mod·ern dance

noun
1. a free, expressive style of dancing started in the early 20th century as a reaction to
classical ballet. In recent years it has included elements not usually associated with
dance, such as speech and film.

Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance, primarily arising out of
Germany and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Modern dance is often considered to have emerged as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical
ballet. Socioeconomic and cultural factors also contributed to its development. In the late 19th
century, dance artists such as Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan, and Loie Fuller were pioneering new
forms and practices in what is now called aesthetic or free dance for performance. These dancers
disregarded ballet's strict movement vocabulary, the particular, limited set of movements that were
considered proper to ballet, and stopped wearing corsets and pointe shoes in the search for greater
freedom of movement.
Throughout the 20th century, sociopolitical concerns, major historical events, and the development
of other art forms contributed to the continued development of modernist dance in the United States
and Germany. Moving into the 1960s, new ideas about dance began to emerge, as a response to
earlier dance forms and to social changes. Eventually, postmodern dance artists would reject the
formalism of modern dance, and include elements such as performance art, contact
improvisation, release technique, and improvisation.[1]
American modern dance can be divided (roughly) into three periods or eras. In the Early Modern
period (c. 1880–1923), characterized by the work of Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St.
Denis, Ted Shawn, and Eleanor King, artistic practice changed radically, but clearly distinct modern
dance techniques had not yet emerged. In the Central Modern period (c. 1923–1946),
choreographers Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Katherine Dunham, Charles Weidman,
and Lester Horton sought to develop distinctively American movement styles and vocabularies, and
developed clearly defined and recognizable dance training systems. In the Late Modern period
(c. 1946–1957), José Limón, Pearl Primus, Merce Cunningham, Talley Beatty, Erick Hawkins, Anna
Sokolow, Anna Halprin, Paul Taylor introduced clear abstractionism and avant-garde movements,
and paved the way for postmodern dance.[2]
Modern dance has evolved with each subsequent generation of participating artists. Artistic content
has morphed and shifted from one choreographer to another, as have styles and techniques. Artists
such as Graham and Horton developed techniques in the Central Modern Period that are still taught
worldwide, and numerous other types of modern dance exist today.

CHARACTERISTIC

Born in the early 20th century, modern dance is a dance style that focuses on
a dancer's own interpretations instead of structured steps, as in traditional
ballet dancing. Modern dancers reject the limitations of classical ballet and
favor movements derived from the expression of their inner feelings.
During the 1900's, European dancers began rebelling against the rigid rules of
classical ballet. Turning against the structured techniques, costumes, and
shoes of ballet, these dancers favored a more relaxed, freestyle form of
dancing. For example, modern dance pioneers often danced in bare feet and
revealing costumes. In the United States, several dance pioneers paved the
way for American modern dance, including the legendary Martha Graham.
BASIC
Contemporary

This style of dance incorporates lyrical, modern, ballet and jazz. Contemporary dance is
all about connecting the mind and the body through dance movements. It is typically
done barefoot and there is a heavy emphasis on strong controlled legwork. This style
often allows the dancer creative freedom, and can be danced to a variety of different
music.

Ballet

Ballet is often referred to as the backbone of dance. The fundamentals used in ballet
are often used throughout all other styles of dance as well. There are three main
classifications: classical ballet, neoclassical ballet and contemporary ballet. This style of
dance is used to tell a story. It relies heavily on technique and requires an enormous
about of diligence and dedication to perfect. Ballet is typically danced to classical music
and is done wearing slippers or pointe shoes.

Jazz

This type of dance is very fun and energetic. It is typically paired with upbeat music
such as hip-hop or show tunes to add a theatrical flare. Jazz dancers often have more
freedom to express their own individual personality through their dance performances.
These dances usually have quick footsteps, lots of leaps and turns and unique moves.

Tap

Tap dance is probably best known for the type of shoes the dancers wear. Tap dancers
wear special shoes with metal taps on the soles that allows them to create their own
drum like rhythmic patterns and sound while they dance. Although a majority of the
focus in this dance is on the feet, jazz dancers use their upper bodies and arms a lot to
blend the movements of their routine.

Hip-hop

Hip-hop is a style of dance that evolved from hip-hop culture and is typically danced to
of course, hip hop music. Breakdancing is the most well known type of hip-hop dance,
but other styles include krumping, popping and locking. This style of dance is probably
the most different from the other forms. It is generally very energetic and allows the
dancer to have freedom of movement within the routine and incorporate their
personalities.
Ballroom

Ballroom dances are done with a partner, almost always a man and a woman. For this
reason, it is known as the social dance, because of the interaction between the two
dance partners. There are several popular types of ballroom dances including the Cha
Cha, foxtrot, jive, lindy hop, mambo, paso doble, quickstep, rumba, samba, tango,
Vietnamese waltz, and the waltz.

Health benefits of dancing

Dancing can be a way to stay fit for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. It has a wide range of
physical and mental benefits including:
 improved condition of your heart and lungs
 increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness
 increased aerobic fitness
 improved muscle tone and strength
 weight management
 stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis
 better coordination, agility and flexibility
 improved balance and spatial awareness
 increased physical confidence
 improved mental functioning
 improved general and psychological wellbeing
 greater self-confidence and self-esteem
 better social skills.

Jazz dance is an umbrella term that can refer to several related dance styles. All of
them are connected via common roots, namely tap, ballet, jazz music, and African-
American rhythms and dance.

History

Jazz dance originated from the African American vernacular dance of the
late 1800s to the mid-1900s. An early popular "jazz dancer" was vaudeville star Joe
Frisco in the 1910s. He danced in a loose-limbed style close to the ground while
juggling his derby, hat and cigar.
Until the middle of 1950s, the term "jazz dance" often referred to tap dance, because
tap dancing (set to jazz music) was the main performance dance of the era. During the
later jazz age, popular forms of jazz dance were the Cakewalk, Black Bottom,
Charleston, Jitterbug, Boogie Woogie, Swing dancing and the related Lindy Hop.
After the 1950, pioneers such as Katherine Dunham took the essence of Caribbean
traditional dance and made it into a performing art. With the growing domination of
other forms of entertainment music, jazz dance evolved on Broadway into a new,
smooth style taught today and known as Modern Jazz, while tap dance continued to
evolve on its own. The performance style was popularized by Bob Fosse’s work,
such as Chicago, Cabaret, Damn Yankees, and The Pajama Game.
Today, jazz dance is present in many different venues and different forms. Jazz dance
thrives in dance schools and remains an essential part of musical theater
choreography; it is sometimes interwoven with other dance styles as appropriate for
the particular show. Jazz dancing can be seen in some music videos, and even a
number of Las Vegas showgirls are jazz dancers. Jazz Dance can also be seen on the
hit show, "So You Think You Can Dance", and is performed by dance companies
around the world.

Some identifying elements of jazz dance include:

 Isolations: a dancer isolates one specific part of her body, such as her rib cage
or wrist
 Grounded movement: dancers keep a low center of gravity, and often bend
their knees
 Syncopation: accenting an offbeat or note of the musical accompaniment that
surprises the audience
 Contractions: motivated by her breath, a dancer will make a C-shape with her
core
 Sensuality: there is a sexiness in jazz dance that is lacking in more traditional
styles

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF JAZZ DANCE?

Jazz dance has been a huge hit all over the world for decades. This form of dancing
originally found its roots in African American culture, with influences of Caribbean
traditional dance introduced after the 50s. There are unique benefits of jazz dance as a
form of exercise, artistic expression, and stress relief.
Jazz dance is a fast-paced form of dancing that engages participants’ stamina, balance,
and focus. There are often complex moves, twists, and sequences that push a dancer’s
physical and mental boundaries. So, what are the benefits of jazz dance? Here are
several fun benefits of jazz dance:

The first benefit of jazz dance is that it provides an incredible cardio workout. The

quick-paced moves require maximum

physical effort and the sequences can last for several minutes, meaning that you are
engaged for large chunks of time. That much cardio is sure to get your heart racing and
release endorphins that come after good physical exercise.

The second benefit of jazz dance is that it challenges your body physically. All of
that cardio exercise is really going to push the limits of how much stamina you have, and
ultimately your ability to do longer and more intense sequences will improve. Like other
cardio workouts, jazz dancing is going to release those “feel-good” hormones called
endorphins that will leave you happy and stress-free.

