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Bolero -- An American Dance
by Bob & Sally Nolen
Many consider the modern bolero to be one of the most beautiful,
graceful, and romantic dances ever created. The original Spanish bolero
was invented by Sebastian Cerézo about 1780, who used the Spanish folk
boléro as a basis for his French ballet. It was then popularized in the
1930s at the same time that one of the most famous examples of bolero
music was written, by the French composer Maurice Ravel -- Bolero, 1928
-- which was danced by Bronislava Nijinska.
In round dancing, we use many of the names and movements from this
modern bolero but have "normalized" others to be more in line with
other Latin rhythm movements used in round dancing. The current bolero
done in round dancing was introduced by George and Mady D'Aloiso at the
1983 URDC convention in San Antonio, Texas. They also taught a workshop
on advanced bolero. Sally and I were there; when we saw what was being
taught, we looked at each other and said, "That will not last." Well,
nothing like eating your own words.
It was some time before bolero took off with some very popular dances
in the mid-1990s. For instance, Brent & Mickey Moore released
Sleeping Beauty in 1993, Bob & MaryAnn Rother released A Taste Of
Bolero in 1993, Ralph & Joan Collipi released Almost Bolero in
1994, and Brian & Pam Galbraith released Ginny Come Bolero in 1996.
We're still dancing them.
Bolero is a unique blend of rumba (in the arm styling and flowing
movement), tango (lots of CBMP), waltz (having rise and fall), and
finally it is like a Smooth rhythm in that we dance it in closed dance
position with firm body contact. In addition, unlike other Latin
rhythms in round dancing, there is almost no Cuban motion used, except
in specialized movements like Hip Rocks. The bolero in round dancing
uses a strong rising action in the first half measure, followed by a
quick return to the starting level for the rocking steps. All of these
factors combine to create a very sensuous and powerful dancing
experience.
The timing and actions are depicted below:
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Count
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Slow
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Quick
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Quick
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Beats
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1
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2
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3
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4
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Elevation
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Down
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Rise
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Lower
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Down
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Size Of Steps
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Large
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Small
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Medium
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From clinic notes
prepared for the ICBDA convention, 2015,
and
reprinted
in the Dixie Round Dance Council (DRDC)
Newsletter, October 2020.
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