Coming Out of the Dark

Designed as a companion to the singer's 1991 Into The Light--World Tour concert video, this look behind the scenes in Gloria Estefan's career draws drama and urgency from her recovery following a disastrous bus accident, which crippled the Cuban-American performer even as her popularity pushed further into the pop mainstream. Produced for the video arm of her record company, Coming Out of the Dark is hardly an objective documentary, laced as it is with testimonials from executives and frankly designed as a valentine to the feisty star; when we're given an "informal" look at Estefan composing new material in her music room, there isn't a figurative hair out of place as captured through these expertly shot segments.

The story, however, is intrinsically compelling, and Estefan offers her fans glimpses into the genesis of the songs from her Into the Light album. The singer's steely resolve, which doubtless explained the speed of her recovery, is visible, too, as is her sure sense of command over recording sessions. Brief performance excerpts show her saucy style of salsa-drenched pop, as well as less satisfying stabs at boiler-plate pop-rock songs that were aimed squarely at the charts. A segment chronicling a video shoot with choreographer-turned-director Kenny Ortega reveals both the technical intricacy of shooting elaborate dance sequences and the hyperbolic coddling platinum stars can expect from their most diplomatic handlers. --Sam Sutherland
Customer Review: THAT MOVIE IS THE BEST
i thought that movie is the best gloria did a great job on her recovery and i thought it was great. the picture was a little fizzy but it goes away .. great movie get it ..
Customer Review: Re: ASAP
Does this Moves show the accicent and does it show her recovery

Origin:

Mambo originated in Havana, Cuba in the 40s. The Mambo was originally played as a Rumba with an emphasis on 2 or 4. Once introduced, it fast led to other variations. Although Mambo did not last long and is only danced by advanced dancers today, it led to other styles that became popular such as Salsa and Cha-cha.

Music:

Mambo is an up-tempo dance rythm, usually around 200 bpm. Mambo, like Salsa is played in 4/4 with all 4 beats being evenly accented. Like a lot of Latin American rythms, percussion forms a very important part of the music.

Dance:

Mambo is probably one of the toughest dances to learn, especially is you are already used to dancing one of the other Latin styles like Salsa. Although the music is 4/4, the stepping is quite different. The steps are taken on the second beat as opposed to the first beat, which is one of the main differences that throw most dancers off. The other difference is that the weight change takes place three times in every four beats whereas only two steps are taken!

Latinos NZ Popularity Scale: 1/10

Mambo is rarely danced in Latin clubs in New Zealand, and is rarely taught in training institutes.

Article taken from Latinos.co.nz (http://www.latinos.co.nz)

dance music charts