Rumba: Dance and Social Change in Contemporary Cuba

by Yvonne Daniel

Overview

Using dance anthropology to illuminate the values and attitudes embodied in rumba, Yvonne Daniel explores the surprising relationship between dance and the profound, complex changes in contemporary Cuba.

From the barrio and streets to the theatre and stage, rumba has emerged as an important medium, contributing to national goals, reinforcing Caribbean solidarity, and promoting international prestige. Since the Revolution of 1959, rumba has celebrated national identity and cultural heritage, and embodied an official commitment to new values. Once a lower-class recreational dance, rumba has become a symbol of egalitarian efforts in postrevolutionary Cuba. The professionalization of performers, organization of performance spaces, and proliferation of performance opportunities have prompted new paradigms and altered previous understandings of rumba.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253209481
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	06/22/1995
Series:	Blacks in the Diaspora
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1330L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

YVONNE DANIEL teaches at Smith College and the Five College Consortium in Massachusetts and is the author of articles in Dance Research Journal, Black Scholar, and Dance Ethnology.

Table of Contents

PREFACE

1. Introduction: Portraits of a Dance
2. Cuban Dance Culture
3. Cuban People and Rumberos
4. Performance of Rumba
5. Symbolic Aspects of Rumba
6. Social and Aesthetic Change in Cuba

APPENDIX: LABANOTATION
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX