60+ Spanish Dance Terms and Phrases
Once you dip your foot in learning Latin dances, you’ll quickly find yourself slipping into an addiction to the dance floor. Tango, cumbia, merengue, salsa—there’s an entire world of dance to discover.
Knowing Spanish dance terms is a surefire way to fast-track your learning, and prepare you for a lively trip to Spain or anywhere in Latin America.
Contents
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Basic Spanish Dance Vocabulary
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Paso | Step |
| Paso básico | Basic step |
| Giro | Turn, spin |
| Vuelta | Turn, spin |
| Variantes | Variations |
| Bailar | To dance |
| Música | Music |
| Ritmo | Rhythm |
| Movimiento | Movement |
| Coreografía | Choreography |
| Zapatillas de baile | Dance shoes |
| Escenario | Stage |
| Bailarín / Bailarina | Dancer |
| Ensayo | Rehearsal |
| Espectáculo | Show |
| Improvisar | To improvise |
| Saltar | To jump |
| ¿Sabes bailar? | Do you know how to dance? |
| ¿Quieres bailar? | Do you want to dance? |
| Escuela de danza / Escuela de baile | Dance school |
Dance Styles in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Salsa | Salsa |
| Merengue | Merengue |
| Cumbia | Cumbia |
| Tango | Tango |
| Bachata | Bachata |
| Rumba | Rumba |
| Bolero | Bolero |
| Mambo | Mambo |
| Samba | Samba |
| Reguetón | Reggaeton |
Tango Vocabulary in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Figura | Sequence |
| Salida | "Way out" of a Tango step |
| Ocho adelante | Eight forward (the woman designs a figure-eight moving forward) |
| Ocho atrás | Figure-eight backwards |
| Cortado | A step that's cut off |
| Calesita | The "carousel" (The man takes a backwards walk around the woman while holding her, allowing her to turn like a carousel) |
| Parada | Stop (when the lead stops the follower by catching her foot) |
| Paso cruzado | Crossed step |
| Castigada | When the woman lifts her leg, bends the knee, and slides it down the supporting leg |
| Eje | Axis |
| Gancho | Hook |
| Sacada | Extraction |
| Caminata | Walk |
| Molinetes | Windmill |
| Sentada | A woman who is sitting |
| Lápiz | The pointed form of the woman's leg and the way that she traces a pattern on the floor (literally: "pencil") |
| Salón | Ballroom / dance hall |
| Milonga | Any tango event as well as the physical location that hosts such events |
| Girar en sentido contrario a las agujas del reloj | to go around (the dance floor) in a counterclockwise direction |
| Tipos de abrazo | Types of embraces (how the dancers hold each other) |
| Abrazo abierto | Open embrace |
| Abrazo cerrado | Closed embrace |
The following video contains 50 basic steps from tango, some with translations in English.
(Note that these teachers’ pronunciation of Spanish is not so perfect, but the step demonstrations are excellent.)
These are steps that you have probably learned if you have taken tango classes (or will learn once you do), but you may not have realized what the words really mean.
Spanish Vocabulary for a Night Out Dancing
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Cabeceo | A slight nod at a dance partner to invite them to dance from across the room |
| Fiesta | Party |
| Discoteca | Nightclub |
| Música | Music |
| Baile | Dance (as a noun) |
| Ritmo | Rhythm |
| Divertirse | To have fun |
| Pista de baile | Dance floor |
| DJ | DJ |
| Volumen | Volume |
| Animado | Lively |
Gender Neutral Spanish Dance Terms
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Tango queer | A movement to open tango up from the traditional gender roles. Roles can be switched and men and women can dance with the same sex. |
| Intercambio de roles de género | Exchanging of gender roles |
| Danza machista | Sexist/chauvinist/macho dance |
| Conductor /a | Lead (in place of "the man") |
| Conducido /a | Follower (in place of "the woman") |
Here’s an excellent demonstration of “queer tango,” where the traditional gender roles are reversed:
Learning Spanish from Dance Songs
Here are a couple of lovely dance songs—specifically, tango songs—with quite simple Spanish to learn from.
Carlos Gardel — “Volver” (to come back)
Here’s a key line:
Vivir
con el alma aferrada
a un dulce recuerdo
que lloro otra vez.To live
with the soul held fast
to a sweet memory
that I cry over again.
He also says that veinte años no es nada (twenty years is nothing), which I find to be the most tragic line of the song.
How difficult it is to get over that first love. You can spend the rest of your life longing for that evil, lovely creature.
By the way, el alma aferrada is not a mistake.
Alma is feminine and so the adjective aferrada takes an -a ending, but words beginning with a stressed a get preceded by the article el instead of la. For the same reason, you say el agua fría (the cold water).
Soha — “Mil Pasos” (Thousand Steps)
This absolutely gorgeous song has a woman singing about going away, and the male voice joins in the chorus to ask ¿y cuándo volverás? (and when will you come back?).
Don’t worry if you don’t understand her response in the chorus—it’s in French—suffice it to say, it just makes you want to cry even more.
In the opening verses, she sings:
Un paso, me voy para siempre
Un paso fuerte
Un paso hacia adelante
Dos pasos, me voy sin mirarte
Tan lejos pisé
Dos pasos ya te olvidéA step, I’m getting out of here forever
A strong step
A step forward
Two steps, I’m going without looking at you
I stepped so far
Two steps and I already forgot you
If you’ve properly learned your Spanish numbers, in later verses you will understand that she is certainly not getting any closer.
If you like learning Spanish through song lyrics like these, you might want to consider learning with an online program like FluentU.
Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.
FluentU has a wide variety of videos topics, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used.
Plus, if you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.
Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and recommends examples and videos for you based on the words you’ve already learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re studying with the same video.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Sign up now to take advantage of our current sale!
Tips for Learning Spanish with Dancing
- Take a trip to a Spanish-speaking country. Consider booking a flight to a city where dance is highly celebrated, like Buenos Aires. It’s one of the world’s greatest cities for tango dancing in particular—smart, cutthroat, fascinating people, great nightlife and fantastic theater and music scenes. There’s also Mexico City, which is known for its cumbia lovers.
- Enroll in a language school. Language schools often cater to dance lovers as well, with combined dance and Spanish programs. At the very least, many can refer you to a dance school that they have partnered with.
- Studio hop dance schools. I would recommend just going to a big city without booking a particular class in advance, and trying out different dance schools in person before committing to a full class. Quality can vary quite a bit, and you want to find a teacher who knows not just how to dance well, but also how to teach in a way that you respond to. There are plenty of options, and when you go there you can find the best one in your neighborhood and the one that best fits with your schedule and style of learning.
- Take lessons locally. If you can’t hop on a plane, you can always look for dance and language lessons in your local area. One cool option that blends the two lesson types is Wyzant, where you can search for local tutors of all kinds in your region. You can go there to immediately search and filter tutors by rates, availability, distance from you and more. If you live in a major city, there’s a good chance you can find a Spanish tutor with dance experience, or a dance tutor with Spanish experience.
- Take online Spanish classes. Online classes tend to be a better value than language schools for learning, even if you are already living abroad. You can do classes over Skype after your siesta and then go out and lose yourself in milongas and Porteño life. If you do all this, you will advance your Spanish at lightning speed. You can use platforms like Verbling and italki to find online tutors.
And there you have it—over 60 Spanish dance terms to help you talk like a pro bailador/bailadora.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing…
If you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU.
Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.
FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.
Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Sign up now to take advantage of our current sale!
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