The third benefit of jazz dance is that it pushes the boundaries of muscle
memory. Your brain will also have to really challenge itself to perform each minute
movement the dancing requires for each sequence. While your body is working hard to
keep up with the fast paced dancing, your mind will also be exerting itself to commit the
moves to memory. All of the focus required to perform each movement will leave no room
in your mind for other worries. Because of that, jazz dance is a great way to relieve stress
and focus your thoughts.

Jazz dancing can be an intense and fun way to workout, challenge your limits, and relieve
stress. For more than 60 years it has been a favorite past time and it will continue to be.
A street dance is a dance style that evolved outside dance studios in any available open space
such as streets, dance parties, block parties, parks, school yards, raves, and nightclubs. A street
dance is a vernacular dance in an urban context.[1] Vernacular dances are
often improvisational and social in nature, encouraging interaction and contact with spectators and
other dancers. These dances are a part of the vernacular culture of the geographical area that they
come from. Examples of street dance include b-boying (or breakdancing), which originated in New
York City.[2]
Clogging is a very early form of street dance, since it evolved in the streets and factories of Northern
England in the mid-19th century.[3]
Various street dances have lent themselves to the style of urban dance, which arose from the
collegiate dance scene. Urban dance is choreography-oriented but is inspired by different street
dance styles and fundamental moves, such as house, locking, and popping. Urban dance should not
be mistaken with hip hop, which is the culture and art movement that began in the Bronx in New
York City during the late 1970s.

Sinulog Festival
 Location: Cebu City
 Dates: January 20

A woman during the Sinulog Festival (photo by George Parrilla)

Every third Sunday of January, Cebu City celebrates Santo Niño with Sinulog
Festival. During the highlight of the festival, the streets are filled with
energetic street dancers performing the traditional Sinulog dance wearing an
intricate and colorful costume.

Kadayawan Festival
 Location: Davao City
 Dates: August 10-19

Kadayawan Street Dancers

Kadayawan takes place in Davao and is a celebrated during the month of

August with various events including ethnic dance demonstrations and
competitions as well as a trade fair and exhibit. It’s a harvest celebration
and is one of the most cheerful festivals in the Philippines.

Pahiyas Festival
 Location: Lucban, Quezon
 Dates: May 15
Lucban Pahiyas Festival

On May 15 every year, Lucban in Quezon celebrates Pahiyas Festival in

honor of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. Fresh fruits and
vegetables are set out on houses and buildings as decorations. The
decorations are judged and the best is given awards and prizes.

Definitions and history[edit]

Galliard in Siena, Italy, 15th century

The term 'ballroom dancing' is derived from the word ball which in turn originates from the Latin
word ballare which means 'to dance' (a ball-room being a large room specially designed for such
dances). In times past, ballroom dancing was social dancing for the privileged, leaving folk
dancing for the lower classes. These boundaries have since become blurred. The definition of
ballroom dance also depends on the era: balls have featured popular dances of the day such as
the Minuet, Quadrille, Polonaise, Polka, Mazurka, and others, which are now considered to
be historical dances.
Early modern period[edit]
The first authoritative knowledge of the earliest ballroom dances was recorded toward the end of the
16th century, when Jehan Tabourot, under the pen name "Thoinot-Arbeau", published in 1588
his Orchésographie, a study of late 16th-century French renaissance social dance. Among the
dances described were the solemn basse danse, the livelier branle, pavane, and
the galliarde which Shakespeare called the "cinq pace" as it was made of five steps.[3]
In 1650 the Minuet, originally a peasant dance of Poitou, was introduced into Paris and set to music
by Jean-Baptiste Lully and danced by the King Louis XIV in public. The Minuet dominated the
ballroom from that time until the close of the 18th century.
Toward the later half of the 16th century, Louis XIV founded his 'Académie Royale de Musique et de
Danse', where specific rules for the execution of every dance and the "five positions" of the feet were
formulated for the first time by members of the Académie. Eventually, the first definite cleavage
between ballet and ballroom came when professional dancers appeared in the ballets, and the
ballets left the Court and went to the stage. Ballet technique such as the turned out positions of the
feet, however, lingered for over two centuries and past the end of the Victoria era.[3]

