Identifying Musical Rhythms
From Peter Rye of the Morley Panthers Rollerskating Club at the Rollerdrome, Perth, Australia. A wonderful explanation - in skater's terms - of how to identify different musical rhythms, such as Waltz, Foxtrot, Polka and others , by listening to their musical structure. Morley Panthers club is at the Rollerdrome, Perth, Australia. File recovered using the WayBackMachine internet archiver, last updated April 16, 2012. The Panthers club is currently at http://www.morleypanthers.org.au
How to identify skate dancing rhythms by listening
by Peter Rye
Firstly, please note that these are the results of the author's own experiences, put down on "virtual paper" because interactions at the club showed a lot of misunderstanding of the basics of dance rhythms. There is a lot of subjectivity in the classification of rhythms, so one person's opinion is never more than a guide.
Terminology
Music notation is expressed in terms of quarter or eighth notes. The origins of what constitutes a "full note" in this sense is beyond my knowledge, but in simple (user-friendly) terms, a quarter note represents a "normal" beat of music.
Music is written in "bars" or "measures", each most often including four quarter notes. A tune is formed from many such measures, and these measures are generally formed into higher groups. For example, measures usually occur in pairs, and a melody often repeats on cycles of 12, 16 or 32 measures. (32 measures often corresponds to about one minute, which is very useful since it closely matches one circuit of the floor in creative dance - one of the "tricks of the trade" in music editing)
Within each measure, beats are described as "strong", "weak" and "off". "Strong" is the strongest beat of a measure - usually the first - "weak" is not actually weak, just the next strongest, and the "off" beats are weaker still, generally of similar strength.
When a measure of music includes four quarter-notes, this measure is denoted as having "4/4" time - the first "4" denoting the number of beats, the second the use of quarter notes in the count. The waltz rhythm is one of the few which have three beats per measure, so are denoted "3/4" (another is the polska, which is rare). A lot of marches, quicksteps, paso dobles and some polkas use 2/4 rhythm (basically tied to the fact that most of us have two feet, left-right-left-right ...)
Some paso dobles, marches and blues use a more complex rhythm, denoted "6/8". This is characterised by faster beats (the "8" indicates eighth notes, occurring at roughly twice the rate). In all these rhythms, the first beat is strong, two "off beats" follow, then the pattern repeats, with fourth beat being the "weak" one.
Given the pairing of measures in most tunes, it can be difficult to discriminate between two bars of 3/4 and one of 6/8, particularly given that the tempo of the quarter notes can vary from 60 to 180 per minute. I know of one case where a song was certified as 6/8 blues in one event of a recent national championships, and 3/4 waltz in another. The only way to resolve these issues is to refer to the original musical score - but even this can fail to resolve the issue; I've seen "The House of the Rising Sun" (unarguably blues) scored as 4/4 and 6/8!
Waltz
Waltzes are written in 3/4 time, with tempo ranging normally from 90 to 180 beats per minute ("bpm"). The slower end of this range corresponds to the "slow", or "English" waltz, while the upper end is used by the Vienna waltzes. Tempos in between are rare in ballroom dancing, but common in country and western music. Due to the limitations of what you can do on skates, we tend to operate in the mid-range of tempos.
Apart from the 6/8 blues - 3/4 waltz ambiguity, waltzes are easy to identify. If a count of 1 - 2 - 3 works (bold face for the strong beat), it's bound to be a waltz. (As I said, others like polskas are rare, and in any case don't have the strong-off-off structure of a waltz measure)
The waltz rhythm is typically soft and flowing (as is blues, so this doesn't help break ambiguities). If you hear a sharp 3/4-ish tune, check out whether it's really a 6/8 paso doble (see below).
Foxtrot
I have heard the foxtrot rhythm described as a "4/4 waltz". While there's no such thing, the statement does reflect the similar soft, flowing nature of the foxtrot rhythm.
The book definition of a foxtrot measure is strong-off-weak-off. The alternation of stronger and weaker notes give foxtrots a "2/4"-ish feel. However, I find that if I try counting out-of-phrase with the music (which I do by counting 1-2-3-4 1-2 1-2-3-4), the out-of-phrase count gives a feel of "counting uphill" ... if this doesn't make sense now, try it with any foxtrot and it probably will straight away.
