stamboomdansenDances are like music, thousands of years old, and occur on all continents, in all communities. A pedigree of dance can draw only briefly on the basis of common features, then follow the traces on paper and later on film and video.
It is not always clear which were the ancestors of a dance. Often sources give conflicting information.

Many Latin and so European dances are mainly brought by Portuguese and Spanish along with slaves from all over Africa to the Caribbean and the New World. Music, rhythm and dance of all these nations fused and influence each other. Into this mix, root much of our present dances.

The following pedigrees of dances are also inevitably a little simplistic and schematic.
Sometimes there are decades difference between the mention of (the name of) a dance, and being known or becoming popular.

More dances move away ingloriously into oblivion.
We restrict ourselves to headlines with links to our current Western dance.

Jive-swing family

Indian dance

Negro dance

Contra dance

Cake walk (1880)

Ragtime (muziek)

-mutch ´–trots´ & ´-walks´

Jazz, Tapdance

Charleston,

Foxtrot

Black Bottom

Lindy hop(1926)

(black)

Jitterbug (1930) (blank)

Jive & Swing(verzamelnaam)

Boogie Woogie(1940)

Be bop (genoemd)(1945)

West coast Swing (1950)

Rock & roll (1956)

Twist(1960)

Popcorn (1969)

Disco(1972)

Hustle(1975)

Discofox(1973)

 

Caterete

Embolada Batuque

+ Lundu

 

= Zemba Quenca

 

= Mesemba

+ Maxixe (1914)

= Samba (1923 Europe)

 

 

Contradance (1500) Roman/Latin

   
 

Contra Danza Habanera (Cuba)

   
 

Danzon

(slowed down to)

   
 

Son (1795)

   

Guaracha

Bolero +

(Square) Rumba

(Cuba 1807)

   

= Rumba

(1930 USA)

+ Montuno

 
 

= Chachacha(Jorrin 1948)

 
 

Mambo(Perez Prado, Haïti 1954)

+ Cumbia

 

Salsa

 

Flamenco (Sp)

Tangano (African)

Habanera

Milonga

Argentine Tango(1880 Buenes Aires)

Tango demonstration Paris by Mistinguett (1910)

Ballroomtango

 

Volta (1559 Provence or Italy)

Waltzen (1754 Germany)

Landler

Weense wals (1807)

Boston (1874)

Englishe (slow) waltz(1921)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ragtime (1900)

One Step

Two Step

Castle Walk

     

Foxtrot

   

Shika (Nigerie)

slowed down to

accelerated to

+Charleston (1922)

+ Black Bottom

+ Shimmy

Slowfox (1924)

Quickstep (1927)

 


History is what we want to see of our past. (Freek De Jonge)