important feature is keeping a
connection with your partner. The toes should be at a
slight diagonal to allow us to achieve our favorite hip
movement, Cuban motion, just like in Salsa. Fun fact,
rumba is the slowest of the competitive international
latin styles!
RUMBA MUSIC
The music in rumba is usually in an even 4/4 time
signature.Traditionally, Cuban rumba music is used with
strong percussions and a smooth, steady beat. Luckily,
the rhythm in rumba is very widespread in today’s pop
music and it is fairly easy to find a contemporary pop
song without latin beats that would work nicely for
dancing the rumba. This makes rumba highly versatile
and super fun to learn and dance!
RUMBA STEPS
The basic rhythm in rumba is slow-quick-quick, with the
first step taking 2 beats and the last two steps each
taking one beat. It is done as a box step, just like waltz!
However, that’s where the similarity ends. Since rumba is
a latin style, the hips are active and always moving in
“cuban motion”. It also borrows some of our favorite
steps from salsa such as cross-body leads and shoulder
checks.
 RUMBA DANCE HOLD
The arms are held in a traditional frame position to
connect the two dancers in rumba. However,
similar to other latin styles, the leader’s left arm is
held at a 90 degree angle to the floor. This creates
a tighter frame between the dancers and adds a
pinch of intimate flavor to the dancing.
Diagram and Instructions