Many of us know the health benefits from dancing tango, salsa , samba, merengue, and other forms of Latin dance. But did you know that simply listening to these types of music can improve your health?
Recent studies show that listening to music of all types has the great effects of lowering your blood pressure, improving your concentration, and overall stimulating your brain. Many studies also show that listening to music can improve performance on standardized tests. For most salsa, tango, and other Latin dancers, the music can simply put you in a different state of mind and allow you to restart your day on a fresh note.
Tango Alma , a local San Diego tango group and friends of Ritmo Bello , was recently highlighted in a short documentary regarding the health benefits of music. I posted that video here for you to watch and you’ll see both Todd and Marizabel of Tango Alma explaining how tango dance and listening to music is good for your health. Enjoy!
Here in San Diego, California many people are unfamiliar with the Brazilian dance known as samba. Indeed, I have to admit that I too share in this unfamiliarity with the high energy dance from Brazil. Although there may be places to visit for samba dancing here in San Diego, those venues typically don’t get the same exposure as salsa and tango dancing venues.
We all recognize, though, the distinctive sounds and dress typical of Brazil’s Carnaval celebrations (it’s hard not to notice the headdresses and seductive movements associated with the dance). I also think we can all appreciate the high spirited and exuberant happiness that the dance can bring to people.
One individual here in San Diego is doing her part to promote samba dance and to bring the joy of the dance to everyone. I recently spoke with Jazz Baptiste, Master Brazilian Dance Instructor, about what is happening in samba today here in San Diego.
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Ritmo Bello : Thanks for taking some time to talk to the Ritmo Bello audience about what’s new in samba dancing for San Diego. Samba seems like an up and coming dance here locally in "America’s Finest City". What do you offer to people in San Diego that want to learn more about samba dancing?
Jazz Baptiste: We offer samba dance classes throughout the week plus dance workshops with master instructors. We also do dance presentations and events.
Ritmo Bello: Tell me a little about how you started your organization. Did you grow up dancing samba?
Jazz Baptiste : I started dancing samba in 2003 when introduced to it at a local nightclub. The drums were intoxicating, the music was lively and joyful, the samba dance was energetic and sexy and I wanted to learn more. I was hooked from the first night. I began learning about the dance, the music and culture. In the fall of 2003 I started dancing samba professionally. A year later I was teaching samba around town and started my own samba dance performing group, Alegria Samba School . Since 2004 it has been my mission to share my joy of samba dance with San Diego and beyond.
Ritmo Bello: I know that Samba has roots in Brasil. Where exactly does samba dancing come from though?
Jazz Baptiste: The samba (or Mesemba) which means "to pray" is an Afro-Brazilian dance from Bahia, Brazil. It is derived from a dance called the Lundu, The West African slaves, Portuguese songs and Indian rituals. When different body motions and carnival steps were added to the dance, it was called the "Zemba Queca", described as a graceful Brazilian dance. In the early 1900’s the Mesemba was mixed with the Maxixe (Brazilian tango) to become known as the Samba.
Ritmo Bello : I understand that there are different types of samba dancing. What is the difference between samba no pe, samba de gafieira, samba pagode, and other types of samba?
Jazz Baptiste: Samba no pe is the faster Carnaval type samba usually danced to the fast batucada drum beats of samba de enredo or Carnaval samba. Samba de gafieira is the Brazilian ballroom samba which mixes Brazilian tango or Maxixe with samba music. Samba pagode is a slower samba sometimes danced with partners and sometimes solo that moves to a slower tempo samba beat. Samba rock is combines samba and rock music making for a very modern music and dance style. Samba de roda is samba danced in a circle. A group forms and individuals go into the center of the circle and do solo samba dances and then select someone else to take their place in the middle.
Ritmo Bello: How difficult is it to learn samba dancing? What types of steps are involved in the dance?
Jazz Baptiste: Samba is a more challenging dance to learn than others such as salsa, but not impossible. Your footwork moves to a 1 and a 2 beat while your hips are on a 1/2 beat hitting every other two matching the surdo drum of the batucada. For people who have a dance background it is a little easier to pick up samba because they are already used to rhythm dancing. For pure beginners I recommend patience and consistency in order to get a comfortable handle on the samba dance, which is normally reached after about 3 months.
Ritmo Bello : Apart from Samba dancing what other types of dancing are you proficient in?
Jazz Baptiste: I am a professional dancer and instructor of Belly dance, Latin dance including: Salsa, Merengue, Cha Cha, Bachata and Rumba, Ballroom dance, Afro-Brazilian dance and ballet. I have been dancing and training for over 20 years.
Ritmo Bello : Anything else you’d like to share with general public?
