Danza is a musical
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
that originated in
Ponce, a city in southern
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. It is a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century
ballroom
A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...
dance genre slightly similar to the
waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
. Both the danza and its cousin the
contradanza
''Contradanza'' (also called ''contradanza criolla'', ''danza'', ''danza criolla'', or ''habanera'') is the Spanish and Spanish-American version of the contradanse, which was an internationally popular style of music and dance in the 18th centu ...
are sequence dances, performed to a pattern, usually of squares, to music that was instrumental. Neither the contradanza nor the danza were sung genres; this is a contrast to, for example, the
habanera, which was a sung genre. There is some dispute as to whether the danza was in any sense a different dance from the contradanza, or whether it was just a simplification of the name. Through the first part of the 19th century the dance and its music became steadily more creolized. The music and the dance is creolized because composers were consciously trying to integrate African and European ideas because many of the people themselves were creoles, that is, born in the Caribbean; accepting their islands as their true and only homeland.
Some well-known composers of danzas are
Manuel Gregorio Tavárez
Manuel Gregorio Tavárez Ropero (November 16, 1843 – July 1, 1883), was Puerto Rico's classical and danza composer. He has been called "The Chopin of America".
Early years
Tavárez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of a French father ...
, "The Father of Puerto Rican Danza", and
Juan Morel Campos
Juan Morel Campos (16 May 1857 – 12 May 1896), sometimes erroneously spelled ''Juan Morell Campos'', was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level. He composed over ...
, considered by many to have raised the genre to its highest level.
"Juan Morel Campos"
''Puerto Rico Encyclopedia''. Retrieved May 7, 2010. Others are Cuban Ignacio Cervantes
Ignacio Cervantes Kawanag (Havana, 31 July 1847 – Havana, 29 April 1905) was a Cuban pianist and composer. He was influential in the creolization of Cuban music.
A child prodigy, he was taught by pianist Juan Miguel Joval, later by composer ...
, and Curaçaoan Jan Gerard Palm
Jan Gerard Palm (2 June 1831 – 13 December 1906) was a 19th-century composer. Palm is often referred to as the "Father of Curaçao's classical music".
Biography
Born in Curaçao, Palm had directed several music ensembles by a relatively young ...
.
Danza in Puerto Rico
Danza is a form of music that can be varied in its expression. The Puerto Rican national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
, ''La Borinqueña
"" (from the native name of Puerto Rico, ''Borinquen'' or ''Boriquen''), ) is the official anthem of Puerto Rico.
After Puerto Rico became known as "The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" in 1952, the first elected governor, Luis Muñoz Marín, sig ...
'', was originally a danza that was later altered to fit a more anthem-like style. Danzas can be either romantic or festive. Romantic danzas have four sections, beginning with an eight-measure ''paseo'' followed by three themes of sixteen measures each. The third theme typically includes a solo by the bombardino and, often, a return to the first theme or a coda at the end. Festive danzas are free-form, with the only rules being an introduction and a swift rhythm.[La Danza](_blank)
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The first part of the romantic danza, the ''paseo'', had 8 measures of music without a fixed rhythm (a snare
SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells,
and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle fu ...
drumroll
A drum roll (or roll for short) is a technique used by percussionists to produce a sustained sound for the duration of a written note.Cirone, Anthony J. (1991). Simple Steps to Snare Drum', p.30-31. Alfred. . "The purpose of the roll is t ...
may be played as background), when the couples circled the room elegantly, giving the lady the opportunity to display her beauty. The second part, called the ''merengue'', grew from the original 16 measures to 34, in 1854. Here the couples held each other in a proper stance and executed turns that looked very much like a waltz.
While the origins of the danza are murky, it probably arose around 1840 as a sort of reaction against the highly codified contradanza
''Contradanza'' (also called ''contradanza criolla'', ''danza'', ''danza criolla'', or ''habanera'') is the Spanish and Spanish-American version of the contradanse, which was an internationally popular style of music and dance in the 18th centu ...
and, according to Cuban sources, was strongly influenced by Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n immigrants and their habanera music. The first danzas were immature, youthful songs condemned by the authorities, who occasionally tried ineffectively to ban the genre.
In Puerto Rico, the genre continued evolving until it was taken up by the young pianist Manuel Gregorio Tavárez
Manuel Gregorio Tavárez Ropero (November 16, 1843 – July 1, 1883), was Puerto Rico's classical and danza composer. He has been called "The Chopin of America".
Early years
Tavárez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of a French father ...
, who had just arrived from his studies in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and took it to a new artistic level. His disciple, Juan Morel Campos
Juan Morel Campos (16 May 1857 – 12 May 1896), sometimes erroneously spelled ''Juan Morell Campos'', was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level. He composed over ...
, adopted it also and developed it further to its maximum expression, composing more than 300 danzas, most of them masterpieces of an exquisite beauty. The danza that evolved was inspired mostly by women and romance and their titles reflected that change.
See also
*Music of Puerto Rico
The music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources of Puerto Rico have included European, Indigenous, and African influences, although many aspects of P ...
*Fiesta Nacional de la Danza
The Fiesta Nacional de la Danza (English: National Danza Festival), also known as Semana de la Danza Puertorriqueña (English: Puerto Rican Danza Week), is a cultural celebration that takes place every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The festival c ...
References
Further reading
*Díaz Díaz, Edgardo. 2008. “Danza antillana, conjuntos militares, nacionalismo musical e identidad dominicana: retomando los pasos perdidos del merengue.” Latin American Music Review 29(2): 229–259.
*Díaz Diaz, Edgardo, and Peter Manuel. “Puerto Rico: The Rise and Fall of the Danza as National Music”. In ''Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean'', edited by Peter Manuel. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2009.
*
*Malavet Vega, Pedro. ''Historia de la canción popular en Puerto Rico'' (1493-1898). San Juan, 1992.
*Manuel, Peter, with Kenneth Bilby and Michael Largey. ''Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae'' (2nd edition). Temple University Press, 2006,
*Manuel, Peter, "Puerto Rican Music and Cultural Identity: Creative Appropriation of Cuban Sources from Danza to Salsa," ''Ethnomusicology'' 3/2, Spring/Summer 1994, pp. 249–80.
{{Music in Spanish
Latin dances
Puerto Rican styles of music
Cuban styles of music