What is rumba?
Ballroom rumba is the slow, sensual "dance of love" of the Latin program. Steps land on 2-3-4 with a hip-driven Cuban motion, and the dancers play push-and-pull games of attraction and rejection. International rumba is danced from a forward/back basic, while American Rhythm rumba uses a box.
History
Cuban son and bolero-son traveled to the US in the 1930s; Don Azpiazu's The Peanut Vendor (1930) set off a "rhumba" craze. Ballroom teachers later created the American box rumba and the slower International rumba based on Cuban technique studied in Havana.
Basic technique
- Step on 2, 3, 4 and hold through 1
- Cuban motion and settling into each step
- Fan, hockey stick, alemana and New York
Music & tempo
International rumba is 25–27 bars per minute (about 100–108 BPM); American rumba is faster, about 120–128 BPM.
Songs for rumba
| Song | Artist | BPM | Key | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La sitiera | Omara Portuondo | 97 | F minor | 2000 |
| Osú | Radio Tarifa | 99 | F# minor | 2000 |
| No me vayas a engañar | Omara Portuondo | 100 | F minor | 2000 |
| Paxi Ni Ngongo | Bonga | 102 | A minor | 1972 |
| La molinera | Radio Tarifa | 71 | C minor | 2000 |
| High and Dry | Rhythms del Mundo feat. El Lele de los Van Van & Radiohead | 88 | A# minor | 2006 |
| Veinte años | Omara Portuondo | 89 | F minor | 2000 |
| Yo me voy pa’ la cumbia | Sergent Garcia | 96 | D minor | 2006 |
| Mariposa (en Havana) | Si*Sé | 96 | C minor | 2005 |
| Shaft | Byron Lee and the Dragonaires | 96 | C major | 2004 |
BPM as measured by audio analysis; some tracks read at half or double the danced tempo.
What to wear
Latin shoes.
How to get started
American rumba is often the slow Latin dance taught for weddings.
We list 11 studios that teach rumba, or browse all dance studios by state.
Rumba in historic images
Openly licensed images via Europeana; rights statements on each item page.
Key partner-dance terms
Movies featuring rumba
- Rumba (1935)
Recent research
- Creative experiences and brain clocks. — Nature communications, 2025
- Effectiveness of dance interventions for falls prevention in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis. — Age and ageing, 2024
- Effect of Latin dance on physical and mental health: a systematic review. — BMC public health, 2023
- Caribbean and Latin dance: evidence about health in professional and non-professional dancers. — The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 2025
- Impact of Latin Ballroom Dance Training on Gait Biomechanics, Anxiety, and Depression. — International journal of exercise science, 2024
Books about rumba
- Rumba by Yvonne Daniel (1995)
- Rhumba by Elaine Proctor (2012)
- The Fred Astaire dance book by Fred Astaire (1955)
- Rumba dance encyclopedia by Thomas L. Nelson (2008)
- Latin Dance by Eric Zimmerer (2005)
- The American rumba by American rumba committee. (1943)
Frequently asked questions
Is Cuban rumba the same as ballroom rumba?
No — Afro-Cuban rumba (guaguancó, yambú, columbia) is a percussion-and-song tradition; ballroom rumba is based on son and bolero rhythms.
What BPM is Rumba?
Rumba is usually danced to music between 96 and 108 beats per minute (25–27 bars per minute in competition). Browse 755 songs that fit on our Rumba music page.
How many calories does rumba burn?
About 220 calories per hour for a 155-lb (70 kg) person, based on a MET value of 3 from the Compendium of Physical Activities. See calories burned rumba for every body weight.
Related styles
Cha-Cha
Cuba (cha-cha-chá music by Enrique Jorrín)
Ballroom & DanceSportBolero (American Rhythm)
Cuba (bolero music); ballroom version in the United States
Latin Social DanceSalsa
New York City — Cuban son and mambo, Puerto Rican musicians
Latin Social DanceBachata
Dominican Republic
Ballroom & DanceSportWaltz
Austria and southern Germany (from the Ländler)
Ballroom & DanceSportViennese Waltz
Vienna, Austria
Ballroom & DanceSportFoxtrot
United States (New York vaudeville)
Ballroom & DanceSportQuickstep
England (from the fast foxtrot and the Charleston)
Last reviewed October 2026 · Editorial policy