The structure of the foxtrot measure gives foxtrot tunes a very natural, flowing feel, and that means that there are a lot of "accidental foxtrots" in popular music - where the composer just wanted a smooth rhythm.
If you hear a tune with this beat structure, but it doesn't sound "smooth", check out the possiblity that it is a tango or a 4/4 march (see below).
Polka
Polkas aren't particularly popular now, but they were all the rage a century or two ago. If you ever look at a CD of music by Johann Strauss, you will see that his waltzes are interspersed by several polkas. The rhythm is still well used in country and western circles - maybe the bouncy rhythm suits hayshed floors, where a smooth, flowing step might pick up more than the dancer intended.
The polka rhythm is described as 2/4 (strong-off) or 4/4 (strong-off-weak-off, like the foxtrot). Unlike the foxtrot, however, the score for a polka includes significant eighth notes placed evenly between the quarters, generally of higher pitch. These give the music its bounce, and are the main identifying feature of a polka.
Tango
The tango has an interesting and colourful history. The Arthur Murray web site says that it can be traced to the "Contradance" of England, and another site says that the music descended from the milongas (folk songs to a similar rhythm), sung by the gauchos of Argentina. A closely-related rhythm is that of the habanera, which came from Cuba. The dance itself does appear to have developed as a folk dance in Argentina, and experienced an explosion of popularity when the popular actor Rudolph Valentino performed it in an early silent movie.
The tango rhythm is generally defined as 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, and is often characterised as "ah-one, two, three, four", but that oversimplifies the issue. Some tangos have a double beat on 3, ("ah-one, two, and-three, four"), even a double beat on four ("ah-one, two, and-three, and-four"). Some of these sound quite "cha-cha"ish. (Jennifer Lopez' "Dance With Me" is supposed to be a tango, but is usually certified as a cha cha because it uses this structure)
The "classic tango" is performed to music from a small band, comprising a guitar, violin and bandoneon (like a large rectangular concentina) - although this rule is most often broken rather than obeyed. It requires close contact between the dance couple, and when performed by skilled dancers, it is truly the sexiest of all ballroom styles.
March
It is no great wisdom to point out that marches are intended to be marched to. That means they have a strong "left-right-left-right ..." feel, so 2/4 measures are the rule. But the rule is often broken, and 4/4's (strong-off-weak-off structure) are known.
Some marches use 6/8 timing. A search of march music sites on the web indicates that 2/4 and 4/4 marches are written with more "bounce", and are used for ceremonial marches. 6/8 marches are said to be more commonly intended for "beating the retreat" - march-off from parades, and orderly departures from battlefields.
There can be real ambiguities between the 2/4 march and 2/4 polka rhythms. The key identifier for me is the "bounce" of the polka; marches tend to have a "flatter" feel (maybe you're not supposed to bounce as you march?). Even then, if you look at the titles of the marches on a Skate Australia music CD, you might see one entitled "The Bandit Polka".
Blues
My basic feeling about blues music is that it's not a rhythm, it's a folk tradition. The skate dance manual says blues is 4/4, with a strong first beat, but that only encompasses part of the range.
Some blues is written in 6/8 timing - especially those with the slowest tempos. There is also a subset called "blues rumba", in which beat 3 of a measure is the strong beat. Some blues tunes are written in certifiable foxtrot rhythm. The point to bear in mind is that blues is American negro folk music, much of it being passed down by verbal traditions from anonymous sources. It is very unlikely that the "anonymous sources" had any thought for the formal structure of the measures they used when the first sang their songs.
Cha Cha
The cha cha is perhaps the most "sophisticated" of the latin dances - lacking the exuberance of the samba and mambo, sharper and more expressive than the rumba. One of the more popular cha cha songs is called "Sway", and that just about sums it up.
The rhythm is 4/4, first beat strong - but the essential character is the cha cha is created by one additional eighth note, between beats 3 and 4, giving the music the feel 1 - 2 - 123 rest. Note the "rest", when the music and the dancer / skater pauses.
