Dance

Dance 301 outline

1. The topic that I am choosing for this paper is Cuba/Salsa. The reason for this choice is because there is such a rich culture in Cuba and that is also seen through Salsa there. Cuba has faced so much adversity over the years and is still able to have such a rich culture. That has shown growth over different parts of the world. Cuba is a developing country and could be considered a third world country as well, but with that information, Cuba has thrived through different art expressions.

2. Cuba is a very unique culture that expresses itself through the power of dance and music. Throughout this essay, I hope to cover the culture, religions, politics, and leadership system. I want to be able to illustrate how all of these topics correlate through the power of the salsa dance that has formed throughout the years as it started to gain popularity.

I. Give a brief background on the culture of interest. a. Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico, south of both the

American state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic), and north of both Jamaica and Cayman Islands. It’s located also in North America and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere.

b. Cuba is mainly a Catholic country, but has a mixture of cultures and origins that have given rise to a African-Caribbean religion called Santeria. https://www.tripcuba.org/religion-and-faith-in-cuba

c. Cuba is a one-party state that outlawed political pluralism and restricts many basic liberties. Even though they had a new constitution introduced in 2018 and 2021, they still have many things they aren't allowed to do. https://freedomhouse.org/country/cuba/freedom-world/2022\

d. Cuba has many rich traditions. These traditions are influenced from different areas. The contributions of Africans in Cuba has left a significant mark on literature that has emerged around the afro-Cuban theme. Africans have helped stimulate the growth of cultural resistance in its religious and musical aspects. There are theories that both European and African origins may coexist in a single event without merging. THE "TOQUE DE VIOLÍN": AN EMERGING TRADITION IN CUBA Ana KoprivicaInternational Journal of Cuban Studies Vol. 2, No. 3/4 (Autumn/Winter 2010), pp. 276-285 (10 pages). Cuban music and dance are influential to this day in Cuba and seen as a huge part of their society.

e. The attitudes of cubans of course differentiate between different cubans that live there. Generally, the attitudes of Cubans are generally pessimistic. Cuba is a state controlled economy which means a majority of the places inside of Cuba are operated by a regime. A survey was taken and many Cubans do want to see economic growth and have more privately owned businesses, but the ownership of mass controlled media is very limited. There are many doubts when it comes to pollution, terrisom, unemployment, access to medical care, ect. The ones that do have access to foregin media, have many aspirations. https://www.norc.org/Research/Projects/Pages/survey-of-cuban-public-opinion.as px

II. Describe the dance from this culture a. Cuban salsa dance has many ties between music and religious activity. Signing

and chanting are very prominent means of communication within the culture. There is a fusion of current and past traditions when these dances came about.

(Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba

ROBIN D. MOORE Series: Music of the African Diaspora Copyright Date: 2006 Edition: 1 Published by: University of California Press Pages: 367)

b. Cuba was described in the realty 1960s as having a rise to revolution with “the ambiance of party” it was created by combining Danzon, a dance style by french and hatian immigrants, Rumba of african slaves, and Son, a tradition dance style. The rhythm of the dance is eight beats long and can be either in 2-3 or 3-2 style. The Dance seems to be very fluid and lively.

d. The movement to Cuba seem to represent expression of joy and sensuality, and offers Cubans a way to escape from their daily work life.

III. Describe their philosophy of life and belief or political system that relates to the dance

a. The main belief belief and politically related can be considered an artistic reaction to the stark economic conditions of the decade. It was targeted to be towards the middle Working class during that time.

(Timba Drum Set: Performance Practice and Contemporary Application

Author Mixtacki, Michael)

b. The minds of the cubans believe in freedom, individually, and brotherhood even though the political Rule over the economy. Cubans do face a lot of hardships in their everyday life. They also have a a lot of patriotism for their country and connections to others.

c. Dance is significant when it comes to their philosophies because of society. There are so connected with one another. That’s where the heart of the dance comes into play. It’s what brings everyone together.

Citations

“Trip Cuba.” Cuba, https://www.tripcuba.org/religion-and-faith-in-cuba.

“Cuba: Country Profile.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/cuba.

The "Toque De Violín": An Emerging Tradition in Cuba. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262100435_THE_TOQUE_DE_VIOLIN_AN_EM ERGING_TRADITION_IN_CUBA.

Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba (Volume 9 ... https://www.amazon.com/Music-Revolution-African-Diaspora/dp/0520247116.

Mixtacki, Michael. “Timba Drum Set: Performance Practice and Contemporary Application.” TTU DSpace Home, 1 Aug. 2022, https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/2346/90060.

Moore, Robin Dale. Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba. University of California Press, 2006.