Bolero

    Often referred to as the Cuban ‘dance of love’, the bolero dance is a Spanish dance in triple meter time that is essentially characterized by its dreamy and sensuous rhythm. It rests on the bosom of love and romance, sending a sweet intoxicating melody that fills the air and overwhelms the dancers. It is basically a left turning dance dependent on a prescribed rotation of the body, in line with the supporting foot, that results to the creation of an either forward or backward pivot. The body, feet exempted, demonstrates a timely motion of rising and falling. It manifests a combination of rumba, tango and waltz dances techniques. The foot patterns are closely knitted to that of rumba. A quick trace of its origin would reveal strong ties also with folkdances danzon and befuine.
    The dance underwent several transitions when in Cuba, it was initially changed into 2/4 time, and later on to 4/4 time. Its gracefulness and melodramatic movements are subtly manifested, the dance being a resemblance of the fandango. It exemplifies both Spanish and Cuban forms. Similar to rumba, it is furnished in a box style. On the first two beats, one does a gradual sweeping glide to the side and then completes it with two forward steps. Following the triple meter, there are three steps danced to four beats with the first step commencing on the second beat. Beats four and one are altogether executed with some motion on the hip while the standing foot is held still in place. In effect, the overall impact of the dance appears light but in actual, one will find it to be extra strenuous. This physical demand is probably the underlying reason it has ceased to be danced that much during social events.
    The dance is performed to the accompaniment of guitars and castanets. The dancers occasionally join in the music-making by singing along. Bolero music can be considered as the slowest music among all dances, played at a tempo of only 20 to 25 measures per minute or a tempo of as slow as 96 beats within a minute. Its soft sound is distinctive of a slow type of rumba and son rhythms. It carries an accent on the first beat, followed instantaneously by a slow quick-quick rhythm. Most notably, it is the first Cuban music to acquire universal recognition.
    The bolero belongs to the set of standard dances especially chosen for the International ballroom Dance Sport competition. The four other are cha cha, east coast swing, mambo and rumba. Of the dances cited, bolero is slowest with only about one and a half beat per second. A known bolero and perhaps a favorite is the exquisite dance performance as seen in Baz Luhrman’s “Stricly Ballroom”.
    For centuries and until this very day, the dance’s flame of popularity has not been totally extinguished. Its flexibility that allowed its fusion with other genre of music contributed much to its adaptability. Although modernity is pressing hard onward, bolero dance will not be left behind. Once tagged as the “most popular lyric tradition of Latin America”, it continues to emerge as a survivor and remain a classic love dance of all times.