19th century[edit]

Vernon and Irene Castle, early ballroom dance pioneers, c. 1910–18

The waltz with its modern hold took root in England in about 1812; in 1819 Carl Maria von
Weber wrote Invitation to the Dance, which marked the adoption of the waltz form into the sphere of
absolute music. The dance was initially met with tremendous opposition due to the semblance of
impropriety associated with the closed hold, though the stance gradually softened.[3] In the 1840s
several new dances made their appearance in the ballroom, including the polka, mazurka, and
the Schottische. In the meantime a strong tendency emerged to drop all 'decorative' steps such
as entrechats and ronds de jambes that had found a place in the Quadrilles and other dances.

Early 20th century[edit]

Modern ballroom dance has its roots early in the 20th century, when several different things
happened more or less at the same time. The first was a movement away from the sequence
dances towards dances where the couples moved independently. This had been pre-figured by the
waltz, which had already made this transition. The second was a wave of popular music, such
as jazz. Since dance is to a large extent tied to music, this led to a burst of newly invented dances.
There were many dance crazes in the period 1910–1930.
The third event was a concerted effort to transform some of the dance crazes into dances which
could be taught to a wider dance public in the U.S. and Europe. Here Vernon and Irene Castle were
important, and so was a generation of English dancers in the 1920s, including Josephine
Bradley and Victor Silvester. These professionals analysed, codified, published, and taught a
number of standard dances. It was essential, if popular dance was to flourish, for dancers to have
some basic movements they could confidently perform with any partner they might meet. Here the
huge Arthur Murray organisation in America, and the dance societies in England, such as
the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, were highly influential. Finally, much of this happened
during and after a period of World War, and the effect of such a conflict in dissolving older social
customs was considerable.[1][4]
Later, in the 1930s, the on-screen dance pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers influenced all
forms of dance in the U.S. and elsewhere. Although both actors had separate careers, their filmed
dance sequences together, which included portrayals of the Castles, have reached iconic
status.[5] Much of Astaire and Rogers' work portrayed social dancing, although the performances
were highly choreographed (often by Astaire or Hermes Pan) and meticulously staged and
rehearsed.[6]

ESSENTIAL TIPS ON CHOOSING YOUR

BALLROOM DANCE COSTUME

IN BALLROOM DANCING, THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT ASPECTS THAT SHOULD BE PAID ATTENTION UPON.
THOSE ARE RHYTHM, TECHNIQUE AND COSTUMES. THE FIRST TWO ARE PRETTY OBVIOUS BUT THE LATTER
MIGHT SOUND INTRIGUING TO MOST OF YOU. YES, BALLROOM GOWNS AND DRESSES DO PLAY AN
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE LAND OF THIS DANCE.
BALLROOM DANCING HAS ALREADY BEEN AROUND FOR A FEW CENTURIES. IT’S A CLASSICAL FORM OF
DANCING WHICH IS TRULY TIMELESS UNLIKE HIP HOP AND SUCH WHICH HAS JUST BEEN EXISTING FOR A
LITTLE WHILE. THERE ARE A WHOLE LOT OF VARIATIONS OF BALLROOM DANCING BUT ALL OF THEM ARE
BOUND TO BE PERFORMED FOR SOCIAL AND COMPETITIVE REASONS.

FROM THE 16TH CENTURY UP UNTIL THIS ERA, BALLROOM HAS WIDELY EVOLVED AND IS STILL EAGER TO
OFFER THE WORLD WITH AN INTERESTING CRAFT OF ART.
AS WE TAKE A SIGHT ON THE PAST, BALLROOM DANCING WAS EXECUTED MORE FOR SOCIAL REASONS
RATHER THAN COMPETITIVE REASONS. HOWEVER, AS OF THE MODERN DAY, IT WORKS THE OTHER WAY
AROUND.
COMPETITIVE BALLROOM DANCING RANGES FROM AMATEUR TO PROFESSIONAL SECTIONS. OFTENTIMES,
FOR A DEEPER TERMINOLOGY, THIS TYPE OF BALLROOM DANCING CAN BE REFERRED AS DANCESPORT.
WHY ARE COSTUMES CRUCIAL IN BALLROOM DANCING?
APART FROM TECHNIQUE AND RHYTHM, COSTUMES SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN
PERFORMING A BALLROOM DANCE NUMBER. GREAT TECHNIQUES AND IMPECCABLE RHYTHM WOULD
APPEAR TRASHY IF MATCHED WITH A CRAPPY COSTUME.

