Lambada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lambada is a dance which became internationally popular in the 1980s. The exact origin of the dance is somewhat disputed but it is known to have begun in Brazil and has forerunners such as the forró, sayas, the maxixe, and the carimbó. Some also say it began in Bolivia, a thought due to the song named Lambada which is actually an unauthorised translation of the song "Llorando se fue", from the Bolivian group Los K’jarkas. Kaoma, a French group, recorded this number one worldwide summer hit "Lambada" which sold 5 million singles in 1989 (see Music of Bolivia article for more about the translation of this song).

The association of Lambada and the idea of "dirty dancing" became quite extensive—the appellative "forbidden dance" was and is often ascribed to the Lambada—mostly due to the 1990 movie Lambada, although the people who dance this rhythm in Brazil and everywhere else prefer to define it as a sensual and romantic dance rather than erotic.

After 1994 the Brazilian music style (also called Lambada), which gave birth to the dance, started to fade away, and the dancers began to use other musical sources to continue practicing the Lambada dance. Among these rhythms were the Flamenco Rumba (such as from the Gypsy Kings) and some Arabian music. Today the majority of Lambada is danced to Zouk music and the dance evolved so much from its original form that there is an ongoing discussion whether the Zouk-Lambada is a new type of dance or just the natural evolution of the Lambada of the early 90's.

The Zouk-Lambada style is still very popular in many countries such as Brazil, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, USA, Israel, Italy, Aruba, Germany, Japan and Australia.

See also

• List of dances

Films

• Lambada (1990) (Lambada: Set the Night on Fire)
• The Forbidden Dance (1990) (Lambada - The Forbidden Dance/Forbidden Dance Is Lambada)

External links

• Lambada with Berg Dias and Solange
• Londons guide to Zouk / Lambada dancing & more
• Brazilian Dances site
• Online Portuguese Lexicon/Dictionary
• ZoukLover.com - Zouk Music, Radio and Zouk Lambada Dance Videos
• A History of Lambada (portuguese)
• Lambada vs Zouk (portuguese)
• Article: Regarding ballroom (portuguese)