The Bolero dance is a beautiful, slow, sensuous Latin dance that is great fun to learn. The Bolero dance originated in Santiago, Cuba in the late 19th century and influenced the ballroom version of the Bolero. Pepe Sanchez is believed to be the creator of the Cuban Bolero dance. You can see a demonstration of the Bolero dance in the Bolero video on this page.
Bolero uses elements of Waltz (rise and fall), Rumba (Cuban Motion and slow Latin music) and Tango (contra body movement). Contra Body Movement (CBM) is the action of turning the opposite side of the body toward the moving leg and is used on forward and backward steps when starting a turn. There are two styles of the Bolero dance, each with a different technique yet both correct. One Bolero dance style uses foot or body rise, minimal Cuban Motion (the hip movement created from the alternate bending and straightening of the knees when changing weight from foot to foot), larger side steps and a "drop and drift" movement on the forward and back breaks. The other style of the Bolero dance uses a version of Cuban Motion, smaller side steps and only slight body rise.
The music used for Bolero is written in 4/4 time and is counted Slow-Quick-Quick(SQQ). The Bolero is an American Style Rhythm dance and is included in the American Style Rhythm competition dance program. This dance is not included in the International Style Latin competition dance program. Again, you can see a demonstration of the Bolero dance in the Bolero video on this page.