Mixing It Up With

Reviving A Classic Ballroom Dance and Mixer

In 1936 a sound and was being introduced to New York city ballrooms by Cuban band leader Eliseo Grenet. It didn’t take long for Latin American dance instructor Rodolfo D’Avalos to realize Conga’s potential and adapted a ballroom version from the movements of Cuban Nanigos carnival performers . Today only the Conga line variant survives, reduced to little more than forming a line and meandering about the ballroom. The Conga of old was both simple enough to learn quickly and yet varied enough to engage the seasoned dancer. Conga originally allowed both partner dancing and social mixing to coexist in one dance. This mixer served the role of getting people to interact as a group in a light hearted and creative way, a truly worthy goal for any social environment. So with that I invite YOU to learn this Cuban inspired original from our past.

Conga music is played in 2/4 time at a tempo range of between 58-64 measures per minute, with an accent falling on the second beat of every other measure. Each figure will require two or more measures to complete i.e. each step/movement discussed takes a beat.

The dance character is similar to American style Rumba utilizing a compact frame, hip action, and loose knees throughout, while feet remain close to floor utilizing ball-flat during steps

*Note: Step descriptions are given for lead, follower does natural opposite unless otherwise noted

The Conga Rock  Partners can assume closed, open, or conversational dance positions in this figure. There are four steps total taken in this figure.

Left forward count 1, Right forward count 2, Left small step forward count 3, Replace weight to right on count 4 at same time lightly kick Left leg forward from the knee.

Cross Basic Danced in closed position

Counts 1-4: 1 step Left foot to Left , 2 Cross Right foot in front of Left, 3 Step Left foot to Left, 4 Drop Left heel while at same time extending Right toe to side to accent. (pictured below)

Reverse figure to Right for counts 5-8. (pictured below)

*Progressive Basic in Open or Conversational Position (pictured below)

Footwork is almost identical to Cross Basic except all steps are taken forward on counts 1-3 (picture 1 at right) and 5-7 (picture 2) for both Leader and Follower. On counts 4 and 8 free leg brushes forward.

*Open Cross Basic danced in Open or Conversational Position (pictured at right)

Footwork is almost identical to Cross Basic except counts 1-3 are taken forward by BOTH lead and follow, then right leg (for leader) is kicked up behind. On counts 5-7 Both lead and follow step back, cross, back finishing figure with a kick forward with left leg (for leader) on 8

*Cross Basic Turns Footwork and timing same as for regular Cross Basic, however Leader does a free spin to Left on steps 1-3, while Follow does free spin to right on steps 1-3. Turn may be reversed on second half of Cross Basic with leaders rotating to Right and Follows to the Left on counts 5-7.

Criss Cross Turns Counts 1-4 same as Cross Basic, on counts 5-8 Leader does Rock Basic in place while the Follower does a regular Cross Basic. Partners should end in a right hand hold at arms length. Both lead and follow now begin Cross Basic Turns to their Right for counts 1-4 and then Reverse directions Both turning Left for counts 5-8 from a left to left handhold. From a Right to Right hand hold Both lead and follow Reverse directions again turning Right for counts 1-4.. Leader then marks time with a Rock Basic in place while he to free spin Left from a Left to Left handhold. Leader finishes figure by returning to a closed dance hold.

Conga steps were commonly incorporate into other dances like Rumba/Bachata (utilizing cross timing) and Merengue (utilizing rock timing). Conga figures and styling are fun easy ways to spice up these related dances, so have at it!

For my fellow researchers and those curious to learn more about this dance I’ve included some primary documents from my personal collection. One of particular note is the first one that features the original Conga as described by it’s creator and taught at the 1941 Dance Masters of America national teachers convention that year. I’ve also decided to include selections from “Fun Dance Rhythms” by Alma Heaton (who was greatly responsible for Bringham Young University’s Ballroom program), his book has many Conga Line variants including the Bunny Hop!

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Below: The article as it originally appeared in American Dancer Magazine