American Rumba

When Arthur Murray first saw what he thought was the Rumba, he instinctively knew that the American people would never learn the rock step and the slow step to that music. He, being smarter than anyone else, introduced the box step as basic, with a slow, quick, quick and the rest is history.

"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage

to lose sight of the shore."

What made it even more solid was that Fred Astaire was a dancer and he knew that most moves had been done over the centuries.  So Arthur Murray sued Fred Astaire for using "his" box step with a slow, quick, quick in the Rumba and what is more, he won. What did the courts know about dancing? Fred Astaire then changed his box step to quick, quick, slow and got away with it. Thus began the screw up that remains to this day.

"Saturday Night" by Bay City Rollers

The Competitions in the American Style of Dance in the US are mostly controlled by the Fred Astaire Studios, so we can guess what basic is used for Rumba. They are gradually introducing an "alternative" basic throughout the mainland which is the original Rock Step and a Slow. Like in Calypso, Beguine, Mambo, and dozens of other Caribbean dances, and also the famous International Style of Dance.

"Real joy comes not from ease or riches, or from the praise of people but from doing something worthwhile."

Kilauea Rec.Center, Perfect.

Even in Latin America. where the people in the middle and upper brackets have become "civilized" and are not fanatical about dancing. They dance it as a social skill to dance at weddings and dinner/dance occasions at the country club. Many have learned in the US from Arthur Murray or Fred Astaire studios. So you go someplace and they are dancing it slow, quick, quick. You go that way. You go some place where they dance it quick, quick, slow and you go that way. Let's dance. But out in the bush it is a Rock Step and a Slow step.

Fortunately, plenty of dancers throughout the country and specially here on Oahu, are discovering the elderly Mambo steps to make use of in the Rumba and nothing could be more ideal. The basic, the crossover break, the underarm turns, the hand to hand, the spot turns, the whole enchilada. Fits like a glove, Stunning! Does anybody really know this?

But then it is gradually being danced by the Universal dancers. New invention? Ha, that is the way it was danced 100 years ago by the originals before it got screwed up the experts.