1. Answer the following questions:

1. What is it ‘tango’?

2. As a dance, what does tango require?

3. As a musical form, what has tango evolved from?

4. Who played the significant role in the creation of the tango?

5. What musical instrument became fundamental to tango music?

6. How many versions about the origin of the word ‘tango’ are there?

7. How can you describe this style of dancing ‘tango’?

8. Is it popular in our country?

2. Make a plan to the text.

3. Retell the text according to your plan. Rumba

Rumba, a secular Afro-Cuban performance ritual synthesizing dance, song, and music. During the 18th century, large numbers of slaves of Yoruba, Calabar, and Kongo descent were brought to Cuba to work in the sugar-producing region of Matanzas. Following the abolition of slavery in 1886, these and other liberated blacks headed to Cuba's urban centers in search of employment and settled on the outskirts of the cities. The rumba was born out of festive social gatherings in the suburban environment of Matanzas during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rumba synthesizes African-derived rhythms, songs, and dances, in particular those of Bantu origin. Rumba soon spread to Havana and other parts of Cuba and, after World War II, was exported to Europe and the United States, where it was modified into a type of ballroom dance.

A number of percussive instruments accompany the rumba. Originally, empty drawers turned upside down, empty bottles, frying pans, and spoons were used to make music for the rumba. Subsequently, rumba musicians replaced these instruments with wooden boxes, in particular those used to package salted cod and candles. Although wooden boxes are still occasionally incorporated, today rumba instrumentation usually features three conga drums, which are collectively referred to as the tambores Other instruments in the rumba repertoire are the cata or guagua (a wooden tube played with sticks), the guiro (a serrated wooden cylinder played with a metal pick-like object), and either the maruga (an iron shaker) or the maracas. The claves (two hardwood sticks) are struck together to produce a syncopated beat of the same name (clave), which provides a distinctive ground rhythm for the other instruments.

There are three types of rumba: yambu, guaguanco, and columbia, each with its own unique rhythms, song format, and dance steps. Of these, the guaguanco is the most popular. It is faster than the yambu, but slower than the columbia.

The music for guaguanco has the following structure. After the claves have set the tempo for the song, the drums and the other instruments gradually join in, and the singer enters with the diana, a short string of melodic syllables. The singer, who is usually a man, then proceeds to sing an extended, lyrical solo or duet, known in Spanish as the canto, which often recalls and comments upon a certain person or event. The singer eventually indicates a phrase in the song that will be used as the chorus. The dancers usually enter after the chorus has started. An animated call-response section begins in which the singer begins to improvise lines, which alternate with the chorus. This exchange may continue for several minutes before the song ends.

In the guaguanco, a male dancer tries to attract the female dancer, but she flirtatiously avoids his advances. While circling around her, the male dancer intermittently makes a quick gesture with his hand or leg that symbolizes an attempt to "possess" the female dancer, who responds by quickly covering her pelvic region with her hands or crossed arms. The ultimate possessive gesture is a pelvic thrust by the male called the vacunao. The dance ends when the male has successfully caught the female off-guard with the vacunao or when the female dancer proves herself to be impervious to the male dancer's efforts to possess her.

The yambu is a slower dance in which a male and female performers dance as if they were elderly. The male does not do the vacunao in this dance. The yambu is the least-frequently performed type of rumba.

The columbia is the fastest and most acrobatic of the three types of rumba. Its rhythmic patterns are short and sharp, and it is done by a solo male dancer. Some of the steps are closely related to those performed by members of all-male secret societies known as Abakuas Unlike the other two forms of rumba, columbia's lyrics sometimes include words and phrases in African languages, in particular Yoruba.

Rumba continues to be a vital tradition at the grassroots level, especially in and around Matanzas and Havana.