Jazz Baptiste: Samba is not just a beautiful dance and cultural experience but it also an amazing workout. Samba keeps people in shape and also brings out a great joy from within. Everyone should give samba a try at least once in their lives.
Ritmo Bello: How can the Ritmo Bello audience reach you if they want to find out more information about your organization?
If you’ve followed Ritmo Bello in the past you may remember a saying that I used to post on my old website that read “If you can walk, you can dance!” Well, I’m pleased to report that I’ve been wrong all this time. Let me explain.
Absolutely Dance Sport, a specialized dance studio catering to the disabled here in San Diego, opens its doors on August 5th , 2008. The focus of the new studio is to bring more attention to a growing movement called Wheelchair DanceSport . Wheelchair DanceSport is a partner dance competition where at least one dancer in the pair is in a wheelchair.
Wheelchair dancing is not actually new. Since 1977, international competitions in Wheelchair Dance Sport have been organized and supported by organizations like the International Paralympic Wheelchair Dance Sport Committee and International DanceSport Federation. There is even an American Dance Wheels logo similar to the NBA’s iconic sign as seen below:
Wheelchair dancers participate in combination style dancing with an able-bodied partner or duo dance with two wheelchairs. The dances that are performed with wheelchairs pretty much are the same ones that a non-disabled couple can perform. That means that a wheelchair dancer could dance salsa, samba, cha cha cha, rumba, paso doble, and other popular Latin dances.
I found this tango video especially captivating to watch:
My immediate reaction to all this is that I am very thankful that there are people in the community concerned with bringing dance to the disabled population. Indeed, if I were ever in a position where I needed to rely on a wheelchair I would most likely seek out this studio to be around empowered individuals passionate about salsa and latin dancing.
For those of you in San Diego this weekend, I have a new event that Sarah, a Meetup member , asked that I post on Ritmo Bello. Below is the information:
Come experience Brazilian culture and support a good cause at
the same time by attending "Keeping the Beat" on Saturday, July
12. Keeping the Beat is a fundraiser for the non-profit
organization Rhythm of Hope . Rhythm of Hope is a global
network dedicated to improving the quality of life for people
in marginalized communities in Brazil. The goal of Keeping the
Beat is to raise $10,000 for Rhythm of Hope. The evening will
commence at 7:00 pm with a three-course, Brazilian theme
gourmet dinner. At 9:00 pm a silent auction and raffle will
begin, featuring top-quality artwork, items and services
donated by local artists, businesses and restaurants. At 11:00
pm the fun really gets started with a DJ spinning Brazilian
music including Samba, Bossa Nova, Brazilian Funk, Forro, and a
taste of Hip Hop.
You must purchase tickets in advance for this at the Rhythm of Hope Website . You can purchase tickets for the whole evening, or just a portion of the night (just the dinner, or
just the dance party for example). All proceeds go directly to
Rhythm of Hope to support social projects in Brazil such as
providing clean water and sanitation in rural communities,
helping impoverished favela (slum) youth and providing
education in poor communities.
Event: "Keeping the Beat" a fundraiser for Rhythm of Hope
Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: Dinner at 7 pm; Silent Auction and Raffle at 9 pm; Dance
Party beginning at 11 pm
Event details and tickets at: www.keepingthebeatsd.com
As with any move, there are still some items that are being worked on but for the most part the move went well.
Along with the new design and look of Ritmo Bello, you’ll notice that I’ve tried to make the presentation of the posts much clearer here compared to the older website.
If there are any businesses out there interested in sharing their products or services with the general public, I’m going to be expanding out the advertisers section for that purpose. Feel free to contact me direct at bello_jf @ritmobello.com
Also if you have any suggestions for things you’d like to see here please let me know as well.
What this means is that the current feed will expire and you will need to subscribe to this new feed for Ritmo Bello.
(For those of you not familiar with subscribing or RSS feeds I found this useful Google Reader tutorial created by Andy Wibbels that will help.)
Along with the new feed, you’ll also notice that the new address for the site will be www.ritmobello.com . (Note: The old site address of www.sandiegosalsadancing.com will still get you to the new site as well once the changes take effect.) This is in line with my efforts to start adding in more Latin dance information covering samba, tango, cha cha, merengue, and bachata along with the same San Diego salsa dancing information you’ve come to enjoy reading on my website.
If anybody has any questions feel free to contact me direct at bello_jf@ritmobello.com . You can still find me on on my Twitter page for Ritmo Bello as well.
Since I’ve taken over management of the site as the Main Organizer , I’ve learned a great deal about many new people to the Salsa and Latin Dance scene here in San Diego, California.
Although people hail from all over the world to come dance here, one thing that is universal is the love of the dance and the enthusiasm to continue that dancing here in San Diego.
