La Mezcla (The Mixture)

1541 East 36th Street,Cleveland OH 44114

03 April, 2021

Description

Come and learn Afro-Latino dance styles by some of the best instructors in Cleveland at Viva Dance Studio! With the rising trend of Tic Tok other social media trends" The Sisterhood of Cleveland wanted to do something different and exciting for the urban communities of Cleveland. Here is an opportunity to learn history through dance movements. Many artistic forms were originally created by the mixture of Africans and Hispanics culture. Which is why this event is called "La Mezcla!" So bring a dancing partner and comfortable heels ,flats or tennis shoes! We will learn three different dance styles (Bachata, Merengue and Salsa) Feel free to take a break and indulge in complimentary appetizers and champagne! We will start off first learning Bachata. Bachata is a popular guitar genre of Latin American that originated in the Dominican Republic in the first half of the 20th century. Its roots are in some African rhythms, Cuban and bolero. The bolero in Latin culture has traditionally been a romantic music, dealing with themes like deception and lost love. The bachatero, like the bluesman, sings about pain and trouble. In the beginning this guitar musical style was valued and listened to by most popular social classes, and rejected by high level society. The genre has passed through several phases since Jose Manuel Calderon recorded what is generally recognized as the first bachata single ("Barracho de amor" and Que sera de mi (Codena)") in 1961. To learn more about the origins of bachata click on the links below. https://www.iasorecords.com/music/history-of-bachata-the-guitar-music-of-the-dominican-republic https://www.goandance.com/en/blog/bachata/54-the-origins-and-evolution-of-bachata-dance Next, We will learn Merengue, The Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic, and also to some extent of Haiti, the neighbor sharing the island. There are many stories behind origins of this dance movement that originated in the 1700s, but the most likely story is that the slave ancestors created this dance by mimicking the dances of the "masters." Being as these dances were stiff and boring, slaves made the dance their own by adjusting the tempo and rhythm. To learn more about the origins of the Merengue dance click the link below https://www.flodance.com/articles/5967193-the-origins-of-merengue-danceHistory of Merengue Lastly, we will learn Salsa! Salsa is a Afro-Cuban mixture rooted from the 1900s .By the 1950's it made its way to the U.S, but when relations fell apart between the US and Cuba, travel and airtime was cut. However, the musical influence continued to grow as Puerto Ricans moved to new York (Spanish Harlem) where it was infused with American jazz and Puerto Rican sound. Los Angeles has also developed its own style of salsa and has roots in Latin Ballroom, where couples break away from each other in the middle of the a dance to start "shining" Women will extend their arms to strike a pose, then perform hip and hair movements. If you want to learn more about the different styles of Salsa from different regions of the world, click the link below History of Salsa