Schottische
NOTE: This rhythm represents a particular "hobby-horse" of the author's - as will soon become apparent ...
Neither the dance manual nor even the Oxford Companion To Music have anything substantial to say about the schottische rhythm. The dance manual does, however, say that the Highland Schottische is to be skated to a 4/4 schottische, and (very oddly) that the Quickstep is to be skated to a 2/4 schottische.
The Oxford Companion To Music says that the schottische rhythm is like a polka, but slower, and written in 2/4 time. I have done a lot of hunting for schottisches, and yes, most are a bit like a polka, and most are at under 100 bpm. But ALL are 4/4 (so much for the OCP as a reference!).
More importantly, the schottische is a dance. In keeping with the usual perverse sense of such things, it is of German (not Scottish) origin. Originally a folk dance, it is also used as a line dance. And, to maintain the confusion, one site points out the the Highland Schottische dance is to be executed to a strathspey rhythm.
The folk dance is said to be characterised by "three hopping steps, and a clapping of hands". OK, that makes sense: four beats - three for the hops, one for the clap.
The line dance descriptions vary a little, but have some similarities - e.g., three hop-chassis steps, then a kick. OK again - three plus one equals four.
Now listening over the folk schottisches, I can hear the 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 structure implied by these, not in all the measures but in many. Now looking back over the details of the dance descriptions, I see the first step sequences use the 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 measures, later ones (with circular steps, and the like) use the "flatter" measures.
So, as best I can make out, the schottische rhythm is identified by measures of form "strong-off-off-weak".
Now, listening to all the stuff (a fairly complimentary term for the "schottische" music we have had dished up to us) on the Skate Australia CD set, the older tracks are actually all foxtrot. I have found a few skatable true schottisches, and the schottishes on Skate Australia CD 9 are a big improvement too.
Quickstep
The OCP describes the quickstep rhythm as a "lively march". That's not bad as two-word summaries go - definitely 2/4, definitely lively ... something like a quick, light polka.
A ballroom quickstep is an exciting dance to watch; the dancers seem to be skipping across the floor, forgetting that they are both under the influence of gravity. The skating quickstep has some of this feel, particularly the corner sequence with the quick cross-cross - chassis leading into the progressive run of the starting steps.
When I am trying to decide whether a tune is quickstep, I listen for a motif that sounds to me like "boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom"; that is, a doubled eighth between the quarter notes. This tends to give the tune a lighter feel, as suits a quickstep. But there's more than that, because often the first quarter note is too "heavy", giving the tune more of the feel of a march.
Boogie
The boogie rhythms are supposed to be 4/4 according to the dance manual, but anyone who listens to the tracks concerned can tell straight away that they are played 6/8. The signature of 6/8 marches is sometimes described as "rum-te-tum", and the same signature is evident in boogies. (The main difference from a 6/8 march is a feeling of bounce - maybe a boogie is a "6/8 polka"?)
There is a real confusion here, since the boogie rhythm is supposed to be something like a slowish jive ... so it seems it should be 4/4, as specified.
Samba
There are a lot of samba tunes around, only partly due to the rhythm's origins as a carnival dance. A samba is defined as 2/4, "off-strong", although that misses a major point.
I characterise the samba rhythm as "boom-chicka-boom-boom", which is my way of saying that the second beat of a samba measure is a melange of eighths and even sixteenths. This means that the beat affords the dancer / skater a lot of opportunity for expression.
A lot of popular dance music these days is 2/4, and a lot of composers have found the use of a more complex structure around the second note of a measure makes the music more "fun". The result - an "accidental samba". So who's complaining?
Rumba
The rumba is tradionally a wedding dance in latin countries, so is soft and romantic. The music is again 4/4, but is characterised by a strong third beat - "weak - off - strong - off". In the traditional ballroom rumba, the third beat involves a sliding step, with a swaying motion.
The "swaying" reference should draw attention to the relationship of the rumba and cha cha. The two dances are supposed to have grown from a common origin.
The rumba has been used for creative solo dance, but it seems wrong to me - it is supposed to be a romantic dance for a couple.
Charleston
The dance is of American negro origin, and became popular when a play in the early 1920's included a performance of it. The rhythm uses 4/4 measures, but they are rather odd ones.
