Just finished pulling together this rumba playlist. I tried to put some more traditional rumba rhythms that are easier to dance to, but I kept noticing that a lot of the top pros’ exhibition routines are danced to very romantic, slow, minimally rhythmic tunes. So a rumba does not have to have a strong Latin feel. If you can hear “quick-quick-slow” in it, give it a try. Dancing a slow rumba is a good way to work on weight placement and hip motion. I hope you enjoy this playlist!
Our new dance friends Steve & Sam were asking us about tango music and I suggested that I could post a playlist for them and anyone else who’s interested. This “Tango Music” playlist is very unscientific; I spent a half-hour or so clicking around on YouTube and just compiling what I liked. Hopefully I can create and post these regularly as the groups learn different dances.
Incidentally, I’ve noticed that ballroom music is often very inexpensive on iTunes. I just found an album called Strictly Tango (from their Strictly Ballroom series) by New 101 Strings Orchestra that is just $3.99 for 14 tracks. That type of music will be very traditional and maybe not the most exciting to listen to, but it is made for ballroom practice and is “strict tempo” (i.e. falls within the tempo range prescribed by syllabus for each dance) so it can be useful. There are lots of other similar groups and albums; let us know if you want a second opinion on any particular album or song.
And . . . enjoy the playlist! I put in some traditional ballroom tango, some Argentine, some neo-tango, and a couple of pop covers in tango style. Let me know what you think!