Mambo Syllabus

Mambo background information:

The mambo began on a note of controversy, the one about whether or not it was considered decent and not a sexually suggestive mating ritual as some prudes considered it to be. Of course, this happened in a different time. The suggestiveness of the mambo, even the way it is danced today, comes nowhere near to being as suggestive as the dirty dancing that young people do together at high school proms all over the country. People started dancing to the original mambo in Cuba in the 1930s and 40s. It started as movement to mambo music, which was how the dance got its name. People “felt” the music and moved to it however the feeling inspired. The mambo became popular in the 1940s and 50s in New York City.

This exciting new dance got the attention of filmmakers, musicians, dancers, and journalists all over the country partly because of its controversy. Some of them liked the expressive wildness of the dance. Others did not like it so much. David Garcia tells of a Venezuelan psychiatrist, Raul Ramos Calles, one of many Latin American professionals, academics, and writers who rejected the mambo. He said the dance had no musical value and “consider[ed] it an insidious form of both black American vulgarity as well as North American cultural imperialism and, as such, a threat to the racial and cultural integrity of their nations” (Garcia 505). However, that did not affect the dance’s popularity in other Latin America areas such as Cuba, where it originated, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.

Because the original Mambo had no real choreographed steps, professional dance instructors did not like the dance. Dancers just moved to the sound and beat of mambo music. Everybody felt the music in their own distinct way and many people interpreted the music in a vulgar way, or that is what some people thought. That is until Eddie Torres developed the Mambo on 2 or the New York Style Mambo in the 1970s. Torres and others developed the Mambo on 2 at the same time as dances such as The Hustle were finding popularity during the disco era. Because this new version had some steps and some pattern to it, it was better accepted by professional dance instructors. The revival in the popularity of dance at that time helped the mambo to take hold in the dance clubs of New York City and other urban nightclub scenes around the country.

The new version of the mambo had quite a few differences from the original version. The part of the name “On 2” refers to the musical beat emphasized in the basic step of the dance. Sydney Hutchinson, in an article for Centro Journal , says “Whereas the majority of salsa dancers worldwide—from Puerto Rico to Cuba, Colombia to Los Angeles or London —start with a step back on beat one or three, immediately changing direction to move forward two steps . . . ‘On 2’ dancers ‘break,’ or change direction, on count two” (110). This step development, ironically, comes out of the origin of the dance itself. Rather than randomly moving to the clave or the rhythmic “key of salsa music,” beginning the dance on 2 “ensures adherence to the clave” (Hutchinson 111). Other influences include the dances already mentioned above. At the website SalsaCrazy.com, Eddie Torres explains how the 1970s dance crazes influenced the New York Mambo. “Hustle had a lot of influence on the ‘adagio’ [acrobatic or aerial] section of Mambo. So a lot of people added that to their mambo dancing. For example I hear that when you go to clubs in L.A., the dancers barely touch the floor. They are all in the air” (Salsa Crazy). Those who dance the Mambo on 2 in New York though think their version is superior—more "relaxed" and "elastic looking" (Hutchinson 111). But the New York version draws on other dance genres too including jazz, swing, tap, and ballroom dance.

Mambo dancers have an unusual dedication to the dance. Many dance clubs in New York revolve around the music and dance style. This may be true because of the dance’s appeal to people from many different socio-economic and ethnic groups. It is a great form of exercise, fairly easy to learn, and lots and lots of fun. That is if a person dances the “street version” of the mambo. The “ballroom” version is a whole other story. “The designation of a style or movement as either "street" or "ballroom" is a contentious endeavor in the salsa/mambo world. . . ‘Street’ may be a derogatory term used to described [sic] unpolished, unschooled dancers. . . ‘Street’ moves are those that arise organically, from ‘the people,’ while ‘ballroom’ is often seen as artificial or inauthentic " (Hutchinson 112). “On 2” dancers must negotiate that difference by trying to look polished and still remain authentic especially if they wish to become professionals. Then there are commitments of a lot of time and a lot of money involved in that effort.

Works Cited

Garcia, David. "Going Primitive to the Movements and Sounds of Mambo." Musical Quarterly 2006: 505-523.

Hutchinson, Sydney. "Mambo On 2:The Birth of a New Form of Dance in New York City." Centro Journal (2004): 110-137.

Salsa Crazy. "Mambo." 2009. Salsa Roots.com. 30 March 2011 .

Dance Music for Mambo

Roberto Roena: Ponte Duro

Susie Hanson: La Salsa Nunca Se Acaba

1) Mambo Basic

                 Couple   Demonstration     Technique
                 Leader's    Pattern             Technique
                 Lady's   Pattern             Technique