WRITTEN REPORT

(Mambo, Merengue, and

Prepared for
Mitoselah Barroga
Professor, Quezon City University

Prepared by:
Inovejas, Colette
Lemana, Alexandra Chloe
Lumabao, Christine May
Macalino, Mariane
Magat, Yuan
Marinay, John Kenneth
Mata, Jhanna
Matias, Bernadette
Molina, Jade Ashley
Quian, Remir Alfred

January 30, 2023

I. Mambo and Its Characteristics……………………………………………………………..3

1.1 History of Mambo…………………………………………………………………………..3

II. Merengue……………………………………………………………………………………4

1.1 History of Merengue………………………………………………………………………..4

1.2 Merengue Music and Dance Types………………………………………………………...4

III. Swing………………………………………………………………………………………...5

1.1 History of Swing…………………………………………………………………………….5

1.2 Dance Types…………………………………………………………………………………6

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Mambo and Its Characteristics

Mambo is a Latin ballroom dance that originated in Cuba in the 1940s. Mambo means “Shake
it” because of the exciting energy and fun musical rhythm that characterize it. Most steps
highlighted in mambo dancing are the strong hip movements, rhythmical body actions, quick
footwork, and unique arm wraps and turns. Mambo is known as the “Most Fashionable Latin
dance”, which replaced the Rhumba. And also, one of the flirty and sensual dances of the Latin
ballroom.

History of Mambo

The history of mambo dance goes back to 1938 when Orestes Lopez composed a charanga (a
Cuban dance music ensemble) song called “Mambo”. The song was a massive hit in Cuba and
kickstarted a new style of the danzón, a traditional Cuban dance. This new style was later called
danzón mambo.

Big band leader Dámaso Pérez Prado brought mambo to international notice. Often referred
to as "The King of Mambo," Prado brought the mambo dance and musical genre to wide audiences.

• 1940 - Perez Prado came up with the dance steps for the Mambo.
• 1943 - Perez introduced the mambo dance at the La Tropicana nightclub in Havana.

Following Cuba, Prado brought his talents to Mexico where the dance and music was adopted,
but was later banned for promoting a non-traditional dancing style. The Mambo then inevitably
reached the United States in New York’s Plaza Ballroom after it was incorporated with Swing
influences. A blend of American Jazz (Swing music) and Cuban music produced the energetic
rhythms of this musical style.

• 1947 - People were really enthusiastic about the Mambo in several renowned places to the
point that big fans of the Mambo adopted their label as, “Mambonicks.”
• 1950s and 1960s - Mambo gained widespread popularity in the United States.

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Merengue

The national dance of the Dominican Republic, the Merengue, has two popular tales of its
origin. According to one legend, the dance was invented by chained-up slaves who had to drag one
leg while cutting sugar to the beat of the drums due to necessity. In the second tale, a great hero is
said to have suffered a leg injury during one of the many Dominican Republic revolutions.A group
of villagers greeted him home with a victory party, and everyone dancing felt compelled to limp
and drag one foot out of consideration for him. Merengue has existed since the early yearsof the
Dominican Republic (in Haiti, a similar dance is called the Meringue or Mereng). It is thought that
the Merengue dance may have gotten its name from the dessert made of egg whites and sugar
because the word "Merengue'' is very similar to the spelling and pronunciation of the word given
to the sweet pastry "Meringue." This is because of the dance's light and frothy characteras well as its
short, accurate, and rhythmical steps.

Merengue Music and Dance Types

Traditionally speaking, merengue is subdivided into three types: merengue tipico, merengue
de orquesta, and merengue de guitarra. All three categories are the original ones, and in today’s
world, a combination of these types is present, along with the respective dance moves.

Merengue de orquesta - is the orchestral form of this music style, and requires numerous kinds
of instruments to be played.

Merengue de guitarra - is a modern style, which relies on the presence of guitars, both acoustic
and electric.

