Brazil

Colombia
Bullerengue: Bullerengue is a style of music performed by flute and drum ensembles which began when pregnant women were not allowed to attend festivals. While the men left for these festivals, the women celebrated on their own, altering the rhythms of Cumbia and celebrating their fertility.

Cumbia: Cumbia is originally a folk dance from Colombia, using indigenous rhythms and modern instruments. It began as a courtshio dance practiced amongst the lower class. Men wear white shirts and pants with a bandana and straw hat. Women typically wear a plaid dress of European style and often carry candles in their hands, occasionally trying to burn her suitor.

Costa Rica
El Punto Guanacasteco: One of the most well known styles of Costa Rican dance, El Punto tells a story as the men anxiously chase their ladies and the women flirt in return by running away. The songs usually end with the couple sealing the deal with a kiss. The dance is native to the region of Guanacaste and is characterized by the "gritos" or short witty phrases that rhyme which both dancers and audience partake in.

Dominican Republic
Merengue: Merengue is a dance that originally from the Dominican Republic and Haiti (formerly known as the island of Hispaniola). Over the years it has evolved into different forms and today it is recognized in the Dominican Republic as its national dance.

Guatemala
Amanecer: Amanecer is a Mayan dance performed as a way to greet the new day and honor the four cardinal points. The dance consists of five dancers, one stands at the center while the other four represent each of the four cardinal points. They wear colored huipiles which correspond to each point and hold a basket with an offering of corn or beans.

Mexico
Azteca: Aztec dance is one which has evolved throughout the centuries from Aztec culture to include countless influences. Today, this form of dance has become representative of not only spiritual and religious expression, but also as a symbol of protest and resistance.

Chiapas: From the state of Chiapas in Mexico, the dance style follows the "son" style found in the rest of Mexico with intricate footwork, soft tempos and colorful skirtwork. The music for Chiapas is mostly played on marimbas and the dresses have all the colors of the rainbow to capture the vivid colors of the local flora against the dark backdrop of the jungle.

Colima: Another style of Mexican dance, the footwork in Colima is typically danced flat footed due to the fact that Colima was originally danced in sandals. Another difference between Colima and most other styles of Mexican dance is that as opposed to styles like Nayarit and Jalisco where the skirts fly high, Colima dresses are held up gently at one's sides.

Jalisco: One of the most recognized styles of Mexican dance, Jalisco is the style of such famous songs as "Jarabe Tapatio" and "El Son de la Negra", which Cielito Lindo proudly includes in our repertoire. Jalisco dances are often dances of courtship and are very flirtatious. Because the Spanish colonized this area for such an extended period of time, the style of dance has adopted the ranchero dress and the men wear charro suits and large sombreros.

Michoacan: Cielito Lindo currently only knows El Baile de los Viejitos from Michoacan. Viejitos is often performed by men or boys on festivals like El Dia de los Muertos. Originally, the dance was used to mock the Spanish ruling class by doing a dance hunched over like old men with canes. The mask is pink with white hair, a caricature of an old European.

Nayarit: Also inspired by Spanish styles of dance, Nayarit uses elements of the Flamenco style with another version of the ranchero dress. The skirt for Nayarit is about 3 times heavier than the dress used in Jalisco and is easily identified for its exaggerated poses. Nayarit is also known for its dance of the machetes where the men clang the weapons together as the women dance through the arches created by the machetes.

Oaxaca: From Oaxaca, we know Flor de Pina, a dance often performed before the harvest of the pineapple. Women perform this dance in celebration of the fertility of the earth and the birth of the pineapple. Usually performed with up to thirty dancers, focus is kept on the unison throughout the different formations.

Polka: A style that has managed to span the entirety of Mexico, Polka emerged when Germans settled in the Americas and the influence has remained. Men wear fringed coats or vests, boots, bandanas and cowboy hats while the women wear their hair braided with ribbons, boots, calf-length dresses with more ribbons and tight fitting bodices with puffy sleeves. The bouncy style is often danced by couples.

Sinaloa: Dances from the coastal Mexican state of Sinaloa include El Toro Mambo, El Galo and El Sinaloense amongst others. Dancers wear colorful dresss with floral designs and move their skirts to the bouncy rhythms of the regional form of band music.

Veracruz: Veracruz was once used as an important trade port by the SPanish and the Veracruz style of dance was clearly heavily inspired by Flamenco. The fast footwork relies very heavily upon the music, much more so than other Mexican styles and it is not uncommon to have Veracruz performed "acapella". The women wear imported white lace dresses, their hair up in a bun with a comb, an embroidered apron, rebozos (shawls) holding fans and occasionally wearing a candle on their head. The most famous song is "La Bamba" where a couple must successfully tie a rebozo into a bow to prove their strong union as a couple.

Yucatan: This style of dance, also known as "Jaranas", is a combination of Spanish folklore and Mayan music. Often celebratory, the music is upbeat and is one of the many ways that the Mayan people remain visible in Mexican culture.

Nicaragua
Traditional: With a simple repetitive step, this dance focuses on the interaction between the couple or couples.

Panama
Tamborito: Traditional dance from Panama is performed in the gorgeous pollera, a multi-pleited skirt with colorful designs and completed only with accessories like tembleques and golden head pieces. Like others, the dance focuses on the interactions of a couple in the middle of their courtship: the women glide gracefully to and fro as the men try desperately to gain the attention of the women with fancy footwork.

Puerto Rico
Bomba: One of Puerto Rico's most famous music styles, Bomba is characterized strong Afro-Caribbean drum beats. The dance is a conversation between the dancer and the drums where the drums follow the movement of the dancer and not the other way around. Originally brough to Puerto Rico during the colonial slave trade, women traditionally wear plantation dresses and head scarves while men wear white clothes and a fedora.

Spain
Rumba Flamenco: Rumba refers to the quick skirt movements the dancer makes with the flick of her wrist. Although based on Flamenco's structure and sassy style, Rumba is more flirty and less serious.

Sevillanas: Sevillanas is the sister of Flamenco. Each dance consists of four sections which are broken down further into three parts. Sevillanas is full of flaunting turns with very colorful skirts and is often believed to be the "true" flamenco by outsiders.

Venezuela
Joropo: Joropo was once defined as a "party" but now it is the name of the type of music and dance. The dance is similar to a waltz where couples dance as partners. The woman makes sweeping steps while the couple stomp to the rhythm of the music. It is a high energy dance with flowing skirtwork.

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