The "charleston motif" is described as "pah-boom", with a long "pah" and a short "boom". In fact, the long "pah" is three linked quarter notes, and the "boom" is the single remaining one in a measure. That means that a four-beat measure sounds like two beats, and that charleston tempos are properly double - counted, at 200 to 260 bpm. Phew!
Apart from this, the charleston is a bright, lively dance executed with a lot of bounce and swing. Hand and arm movements are important too; you might know of the term "flappers", applied to the dancers who did the charleston in the 1920s. The term reflects the "flapping" arm movements in the dance.
Paso Doble
Translated from Spanish, this is "Two Step" ("Step Double" if you just translate the words). The name implies a march, and the paso doble is traditionally the march music of the bullfighter.
The dance is supposed to simulate a bullfight, the man being the bullfighter and his partner the bullfighter's cape - so the woman is swept around the floor in dramatic movements.
The paso doble rhythm can be either 2/4 or 6/8. The 2/4 versions are pretty much straight marches, with a spanish bullfight feel through the use of fanfare-style trumpets and the like. The 6/8's sound like "sharp waltzes", and are (in my opinion) more interesting - the slower measures allow more time for dramatic actions.
It is perhaps significant that the paso doble at the end of the movie Strictly Ballroom is 6/8. The unfortunate rider is that the 6/8 is not allowed for OSP's - but is has been so far for creative dance. Kieren Williams used the Strictly Ballroom paso to great effect when it was the rhythm for what is now Senior International (in 1999).
Jive
If it rocks, it's got to be a jive.
The formal definition is 4/4, first beat strong. But if that was all there was to it, it would be no different from a tango. The formal definition misses out the important point that the third beat is actually two eighths - counted "1 - 2 - 1 and 2 rest".
If that seems to read bit like a cha cha, you are right. The difference in the rhythms is the difference between "sway" and "bounce". Apart from some Latin cues, the cha cha rhythm should be smoother than the jive. A revealing point comes from my own experience adjusting music tempos - when a tune is slowed, its rhythm normally softens. I find that many jives, when slowed to 100 bpm, make great skating cha chas.
The book definition also states a quick tempo (e.g., 44 measures per minute - 176 bpm). While we can't quite use this tempo, you will find that the jive is the quickest rhythm we use.
by Peter Rye
Firstly, please note that these are the results of the author's own experiences, put down on "virtual paper" because interactions at the club showed a lot of misunderstanding of the basics of dance rhythms. There is a lot of subjectivity in the classification of rhythms, so one person's opinion is never more than a guide.
Terminology
Music notation is expressed in terms of quarter or eighth notes. The origins of what constitutes a "full note" in this sense is beyond my knowledge, but in simple (user-friendly) terms, a quarter note represents a "normal" beat of music.
Music is written in "bars" or "measures", each most often including four quarter notes. A tune is formed from many such measures, and these measures are generally formed into higher groups. For example, measures usually occur in pairs, and a melody often repeats on cycles of 12, 16 or 32 measures. (32 measures often corresponds to about one minute, which is very useful since it closely matches one circuit of the floor in creative dance - one of the "tricks of the trade" in music editing)
Within each measure, beats are described as "strong", "weak" and "off". "Strong" is the strongest beat of a measure - usually the first - "weak" is not actually weak, just the next strongest, and the "off" beats are weaker still, generally of similar strength.
When a measure of music includes four quarter-notes, this measure is denoted as having "4/4" time - the first "4" denoting the number of beats, the second the use of quarter notes in the count. The waltz rhythm is one of the few which have three beats per measure, so are denoted "3/4" (another is the polska, which is rare). A lot of marches, quicksteps, paso dobles and some polkas use 2/4 rhythm (basically tied to the fact that most of us have two feet, left-right-left-right ...)
Some paso dobles, marches and blues use a more complex rhythm, denoted "6/8". This is characterised by faster beats (the "8" indicates eighth notes, occurring at roughly twice the rate). In all these rhythms, the first beat is strong, two "off beats" follow, then the pattern repeats, with fourth beat being the "weak" one.