YOU PAY MASSIVE TIME AND EFFORT TO MASTER EVERY DANCE STEP; IT IS A DEFINITE MUST TO DO JUST
THE SAME FOR YOUR BALLROOM DANCE COSTUMES. YOU CAN NEVER PERFORM CHA-CHA,
RUMBA, TANGO, AND SUCH WITH GRACE BY HAVING A TOTALLY AWFUL OUTFIT.
BALLROOM OUTFITS ARE NOT JUST CHOSEN BASED ON AESTHETIC PURPOSES. CHOOSING THE IDEAL
COSTUME REQUIRES STRATEGIC THINKING TOO. YOU SHALL NOT PICK A COSTUME JUST BECAUSE IT
LOOKS GOOD. THERE ARE IMPORTANT THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND WHILE DECIDING ON WHICH BALLROOM
OUTFIT IS PERFECT FOR YOU AND YOUR SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE.

WHAT ARE THE FUNDAMENTALS IN A BALLROOM DANCE OUTFIT?

PROFESSIONAL AS WELL AS AMATEUR BALLROOM DANCERS MUST KNOW THE PROPER ATTIRE WHEN
DANCING. ONLY THEN CAN ONE BE OFFICIALLY CALLED A “BALLROOM DANCE PERFORMER”. FROM
DANCING CLASSES, TO REHEARSALS, UP UNTIL THE FINAL PERFORMANCE, YOU HAVE TO WEAR THE RIGHT
KIND OF OUTFIT BEFORE YOU BOAST YOUR BALLROOM MOVES.
FOR THE STANDARD BALLROOM DANCE ATTIRE, NOTHING MUCH IS STRICTER THAN THE BALLROOM SHOE
WEAR. MEN SHOULD BE WEARING BALLROOM SHOES WHICH SOMEHOW LOOK LIKE A TYPICAL PAIR OF
DRESS SHOES. AN INCH HEEL IS SUGGESTED FOR MEN’S BALLROOM SHOES TOO. ON THE OTHER HAND,
WOMEN SHOULD BE KEEPING THEIR FEET ON A COMFY PAIR OF COURT SHOES OR AN OPEN TOE SANDAL.
COURT SHOES RESEMBLE A CLOSED TOE PUMP WITH AROUND TWO-INCH TO THREE-INCH HEELS. BASIC
BALLROOM SHOES ARE NOT EXPENSIVE AS LONG AS THEY ARE MADE IN A CONVENTIONAL MANNER.

AS FOR THE OUTFITS, WOMEN’S OUTFIT VARIES MORE THAN MEN’S OUTFIT. AS YOU WOULD NOTICE, MALE
BALLROOM DANCERS’ OUTFITS DON’T SEEM AS FANCY AS THEIR PARTNERS’. HOWEVER, THAT DOESN’T
IMPLY THAT MEN SHOULDN’T PROPERLY PICK THE OUTFIT THEY WOULD WEAR. A DRESS SHIRT, OR EVEN A
BASIC SHIRT, AND A DRESS PANTS WOULD WORK JUST FINE FOR MEN.
FOR WOMEN, LONG FLOWING SKIRTS ARE RECOMMENDED. ANY OTHER TYPE OF SKIRT CAN RESTRICT
WOMEN FROM DANCING COMFORTABLY.
WEARING THE APPROPRIATE SET OF ATTIRE IS NOT ALL ABOUT KEEPING THE STYLISHNESS IN DANCING.
IT’S MORE ABOUT STAYING COMFY, MOVING WITH EASE AND PREVENTING INJURIES.
THOSE ARE JUST THE BASICS YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE SHOPPING FOR YOUR BALLROOM DANCE
COSTUME. A LOT OF AESTHETIC FACTORS SHOULD BE IMPLIED WHILE CHOOSING THE PERFECT ATTIRE.
ALL THE GLITTERS, SEQUINS AND SUCH SHOULD HIGHLY AFFECT YOUR DECISION.

