Beats
Latin American dance originated from the dance forms of African slaves and poor Europeans. Over the years, Latin American dance has evolved into several contemporary dances such as salsa, cha cha, mambo and tango. Although there is much debate as to whether salsa began in Cuba or Puerto Rico, there is no doubt that salsa has been influenced by many other Latin American countries. Salsa consists of six steps done over eight beats of music. Cha cha and mambo are very similar. In fact, cha cha is actually a form of mambo. Mambo has three forms. They are single, double, and triple, which is commonly called cha cha. Cha cha has five steps to a bar which is just mambo with extra beats.21 Lastly, like the famous actor, Al Pacino, says, "The tango is the easiest dance: If you make a mistake and get tangled up, you just tangle on!" So if you would like to learn one of these interesting dances, read on!
*M Salsa gives salsa lessons every Monday at the low fee of $5 per lesson. The group teaches a class for those who are beginners, another for those who know just a taste of salsa, and for those of you who are advanced salsa dancers, there is a class just for you. If you cannot make it on Mondays, on the first Friday of every month there are free salsa lessons given at Pierpont Commons. 22
*To anyone who is interested in tango, you can learn, practice, and enjoy dancing tango with the Michigan Argentine Tango Club. A membership which grants you admission to all the lessons can be purchased for $10. If you prefer to get a one day membership, you can purchase that for $5. 23
*Ballroom dancing is also available to students. The Ballroom Dance Club at U of M offers partner dances that consist of salsa,swing, waltz, and tango almost every Sunday. If you are interested, be sure to check out their website. 24 There is also a University of Michigan Ballroom dance team. Information on how to join, practices, and competitions can be found here on their website. 25
*There are also a variety of mulitcultural hip hop dance groups on campus. You can watch them perform at different events, or at the Michigan diag on a nice sunny day!
*Bailamos! Ladies leave your men at home and fellas leave your girl with her friends so you can come on over to the Heidelberg Dance Club on Friday nights. For the 18 and up crowd, you can enjoy salsa night at the Heidelberg. From 9:00 until 10:00pm there are salsa lessons, and the dancing and partying starts at 10:00 pm and does not end until 2:00am. The cover charge is $7.
*You can also party with fellow students at Latino house parties and fraternity parties!