Given the pairing of measures in most tunes, it can be difficult to discriminate between two bars of 3/4 and one of 6/8, particularly given that the tempo of the quarter notes can vary from 60 to 180 per minute. I know of one case where a song was certified as 6/8 blues in one event of a recent national championships, and 3/4 waltz in another. The only way to resolve these issues is to refer to the original musical score - but even this can fail to resolve the issue; I've seen "The House of the Rising Sun" (unarguably blues) scored as 4/4 and 6/8!
Waltz
Waltzes are written in 3/4 time, with tempo ranging normally from 90 to 180 beats per minute ("bpm"). The slower end of this range corresponds to the "slow", or "English" waltz, while the upper end is used by the Vienna waltzes. Tempos in between are rare in ballroom dancing, but common in country and western music. Due to the limitations of what you can do on skates, we tend to operate in the mid-range of tempos.
Apart from the 6/8 blues - 3/4 waltz ambiguity, waltzes are easy to identify. If a count of 1 - 2 - 3 works (bold face for the strong beat), it's bound to be a waltz. (As I said, others like polskas are rare, and in any case don't have the strong-off-off structure of a waltz measure)
The waltz rhythm is typically soft and flowing (as is blues, so this doesn't help break ambiguities). If you hear a sharp 3/4-ish tune, check out whether it's really a 6/8 paso doble (see below).
Foxtrot
I have heard the foxtrot rhythm described as a "4/4 waltz". While there's no such thing, the statement does reflect the similar soft, flowing nature of the foxtrot rhythm.
The book definition of a foxtrot measure is strong-off-weak-off. The alternation of stronger and weaker notes give foxtrots a "2/4"-ish feel. However, I find that if I try counting out-of-phrase with the music (which I do by counting 1-2-3-4 1-2 1-2-3-4), the out-of-phrase count gives a feel of "counting uphill" ... if this doesn't make sense now, try it with any foxtrot and it probably will straight away.
The structure of the foxtrot measure gives foxtrot tunes a very natural, flowing feel, and that means that there are a lot of "accidental foxtrots" in popular music - where the composer just wanted a smooth rhythm.
If you hear a tune with this beat structure, but it doesn't sound "smooth", check out the possiblity that it is a tango or a 4/4 march (see below).
Polka
Polkas aren't particularly popular now, but they were all the rage a century or two ago. If you ever look at a CD of music by Johann Strauss, you will see that his waltzes are interspersed by several polkas. The rhythm is still well used in country and western circles - maybe the bouncy rhythm suits hayshed floors, where a smooth, flowing step might pick up more than the dancer intended.
The polka rhythm is described as 2/4 (strong-off) or 4/4 (strong-off-weak-off, like the foxtrot). Unlike the foxtrot, however, the score for a polka includes significant eighth notes placed evenly between the quarters, generally of higher pitch. These give the music its bounce, and are the main identifying feature of a polka.
Tango
The tango has an interesting and colourful history. The Arthur Murray web site says that it can be traced to the "Contradance" of England, and another site says that the music descended from the milongas (folk songs to a similar rhythm), sung by the gauchos of Argentina. A closely-related rhythm is that of the habanera, which came from Cuba. The dance itself does appear to have developed as a folk dance in Argentina, and experienced an explosion of popularity when the popular actor Rudolph Valentino performed it in an early silent movie.
The tango rhythm is generally defined as 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, and is often characterised as "ah-one, two, three, four", but that oversimplifies the issue. Some tangos have a double beat on 3, ("ah-one, two, and-three, four"), even a double beat on four ("ah-one, two, and-three, and-four"). Some of these sound quite "cha-cha"ish. (Jennifer Lopez' "Dance With Me" is supposed to be a tango, but is usually certified as a cha cha because it uses this structure)
The "classic tango" is performed to music from a small band, comprising a guitar, violin and bandoneon (like a large rectangular concentina) - although this rule is most often broken rather than obeyed. It requires close contact between the dance couple, and when performed by skilled dancers, it is truly the sexiest of all ballroom styles.
