Ballroom Dance

BALLROOM

DANCES
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).
Ballroom dance refers to
traditional partnered dance
forms that are done by a couple,
often in the embrace of closed
dance position (ballroom dance
position).
Ballroom dance, a type of social
dancing that originally practiced in
Europe and the United States, that is
performed by couples and follows
prescribed steps. The tradition was
historically distinguished from folk or
country dance by its association with
the elite social classes and with
invitational dance events.
The social origin of ballroom dance
lies in the European court dances of the
17th and 18th centuries.
Court dances were performed
facing the throne, a practice known as
“fronting the state.”
Ballroom Dancing Styles
There are two principle ballroom
styles:

International Dance Style

American Dance Style
International Dance Style
- The International style grew out
of English or Modern style
ballroom dancing and is the style
used in international ballroom
competition dancing.
American Dance Style.
- It was an attempt to make ballroom

dancing less formal and more social.
However, modern social dancing standards
have evolved and by today's standards,
American style ballroom dancing is still
quite formal. The social dancing styles
described elsewhere on this site are less
formal than American style ballroom.
International Ballroom
The International ballroom dances are
divided into two groups:
Standard Latin
o Slow Waltz o Cha Cha
o Tango o Samba
o Viennese Waltz o Rumba
o Paso Doblé
o Slow Foxtrot o Jive
o Quickstep
American Ballroom
The American ballroom dances are
divided into two groups:
Smooth Rhythm
oWaltz o Cha Cha
oTango o Rumba
o East Coast Swing
oFoxtrot
o Bolero
oViennese Waltz o Mambo
BALLROOM DANCES
Ballroom dances are comprises
of a number of different dances.
These includes the waltz, polka,
tango, foxrot, swing, rumba,
quickstep, pasodoble, samba,
mambo, chacha and jive.
Waltz began as a country folk dance
in Austria and Bavaria in the 17th century.
In the early 19th century it was introduced
in England.
It is where a man held a woman close
to his body. When performing the dance,
the upper body is kept to the left
throughout all figures, follow's body leaves
the right side of the lead while the head is
extended to follow the elbow.
Tango originated in Buenos Aires in the
late 19th century. It is danced in both open and
closed embraces which focuses on the lead and
follow moving in harmony of the tango's
passionate charging music.
The tango's technique is like walking to
the music while keeping feet grounded and
allowing ankles and knees to brush against one
another during each step taken. Body weight is
kept over the toes and the connection is held
between the dancers in the hips.
Foxtrot is an American dance,
believed to be of African-American
origin. It was named by
a vaudeville performer Harry
Fox in 1914. Fox was rapidly
trotting step to ragtime music. The
dance therefore was originally
named as the “Fox’s trot.
The foxtrot can be danced at slow,
medium, or fast tempos depending on
the speed music. The partners are
facing one another and frame rotates
from one side to another. The dance is
flat, with no rise and fall like the waltz.
The walking steps are taken as slow for
the two beats per steps and quick for
one beat per step.
The Quickstep is an English dance and was
invented in the 1920s as a combination of
faster tempo of foxtrot and the Charleston.
It is a fast moving dance, so men are
allowed to close their feet and the couples
move in short syncopated steps.
Quickstep includes the walks, runs, chasses,
and turns of the original foxtrot dance, with
some other fast figures such as locks, hops,
and skips.
Samba is the national dance of Brazil.
Ballroom Samba is danced with a slight
bounce which is created through the
bending and straightening the knee. It
is performed as an International Latin
dance.
Rhumba came to the United States
from Cuba in the 1920s . It includes
motions through knee-strengthening,
figure-eight hip rotation, and swiveling
foot action. An important characteristic
of rhumba is the powerful and direct
lead achieved through the ball of the
foot.
Mambo was developed as the national
dance of Cuba, in the late 1930s.
A faster, improvised dance moves,
which allowed dancers to more freely
express themselves.
Cha-cha-cha (sometimes called cha-
cha in the US) was delevoped
by Enrique Jorrin in the early 1950s, as
a slower alternative to mambo.
Cha-cha-cha is a flirtatious dance with
many hip rotations and partners
synchronising their movements. The
dance includes bending and
straightening of the knee.
Swing in 1927 was originally named
the Lindy Hop named by Shorty
George Snowden.
Swing music is very lively and
upbeat and can be danced to jazz or
big band music. The swing dancing is
a style with lots of bounce and energy.
Swing also includes many spins and
underarm turns.
The Jive is part of the swing dance group
and is a very lively variation of
the jitterbug. It was originated from
African American clubs in the early
1940s.
In jive, the man leads the dance
while the woman encourages the man to
ask them to dance. It is danced to big
band music, and some technique is taken
from salsa, swing and tango.
ACTIVITY
Practice a ballroom dance
with a partner.

Ballroom Dance

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BALLROOM

International Dance Style

- It was an attempt to make ballroom

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