Merengue tipico - is the oldest style, and is mostly played using traditional instruments. In
merengue tipico, both the music and dance sections start off with a slow pace, and gather pace as
the music progresses. In the last portion, the two-by-four beat is very common, and a lot of leg
movement is to be done. The main instruments used are the accordion and saxophone. In case of
ballroom merengue, the limping feature (mentioned in the history part) is prominently present, and
the beat or percussion time signatures do not vary much. This dance type is more sensual with
slow and well-coordinated body movements. The last type is called;

Club merengue - which consists of fast-paced music, and a large variety of hip movements can
be done while dancing. It is more famous among the youngsters, and is mainly seen in the cafes
and bars of the Dominican Republic.

If the current scenario is taken into account, meringue is as famous as the salsa dance style,
and in some regions, is the most popular Latin American dance type, along with salsa and bachata.

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The popular artists who are/were into this style of music are Juan Luis Guerra, Luis Díaz, Toño
Rosario, Elvis Crespo, etc. Merengue (both music and dance) is now professionally taught at many
dance institutions across the world.

Swing

Swing dancing is a popular social dance that is often characterized by lifts, spins and flips. It’s
generally upbeat, lively and a lot of fun to watch—and to dance! Like most dance styles, there are
variations of the dance. It includes some basic steps and then dancers have creative freedom to
make it their own.

History of Swing

How Swing Dancing Started

As we said above, swing dancing originated in Harlem during the 1920s with jazz music, and
it was called “Lindy Hop” The Lindy Hop, also called the Jitterbug, is purported to be the original
form of swing dance. It combined elements of both partnered and solo dancing using movements
of African-American dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner
dances. You can see this in the basic Lindy step called the swing-out. However, the core of the
Lindy Hop is characterized by a lot of physical vigour and a tap on the dance shoes. In the 1930s,
the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem was the center of the dance as it continued to evolve. In the decades
afterward, more professional dance troupes formed around the dance, making the popularity more
widespread.

Over the Decades

Since the beginning of swing dancing, music has changed and so has the dance. Swing dance
has evolved across the U.S. to accompany many musical genres such as jazz, bop, rhythm & blues,
rock and roll, country, and disco. Over time, ballroom dance studio instructors began to simplify
the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, and Swing in order to reduce the complexities of the dance for the public.
This resulted in the creation of the two swing dance styles, the East Coast Swing and the West
Coast Swing. As a social dance, swing continues to attract a vibrant crowd of all ages as it fosters
life skills such as connection, trust, and improvisation.

Swing Dance Today

Swing dance remains a very popular type of dance today. There are many different versions for
swing dance so there are a lot of options to choose from. Here are just a few.

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Dance Types

Lindy Hop - Referred to as the “original” swing dance, the Lindy Hop has been enjoyed by many
generations of dancers. It is characterized by fast rotations, swing outs and high-energy footwork.
The Lindy Hop is the most iconic style of swing dancing and some consider it to be as popular
today as it was in the 1930s.

Balboa - This partner dance has simple steps and started in California in the 1920s. Where the
Lindy Hop has a big swing out and larger moves, partners dancing Balboa keep a close embrace
and take up little space, fitting in a crowded dance floor.

Collegiate Shag - Similar to Balboa with a close partner embrace but with fancier footwork and a
hopping basic step, the Collegiate Shag is danced to an upbeat tempo. This dance originated in the
South in the 1930s.

Charleston - The Charleston is a lively and energetic dance that’s characterized by kick steps and
twisting feet. This animated dance is most popular today as a partner style dance that has ties to
swing dancing and Lindy Hop.

East Coast Swing - East Coast Swing is a type of Rhythm dance that is entertaining, fun, upbeat,
non-progressive and versatile dance distinguished by its “swing hip action." Characterized by its
energetic twists and turns, a perfect dance for beginner dancers as well as advanced ballroom dance
lovers, danced to Big Band Music. It is one of the most popular of all of the swing dances and
tends to be the easiest one to learn. It is danced under fast swing music, including rock & roll and
boogie-woogie and many current pop songs.

West Coast Swing - West Coast Swing is a unique style of swing dancing that has made a
significant resurgence within the past few years. It’s a fun, improvisational style of dancing that
even allows the lady or follower to “lead” on occasion. It is traditionally danced to slower, blues-
style swing music, but many are dancing West Coast Swing to hip hop, R&B and pop music.