The Super 7 Tips On Ballroom

In DanceSport, seemingly small things make a world of difference in how you
look and how you feel when dancing. Perfect technique is a life long journey.
Whatever path you take on that journey, these super 7 essential tips on
Ballroom will help you along the way.

1. Make stable and clean looking moves by controlling the

path of your legs
 Track your feet under your body, brush your thighs, however you want to say it,
save ronde moves for true rondes in choreography, and never compromise your
look or balance with a wayward leg.

2. Take large steps by not stepping

 Bend your knees low and forward before you move.
 Think of sliding instead of stepping, and travelling by moving your hips and torso
across the floor, which will keep your legs moving in time with your body and not
before.
 In heel leads, delay lifting your heel for as long as you can and you will look more
powerful without looking like it is an effort.
3. Keep your swing dances smooth by keeping your feet
on the ground
 Keep both feet in contact with the floor at all times for continuous elegant
movement. This will reduce clunks and jerks, and will make a world of difference
how refined your dancing appears.

4. Maintain poise and posture by straightening the natural

curves of your spine, which will then elongate you
 Keep your belly button pulled in, your hips up not pushed back, your shoulder
blades down, and chest down, collected and flat, not puffed out.
 Add a firm core and you are good to go.

5. Hold your partner, rather than simply attaching yourself

 In typical holds and hugs, your arms are in a rounded position to extend around
another person.
 Continue to think “round” in your ballroom hold, and never squeeze, pull or push.
 Always keep your arms in front of you.
 Your elbows should be strong and in a static position relative to your arms.
 This will keep your connection more stable and your partner much happier.

6. Side leads will help you glide

 Objects that are designed to move well and maneuver quickly are designed to be
aerodynamic, not boxy or flat.
 Think of making yourself more aerodynamic on the floor as well. With this in mind,
moving with a side lead will be your only realistic option.

7. The followers’ stretch truly is a stretch, not a bend

 Shoulders are down, sides are elongated and only the top of the spine is
extended back.
 This extension is amplified to a beautiful stretch by keeping your neck long,
straight and positioned over your left arm, and your nose positioned in line with
your left elbow.
 It is such a beautiful position, you will want to be able to do it for a lifetime. By
doing it correctly, you will do it safely, and will show this beautiful line for a long
time to come.
10 Basic Ballroom Dance Positions

One-Hand Hold Position

In the one-hand hold, only one hand is held, hence the name.

Begin in the open facing position (facing your partner within arm’s reach). To enter the one-hand hold
position, grasp your partner’s hand and leave the other hand relaxed at your side.

Two-Hand Hold

Regardless of dancers' gender, ballroom couples have a designated dominant/leading and

subordinate/following partner. Traditionally, a male partner leads and a female partner follows.

In the two-hand hold position, both hands are held. Partners should stand apart, facing one another.
The male partner holds the female partner's hands, while the female partner places her hands in the
male partner's grasp.

Closed Position

The closed position is another position common in ballroom dancing. In this position, the partners stand
close enough to each other so that their bodies touch, but slightly off to the left. This enables each
dancer's right foot to step between their partner's feet.

In the closed position, the male partner rests his right hand on the female partner's back while holding
her right hand with his left hand. The female partner places her left hand on the male partner's upper
arm.

Outside Right Position

The outside right position (or right parallel) is similar to the basic closed position, with the exception of
the placement of the feet.

In the outside right position, the female partner's feet should be to the right of the male partner's.

Outside Left Position

The outside left (or left parallel) position is also similar to the basic closed position. Again, the only
difference is the placement of the feet.

In outside left position, the female partner places her feet to the left of the male partner's feet.

Promenade Position

In the promenade position, both partners face the same direction instead of facing one another. Their
bodies form a sort of "V" shape.
The promenade is a forward movement. Since the dancers are facing in the same direction, both move
forward at the same time.

Fallaway Position

The fallaway position is similar to the promenade position, except the dancers move backward instead
of forward. In the fallaway position, both partners take small steps backward at the same time.

