Just ask Monica, Erica, Rita and Tina, and they will all tell you the same; the Mambo changed their life for ever. At every wedding, karaoke party, bar mitzvah and hen party Lou Bega’s classic party song gets everybody up, dancing, jumping and singing along. Much as Mambo Number Five might have put the name of the Mambo in the collective consciousness, not many people know the history and importance of this classic Latin American dance style.
Dance has always been an important part of the culture of Cuba, and the Mambo developed out of the intersection of the language, music and people that combined there across the ages. The Mambo appeared in Cuba in the 1940s and married the style of the American swing era with the more traditional dance styles of the island that were rooted in the spiritual heritage of the African peoples transported to the island as slaves. Dance styles inspired by African heritage were an important tool of cultural defiance as the islanders sought freedom from Spanish colonialism and they became an integral flavour of the unique national identity of independent Cuba. The Mambo brought together the combined language of Cuban music and culture, and it quickly jumped from the dance floors of Havana to Mexico, New York and mainland Spain.
Mambo became an umbrella term for a range of more technically specific styles based on the structure of the song, the story to be told and the number of dancers but all were known for their free and improvisational style. The New York dance scene and the instructors of society dance classes at the time combined the Mambo with the emerging Salsa style, creating a more sophisticated, structured dance known as the ‘Mambo on Two’ or the ‘Modern Mambo’. Mambo dance classes would continue to develop the style into the ballroom mainstay that is still performed socially and competitively the world over.
Jaymar Dance Centre in Oldham has an excellent heritage of dance instruction and provides Salsa, Ballroom, Latin-American and Mambo dance classes. Oldham is a modern melting pot of cultures in the north of England where dances from across the globe are celebrated and performed in community groups, clubs and competitions with passion and pride, and Cuban dance is a part of the beautiful tapestry of art available in the city. Anyone wanting to properly understand the Mambo dance properly will want to take Mambo dance classes. Oldham dancers have benefitted from the expertise of the Jaymar Dance Centre for over 35 years, and it is more than just a dance hall; they hold social evenings, have a licenced bar and host competitions.
There are few activities more social, healthy and fun than mambo dance classes. Oldham dancers can check out the centre’s gallery here. For rock and roll, salsa and mambo dance classes Oldham dancers should contact the Dance Centre to see their excellent services. the history of Cuba is complex, but dances like the Mambo continue to tell the story of the heritage and people who have made the island so unique.