March
It is no great wisdom to point out that marches are intended to be marched to. That means they have a strong "left-right-left-right ..." feel, so 2/4 measures are the rule. But the rule is often broken, and 4/4's (strong-off-weak-off structure) are known.
Some marches use 6/8 timing. A search of march music sites on the web indicates that 2/4 and 4/4 marches are written with more "bounce", and are used for ceremonial marches. 6/8 marches are said to be more commonly intended for "beating the retreat" - march-off from parades, and orderly departures from battlefields.
There can be real ambiguities between the 2/4 march and 2/4 polka rhythms. The key identifier for me is the "bounce" of the polka; marches tend to have a "flatter" feel (maybe you're not supposed to bounce as you march?). Even then, if you look at the titles of the marches on a Skate Australia music CD, you might see one entitled "The Bandit Polka".
Blues
My basic feeling about blues music is that it's not a rhythm, it's a folk tradition. The skate dance manual says blues is 4/4, with a strong first beat, but that only encompasses part of the range.
Some blues is written in 6/8 timing - especially those with the slowest tempos. There is also a subset called "blues rumba", in which beat 3 of a measure is the strong beat. Some blues tunes are written in certifiable foxtrot rhythm. The point to bear in mind is that blues is American negro folk music, much of it being passed down by verbal traditions from anonymous sources. It is very unlikely that the "anonymous sources" had any thought for the formal structure of the measures they used when the first sang their songs.
Cha Cha
The cha cha is perhaps the most "sophisticated" of the latin dances - lacking the exuberance of the samba and mambo, sharper and more expressive than the rumba. One of the more popular cha cha songs is called "Sway", and that just about sums it up.
The rhythm is 4/4, first beat strong - but the essential character is the cha cha is created by one additional eighth note, between beats 3 and 4, giving the music the feel 1 - 2 - 123 rest. Note the "rest", when the music and the dancer / skater pauses.
Schottische
NOTE: This rhythm represents a particular "hobby-horse" of the author's - as will soon become apparent ...
Neither the dance manual nor even the Oxford Companion To Music have anything substantial to say about the schottische rhythm. The dance manual does, however, say that the Highland Schottische is to be skated to a 4/4 schottische, and (very oddly) that the Quickstep is to be skated to a 2/4 schottische.
The Oxford Companion To Music says that the schottische rhythm is like a polka, but slower, and written in 2/4 time. I have done a lot of hunting for schottisches, and yes, most are a bit like a polka, and most are at under 100 bpm. But ALL are 4/4 (so much for the OCP as a reference!).
More importantly, the schottische is a dance. In keeping with the usual perverse sense of such things, it is of German (not Scottish) origin. Originally a folk dance, it is also used as a line dance. And, to maintain the confusion, one site points out the the Highland Schottische dance is to be executed to a strathspey rhythm.
The folk dance is said to be characterised by "three hopping steps, and a clapping of hands". OK, that makes sense: four beats - three for the hops, one for the clap.
The line dance descriptions vary a little, but have some similarities - e.g., three hop-chassis steps, then a kick. OK again - three plus one equals four.
Now listening over the folk schottisches, I can hear the 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 structure implied by these, not in all the measures but in many. Now looking back over the details of the dance descriptions, I see the first step sequences use the 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 measures, later ones (with circular steps, and the like) use the "flatter" measures.
So, as best I can make out, the schottische rhythm is identified by measures of form "strong-off-off-weak".
Now, listening to all the stuff (a fairly complimentary term for the "schottische" music we have had dished up to us) on the Skate Australia CD set, the older tracks are actually all foxtrot. I have found a few skatable true schottisches, and the schottishes on Skate Australia CD 9 are a big improvement too.
Quickstep
The OCP describes the quickstep rhythm as a "lively march". That's not bad as two-word summaries go - definitely 2/4, definitely lively ... something like a quick, light polka.
A ballroom quickstep is an exciting dance to watch; the dancers seem to be skipping across the floor, forgetting that they are both under the influence of gravity. The skating quickstep has some of this feel, particularly the corner sequence with the quick cross-cross - chassis leading into the progressive run of the starting steps.
