Rumba is based on Cuban social dances. It was brought to Europe by Pierre Margolie and Doris Lavelle, who visited Cuba in 1947. The name is confusing: Cuban "rumba" means a diverse family of dances rather than a single dance. The international rumba is closely related to Cuban son and its slower varint danzón.
Rumba is above the average difficulty in several ways. An odd consequence is that some teachers offer fake dance courses. They are advertised as rumba courses, but a different dance is taught, usually similar to rumba but the rhythm one beat behind or one beat ahead the rhythm of genuine rumba.
Rumba music is serene, lingering and sensual. The time signature is 4/4 and the tempo is 25-29 bars/min (100-116 beats/min). In accordance with the tranquil character of the music, no beat is strongly accented.
| Basic movement |
| Whisk |
| New York |
| Spot turn |
| Underarm turn |
| Window |
| Gate |
| Fan |
| Hockey stick |
| Left turn |