Shadow Position

In the shadow position, partners "shadow" each other's moves.

Working from either a closed position (touching), semi-closed (slightly apart) or totally apart, partners
should face the same direction, with one partner either in front of the other or slightly to their left or
right.

Partners should step with the same foot in the same direction. Their movements should act as a shadow
to each other, as the name of the position suggests.

Skater's Position

In the skater's position, partners join hands in front of their bodies. The right hands are joined below
and left hands are joined above.

Challenge Position

In the challenge position, the male and female partners face one another but stand apart and without
making contact.

The name of this dance is said to arise from the sound of sandals slapping against the floor in the cha
cha chassé.

The Cha Cha is a true Latin dance, which originated in Cuba where it evolved from the danzon, an older
form of Cuban dance. The primary difference in Cha Cha is the addition of a triple step that replaces the
slow step in Mambo/Rumba. Cha Cha became a popular social ballroom dance in the United States in
the early 1950's.

Presently there are two flavors of Cha Cha, differing by the place of the cha cha cha with respect to the
musical bar.

Ballroom Cha Cha and street Cha Cha in Cuba count "two-three-chachacha"
Country/western Cha-cha-cha and Latin street Cha-cha-cha in many places other than Cuba count "one-
two-chachacha" or "chachacha-three-four".

Cha Cha is either danced to authentic Latin music, or more contemporary Latin Pop or Latin Rock. The
music is energetic and with a steady 4/4 beat.

To the players of swing music in the 1930s and 1940s "Jive" was an expression denoting glib or foolish
talk.[1]

American soldiers brought Lindy Hop/Jitterbug to Europe around 1940, where this dance swiftly found a
following among the young. In the United States the term Swing became the most common word used
to describe the dance, and the term "jive" was adopted in the UK. Variations in technique led to styles
such as boogie-woogie and swing boogie, with "jive" gradually emerging as the generic term in the
UK.[2]
After the war, the boogie became the dominant form for popular music. It was, however, never far from
criticism as a foreign, vulgar dance. The famous ballroom dancing guru, Alex Moore, said that he had
"never seen anything uglier". In 1968 it was adopted as the fifth Latin dance in International
competitions. The modern form of ballroom jive in the 1990s–present, is a very happy and boppy dance,
the lifting of knees and the bending or rocking of the hips often occurs

Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the
East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban
rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also conga and rumba. Taking its name from the latter, ballroom
rumba differs completely from Cuban rumba both in its music and dance. Hence, authors prefer the
Americanized spelling of the word (rhumba) to distinguish between them.[1][2][3]

Swing dance is a group of dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s–1940s,
with the origins of each dance predating the popular "swing era". During the swing era, there were
hundreds of styles of swing dancing, but those that have survived beyond that era include: Lindy Hop,
Balboa, Collegiate Shag, and Charleston.[1][2] Today, the most well-known of these dances is the Lindy
Hop, which originated in Harlem in the early 1930s.[3] While the majority of swing dances began in
African American communities as vernacular African American dances, some swing era dances, like
Balboa, developed outside of these communities.
Somewhat surprisingly, "swing dance" was not commonly used to identify a group of dances until the
latter half of the 20th century. Historically, the term "Swing" referred to the style of jazz music, which
inspired the evolution of the dance. Jitterbug is an umbrella term that denotes all forms of swing dance,
though it is often used as a synonym for the six-count derivative of Lindy Hop called "East Coast
Swing".[4] It was also common to use the word to identify a kind of dancer (i.e., a swing dancer). A
"jitterbug" might prefer to dance Lindy Hop, Shag, or any of the other swing dances. The term was
famously associated with swing era band leader Cab Calloway because, as he put it, "[The dancers] look
like a bunch of jitterbugs out there on the floor due to their fast, often bouncy movements."[5]

The term "swing dancing" is often extended to include other dances that do not have certain
characteristics of traditional swing dances: West Coast Swing, Carolina Shag, East Coast Swing, Hand
Dancing, Jive, Rock and Roll, Modern Jive, and other dances developed during the 1940s and later. A
strong tradition of social and competitive boogie woogie and Rock 'n' Roll in Europe add these dances to
their local swing dance cultures.[6