Click to listen to music
Dancing in Latin America
Click to listen to music
We want to talk about social dancing (as opposed to performance dancing). What are the key concepts in social dancing? First of all, it is social in that there will be multiple persons present. But while many people may be dancing in one place, in most cases (but not always), the dance is between two partners of the opposite sex. At the simplest level, dancing is a way for people to get to know each other, not necessarily in verbal ways. At a more complicated level, dancing is interpreted as a sexually-charged pre-mating ritual in which the partners circle each other for the kill. This notion is reinforced by the sexually suggestive movements in some dances.
Secondly, this is also about the physical act of dancing. For an increasingly sedentary population that is now primarily urban and no longer engaged in heavy physical labor, dancing is a form of physical exercise to keep the body healthy (that is, if we assume that one does not smoke, drink and eat excessively while going out to dance).
There are many different dances, each with its own musical beat and rhythm. For two people to dance together, they must both know the dance movements insofar as the feet, the hands and the body are concerned. Most dances are simple enough, consisting of a sequence of set movements. Generally, these dance movements are mechanical and ritualistic, to be repeated by celebrants everywhere. Sometimes, a dance may transcend the commonplace for other reasons, such as aesthetics or lewdness. The next animated sequence shows the movements for the macarena dance. When clinically reduced down to a sequence of movements in this manner, the dance is quite insipid and lifeless. If anything, one may be striken by how absurd this ritualistic motion seems.
A dance comes alive when the movements are infused with precision, smoothness and energy. What makes a good dancer is "practice, practice, practice." What makes a great dancer is to possess the 'soul' of the dance, which is often spoken in a reverentially mystical tone. We have listed some books at the end of this article that deal with the 'soul' of various Latin American dances.
In the 1998 Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica study, we found that 26.6% of Latin Americans between the ages of 12 and 64 have gone out dancing in the past 12 months. We should point out that the term 'go out dancing' covers a lot of territory. First of all, the dancing venues may cover discos, cabarets, nightclubs, pubs, bars, rave parties, concerts, public recreational areas, tango schools, church-sponsored get-togethers, weddings, social gatherings and so on. Secondly, all sorts of dances are covered, including many Latin American ones --- tango, salsa, merengue, samba, rumba, cha cha, conga, mambo, lambada, cumbia, and so on (see our Latin American music resources). The breakdown by geographical region is shown below.
% Went out to dance in past 12 months by Geographical Region
| Geographical Region Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Mexico Venezuela Balance of Central America/Caribe Balance of South America |
33.9% 25.8% 27.2% 36.0% 21.7% 23.2% 29.4% 26.6% |
(source: Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica 1998, Audits & Surveys Worldwide)
% Went out to dance in last 12 months by Sex/Age
| Sex/Age Group Male 12-17 Male 18-24 Male 25-34 Male 35-44 Male 45-54 Male 55-64 Female 12-17 Female 18-24 Female 25-34 Female 35-44 Female 45-54 Female 55-64 |
26.9% 40.1% 28.8% 20.2% 14.0% 6.5% 35.4% 43.9% 30.8% 19.4% 15.0% 7.4% |
(source: Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica 1998, Audits & Surveys Worldwide)
Dancing is very much the domain of younger people (34 years old and younger). There is a self-reinforcing mechanism involved, in that if most popular dancing venues are filled with youngsters, then older people will not attend them. We also note that there is an asymmetry between the sexes for teenagers. Apparently, it is acceptable for young girls to go dancing, presumably with slightly older companions, but it is less often to find young boys doing that.
%Went out to dance in last 12 months by Educational Achievement and Socio-Economic Level
| Number of years of education achieved Less than 6 years 6 or more, but less than 12 years 12 years of more |
12.1% 26.3% 36.9% |
| Socio-Economic Level Level A Level B Level C Level D |
33.1% 34.4% 24.5% 22.0% |
(source: Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica 1998, Audits & Surveys Worldwide)
Dancing is strongly correlated with both educational achievement and socio-economic level. Many dance venues may have cover charges for admission, as well as marked-up charges for drinks and food, which makes this a proposition that is too expensive for the economically needy. More importantly, dancing is a social ritual that may be more frequent among certain social groups, such as college students and young professionals.
% Went out to dance in last 12 months by Marital Status
| Marital Status Divorced Single Cohabiting with mate Separated Married Widowed |
42.5% 36.6% 31.1% 29.5% 16.0% 10.8% |
(source: Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica 1998, Audits & Surveys Worldwide)
The analysis by marital status is an interesting commentary on social mores. Dancing is a very common form of social dating, being a means to meet someone or to get to know someone better. That would happen when one is 'on the market', so to speak. Once one becomes married, this is no longer necessary and/or acceptable. Fortunately, the good news is that it doesn't mean that marriage is the end of one's dancing career, as there is apparently life after divorce or separation ...
BOOKS ABOUT LATIN AMERICAN DANCES
(posted by Roland Soong on 10/18/99)
(Return to Zona Latina's Home Page)