The 1930s saw the introduction of the Rumba (also spelled "Rhumba") to the North American and European ballroom, with origins in a Cuban style called "son cubano".
By around 1935, it was a full fledged dance craze - though it never reached the heights of popularity enjoyed by the Foxtrot.
When it first arrived on the scene, dancers applied familiar moves to a new beat. In the videos in this collection, there is a sophisticated group of dancers from 1930 using Tango/Foxtrot styling to a Rumba beat. In fact, the first major Rumba hit, the one that launched the Rumba in North America in 1930, "The Peanut Vender" was labeled "Rumba Fox Trot".
Rumba means something like "In the groove" means in English. The "Fox Trot" bit was quickly dropped, and tunes in that particular 2-4 rhythm became known as "Rumba", even though there was no dance by that name current in Cuba at the time.
While the classic Rumba slow-quick-quick box-step was being demonstrated by dance teachers as early as 1930 (one called it the "Havana Foxtrot"), it took a few years for a distinctive Rumba styling to establish itself among the general dance population. This styling was significantly different from the Tangos and Foxtrots that came before. Much of its appeal was probably that it was a departure from the settled norms of the contemporary ballroom since by 1930, people were hungry for something new.
The first thing that made it new and different, once the Rumba box step had found its way into the mainstream was that, unlike the "just walking" dances that had predominated since the Turn of the Century, the Rumba now had that specific step.
The second was the tendency of the partners to separate, and even when they were together they had an open frame and were seldom in the close embrace of the Foxtrot. Underarm turns were common, "throw outs" were a popular move and the dancers would even separate to do their own personal solo Rumbas before linking back up to their partners.
The Rumba had an element of showmanship, of showing off, that had definitely not been part of mainstream Foxtrot-centered social dancing. Certainly Swing dancers were all about putting on a show, but Swing (or "Jitterbug" as it was widely known), with its popularity among African Americans and the white kids who emulated them, was seldom seen in the clubs and ballrooms of adult white "polite society". The Rumba however was seen as a sign of sophistication, and was embraced by the well-dressed sort.
All of this, along with intoxicating Latin rhythms provided a welcome bit of variety for the ballroom dancers of the '30s and '40s.
The Step
The Rumba is in 2/4 time and is played in a range of speeds from slow and sensuous to fast and ecstatic. The modern ballroom Rumba tends to be quite slow. In the '30s, it was usually played noticeably faster than is the current style.
Like the Waltz, it can be danced in a box-step.
Here is the basic step, for the man (the woman, as always, does the opposite):
- Step forward with the left (slow 1-2)
- Step forward with the right (quick 3)
- Move the left next to the right (quick 4)
(This is all done with flexible knees and as much swaying of the hips as you can muster)
(Then reverse)
- Step back with the right (slow)
- Step back with the left (quick)
- Move the right next to the left (quick)
Congratulations, you're doing the Rumba.
The effect with the basic time step, as you will see in the videos, is a back-and-forth motion. However, once your feet have the rhythm then it's time to mix it up. In the videos you will see traveling steps, spins, underarm turns and any number of other variations. As with all the other dances of the time, the only time you are doing it wrong is when it breaks down. As long as it works, it's right.
The Videos
This first video shows Rumba at the moment it arrived in North America, and since no one had taught anyone a "Rumba Step" yet, people just adapt their all-purpose Foxtrot the the new and exciting rhythm.
The clip that follows, from a dozen years later, shows the well-established Rumba, with the back-and-forth motion and hip sway of the box-step, as well as explicitly addressing the body separation "Not a cozy dance", which is not how John Payne wants to dance it with Carmen Miranda.
This extended clip, which is actually a comedy dance number, has a lot of wonderful Rumba details, as well as expressing some contemporary attitudes toward the Rumba. The thing the Rumba does to romance is pull the partners apart, unlike the old dependable Foxtrot.