BALLROOM DANCING

 

 

BALLROOM DANCING

 

 

This is one of the  most exciting articles for me to blog about since I spent 25 years dancing and 4 years teaching dance!  However my form of dance was quite different from Ballroom Dancing. I danced Tap, Jazz, Ballet and loved every minute of it.  There is not one day that goes by and I don’t wish that I was there again.  It was such a wonderful experience for me growing up and I have memories that will last a lifetime.  Even though Ballroom Dancing is different from what I did, any form of dance is still fun exhilarating and such a beautiful show of emotion and expression of who you are. So let’s gets started on what Ballroom Dancing is all about!

Ballroom Dancing is when a couple performs any of the various social dances that follow a pattern of predictable steps.  Ballroom Dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the globe.  Its performance and entertainment aspects are also widely enjoyed on stage, in film, and on television. Some examples of these dances are the tango, waltz, fox trot and quick step.  It has an immensely amplified popularity spreading across Europe, the Americas and Asia.  Ballroom Dancing has a relatively short but interesting history and has evolved from a recreational activity to a worldwide sporting event.  All ballroom dances, as with all forms of dance, are expressions of feeling, thoughts and emotions.  These dances may be stricter than other forms of dance and may limit the range of steps and body movement involved, but it is still one of the best expressions of love, joy and pain between two people.  What a great thing to do with your fiancé, you will rest assured that it will improve your relationship! 

All ballroom dances are performed by only two people, usually a man and a woman.  These dances are performed in a certain position termed as the “Closed Hold”.  In this position, the couple strictly remains in contact in five different points or places.  These five points consists of three hand contacts, one elbow contact and one chest contact. What a great excuse to get close to your man girls!

A little history for you, the term “ballroom dancing” is derived from the word ball, which in turn originates from the Latin word ballare which means “to dance”.  In times past, ballroom dancing was “social dancing” for the privileged, leaving “folk dancing” for the lower classes.  These boundaries have since become blurred, and it should be noted even in times long gone, many “ballroom” dances were really elevated folk dances.  But you will all feel privileged if you spend time ballroom dancing.  The definition of ballroom dance also depends on the era.  Balls have featured Minuet, Quadrille, Polonaise, Pas de Gras, Mazurka, and other popular dances of the day, which are considered to be historical dances.  Today, the term applies to any one of the several dances in which two individuals, a “leader” and a “follower,” dance with physical contact through their upper or lower bodies, or simply their arms depending on the particular variety of dance.  Since most social dancing is unchoreographed, this contact is necessary for the leader to communicate the next dance move to the follower, and for the follower to respond to this insinuation.  As most ballroom style dances require some knowledge and practice, as any dancing would, they have lessened in popularity among the public in the recent decades.  Dance historians usually mark the appearance of the twist in the early 1960s as the end of social partner dancing. 

Well that was until competitive dancing evolved and now look where we are with Dancing with the Stars!  In spite of its historical image as a pastime for the privileged; formal competitions, sometimes referred to as DanceSport, often allow participation by less advanced dancers at various proficiency levels.  Ballroom dance competitions take place worldwide at different levels.  The International Olympic Committee now recognizes competitive ballroom dance.  It now appears doubtful that it will be included in the Olympic Games especially in light of efforts to reduce the number of offerings, but the application has not been permanently rejected.  Keep your fingers crossed folks!

There are several styles of Ballroom dance and they are as follows:

 

INTERNATIONAL STYLE

            International Standard

            Slow Waltz – Tango – Viennese Waltz – Slow Foxtrot – Quickstep

             

            International Latin

            Cha Cha – Samba – Rumba – Paso Doble – Jive

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ngz4hPC328

AMERICAN STYLE

            American Smooth 

            Waltz – Tango – Foxtrot – Viennese Waltz

 

            American Rhythm

            Cha Cha – Rumba – East Coast Swing – Bolero – Mambo

 

HISTORICAL/VINTAGE DANCE

            Waltz – Polka – Schottische – Tango – One-Step – Foxtrot – Peabody

                                                                                                     

OTHER DANCES OCCASIONALLY CATEGORIZED AS BALLROOM

            Nightclub

            Nightclub Two-step – Hustle – Modern Jive / LeRoc / Ceroc – and the whole swing variety: West Coast Swing / East Coast Swing / Linday Hop / Carolina Shag / Collegiate Shag

 

            Latin Nightclub

            Salsa – Merengue – Cumbia – Bachata – Cha Cha

 

            Brazilian Dances

            Forro` – Pagode – Samba de Gafieira – Lambada

 

            Country/Western

            Polka – Cha-cha –cha – Two-step – Waltz

               

            Cajun Dances

            Cajun One Step or Cajun Jig – Cajun Two Step – Zydeco – Cajun Waltz – Cajun Jitterbug

                          

            Musette Dances

            Java, musette-waltz, musette-tango, musette-paso-doble

 

            Other

            Argentine tango

 

 Which styles of ballroom dance appeal to me? Well all of them but if I had to choose then I would chose the Waltz, Cha- Cha- Cha and the Quickstep.  The waltz is a colorful flowing ball gown, beautiful music, strong melodies!  The word Waltz is from the old German work walzen to roll, turn, or to glide.  The waltz is a ballroom dance in ¾ time with strong accent on the first beat and a basic pattern of step-step-close.  When you waltz you move or glide in a lively or conspicuous manner very easily and successfully.  The first time the waltz was danced in the United States was in Boston in 1834, Wow!

The Cha-cha-cha is the name of a Latin American dance of Cuban origin.  It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by Cuban somposer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in 1953.  This rhythm was developed from the danzon by a syncopation of the fourth beat.  The name is onomatopoeic, derived from the rhythm of the guiro (scraper) and the shuffling of the dancers’ feet.  It may be either danced to authentic Cuban music, or Latin Pop or Latin Rock.  The music for the International ballroom cha-cha-cha is energetic and with a steady beat.  The Cuban cha-cha-cha is more sendual and may involve complex polyrhythms.  And lastly the Quickstep, a fast paced dance.  It is an International Style ballroom dance that follows a 2/4 or 4/4 time beat, similar to a fast Foxtrot.  An example of a song suitable for the classic quickstep would be Louis Prima’s “Sing, Sing, Sing”,  one of my favorites.  The Quickstep evolved in the 1920s from a combination of the Foxtrot, Charleston, Shag, Peabody, and One Step.  The dance is English in origin, and was standardized in 1927.  The dance has many advanced patterns including hops, runs, quick steps with a lot of momentum, and rotation.  The tempo of Quickstep dance is rather brisk as it was developed to ragtime era jazz music which is fastpaced when compared to other dance music.  It is elegant like the Foxtrot, and should be smooth and glamorous.  The dancers should appear to be very light on their feet.  It is very energetic and form-intensive.

  So what do you all think? Are you ready to try it?  Do you think that your fiancé’s would take some lessons with you? I know that mine would he loves to dance, and if there is something out there that he does not know how to do he will want to learn it, THAT’S HIM, (mister “if I don’t know that, then I have to learn it!”)  So those three would be my favorite picks for Ballroom dancing.  However I have a passion for Tap and I would love to try Clogging.  It is something that I have always wanted to do. Well one of these days I will!           

                                                             HAPPY DANCING EVERYONE!