When I am trying to decide whether a tune is quickstep, I listen for a motif that sounds to me like "boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom"; that is, a doubled eighth between the quarter notes. This tends to give the tune a lighter feel, as suits a quickstep. But there's more than that, because often the first quarter note is too "heavy", giving the tune more of the feel of a march.
Boogie
The boogie rhythms are supposed to be 4/4 according to the dance manual, but anyone who listens to the tracks concerned can tell straight away that they are played 6/8. The signature of 6/8 marches is sometimes described as "rum-te-tum", and the same signature is evident in boogies. (The main difference from a 6/8 march is a feeling of bounce - maybe a boogie is a "6/8 polka"?)
There is a real confusion here, since the boogie rhythm is supposed to be something like a slowish jive ... so it seems it should be 4/4, as specified.
Samba
There are a lot of samba tunes around, only partly due to the rhythm's origins as a carnival dance. A samba is defined as 2/4, "off-strong", although that misses a major point.
I characterise the samba rhythm as "boom-chicka-boom-boom", which is my way of saying that the second beat of a samba measure is a melange of eighths and even sixteenths. This means that the beat affords the dancer / skater a lot of opportunity for expression.
A lot of popular dance music these days is 2/4, and a lot of composers have found the use of a more complex structure around the second note of a measure makes the music more "fun". The result - an "accidental samba". So who's complaining?
Rumba
The rumba is tradionally a wedding dance in latin countries, so is soft and romantic. The music is again 4/4, but is characterised by a strong third beat - "weak - off - strong - off". In the traditional ballroom rumba, the third beat involves a sliding step, with a swaying motion.
The "swaying" reference should draw attention to the relationship of the rumba and cha cha. The two dances are supposed to have grown from a common origin.
The rumba has been used for creative solo dance, but it seems wrong to me - it is supposed to be a romantic dance for a couple.
Charleston
The dance is of American negro origin, and became popular when a play in the early 1920's included a performance of it. The rhythm uses 4/4 measures, but they are rather odd ones.
The "charleston motif" is described as "pah-boom", with a long "pah" and a short "boom". In fact, the long "pah" is three linked quarter notes, and the "boom" is the single remaining one in a measure. That means that a four-beat measure sounds like two beats, and that charleston tempos are properly double - counted, at 200 to 260 bpm. Phew!
Apart from this, the charleston is a bright, lively dance executed with a lot of bounce and swing. Hand and arm movements are important too; you might know of the term "flappers", applied to the dancers who did the charleston in the 1920s. The term reflects the "flapping" arm movements in the dance.
Paso Doble
Translated from Spanish, this is "Two Step" ("Step Double" if you just translate the words). The name implies a march, and the paso doble is traditionally the march music of the bullfighter.
The dance is supposed to simulate a bullfight, the man being the bullfighter and his partner the bullfighter's cape - so the woman is swept around the floor in dramatic movements.
The paso doble rhythm can be either 2/4 or 6/8. The 2/4 versions are pretty much straight marches, with a spanish bullfight feel through the use of fanfare-style trumpets and the like. The 6/8's sound like "sharp waltzes", and are (in my opinion) more interesting - the slower measures allow more time for dramatic actions.
It is perhaps significant that the paso doble at the end of the movie Strictly Ballroom is 6/8. The unfortunate rider is that the 6/8 is not allowed for OSP's - but is has been so far for creative dance. Kieren Williams used the Strictly Ballroom paso to great effect when it was the rhythm for what is now Senior International (in 1999).
Jive
If it rocks, it's got to be a jive.
The formal definition is 4/4, first beat strong. But if that was all there was to it, it would be no different from a tango. The formal definition misses out the important point that the third beat is actually two eighths - counted "1 - 2 - 1 and 2 rest".
If that seems to read bit like a cha cha, you are right. The difference in the rhythms is the difference between "sway" and "bounce". Apart from some Latin cues, the cha cha rhythm should be smoother than the jive. A revealing point comes from my own experience adjusting music tempos - when a tune is slowed, its rhythm normally softens. I find that many jives, when slowed to 100 bpm, make great skating cha chas.
The book definition also states a quick tempo (e.g., 44 measures per minute - 176 bpm). While we can't quite use this tempo, you will find that the jive is the quickest rhythm we use.