Ballroom and Foxtrot Dances

• Ballroom dancing involves couples moving rhythmically with step-patterns to express music.
• It includes two styles: Smooth (Standard) and Rhythm (Latin).

Smooth/Standard Style

• Focuses on elegance, grace, and fluidity.
• Dancers rotate counter-clockwise, moving around the entire floor.
• Movement is continuous, transitioning in a fixed pattern.
• Includes dances such as Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, and Quickstep.

Rhythm/Latin Style

• Focuses on vibrant energy and personal flair.
• Dancing pattern is syncopated to the music's rhythm.
• Couples usually dance in one spot.
• Includes dances such as Swing, Rumba/Bolero, Cha Cha, Salsa/Mambo, Merengue, Disco/Hustle, Samba, and Paso Doble.

Foxtrot

• A Smooth and Progressive Dance with long, flowing movements.
• Developed in New York in the 1910s and popularized in the 1930s.
• Harry Fox authored the modern version.
• Vernon and Irene Castle popularized it in the USA.
• Features continuous flowing movement.
• The time signature/rhythm is 4/4.
• It is closely similar to the waltz.

Foxtrot Styles

• American Social Foxtrot
• American Continuity Foxtrot
• International Foxtrot, resembling "feathering an oar" and is one of the five standard dances in international competitions.

Rumba

• Discovered on the East Coast of the United States in the early 1930s.
• Cuban Rumba recognized in 1955.
• Originated and gained popularity in the 20th century.
• Monsieur Pierre developed the dance.
• Also known as the "dance of love".
• Basic rhythm: quick, quick, slow, side to side movement.
• Lew Quinn and Joan Sawyer introduced it in the United States.
• Originated among African slaves in Cuba in the 16th century.
• Considered "The Grandfather of Latin Dance".
• Hip action causes the hips to rotate.

Rumba Forms

• Yambu
• Columbia
• Guaguanco

Tango

• A dramatic ballroom dance with expressive music.
• Evolved in 1880.

Tango Characteristics

• Musicality
• Playfulness

Tango Steps

• Five steps of the basic tango dance: slow, slow, quick, quick, closed.
• Movements are sometimes slow and slithery.
• Movements include footwork, rise and fall, and contra-body movement.

Tango Types

• Argentine Tango
• Ballroom Tango, the most famous international version from Europe.
• Salon Tango
• Tango Nuevo, known for complex moves mixing jazz, electronic, and alternative elements.
• Finnish Tango
• Uruguayan Tango
• Tango Apilado
• Show Tango, which combines several different tango styles and is also known as Fantasia tango.
• Argentina Tango is the sexiest, most romantic, and passionate ballroom dance style.

Tango Music Flavor

• Melodic
• Argentinian
• Style and rhythmic
• European style

Swing

• The term refers to the style of jazz music that inspired its evolution.
• Carolina Shag is a type of swing dance performed to beach music.
• Swing dance is a group of dances that developed with the swing style.

Swing Examples

• Balboa
• Lindy Hop, the most famous type of swing
• Jitterbug
• East Coast Swing
• Lindy Charleston
• Collegiate Shag

Swing Distinctions

• Ballroom Swing
• Jazz Dance Swing
• East/West Coast Swing and Western Swing
• Boogie Woogie
• Carolina Shag
• Jive
• Rock n Roll
• Acrobatic Rock n Roll
• Washington Hand Dancing
• Push and Whip
• It is a non-progressive partner dance that can be danced to a wide variety of music, from blues rock & roll.

Viennese Waltz

• The oldest of the ballroom dances still practiced today.
• Originated in Germany and Austria.
• Arrived in England after the war in 1812-181.

Viennese Waltz Styles

• International Style Viennese Waltz, which is in a “closed position” and has a limited syllabus.
• American Style Viennese Waltz, which is in an “open and close position” and has much more freedom.
• Time signature: 3/4.
• Consists only of turns and is also known as the Rotary waltz.
• Joseph Lanner and Johann Strauss were composers.
• Dancers wear black and white.

Salsa

• A popular form of social dance that originated in New York.
• Ballroom dance was played at Habsburg Court in the 17th century.
• Mambo is characterized by strong hip movements, rhythmic body actions, quick footwork, and unique arm wraps and turns.
• Time signature: 4/4.
• Steps: quick-quick-slow.
• Linear Salsa dancers remain in their “slot”.

Salsa Styles

• New York or Mambo Style
• Los Angeles Style
• Puerto Rican Style

Waltz

• Has rise and fall and body sway techniques.
• The oldest ballroom dance, performed in triple time.
• The name comes from the Italian word Volver (to return or revolve).
• The quickest style is Viennese.
• American Waltz is the most popular form of social dancing in the U.S.
• International Waltz is the most common in dance competitions.
• The Box Step is the basic step.
• Also known as the "Forbidden Dance".
• The word "waltz" means roll, turn, or glide.
• Walzen is the old German word.

Waltz Types

• Viennese Waltz
• Country Western
• International
• American

Cha Cha

• Has triple steps using mambo music and replaced the latest dance craze which is mambo.
• Pierre Lavelle, an English teacher, recognized it.
• Gained popularity in the 1950s.
• An exuberant dance.
• Introduced into United States.
• The name comes from the sound of dancer shoes.
• Playful and flirtatious dance known for its vibrant energy.

Cha Cha Types

• International Style Cha Cha
• American Rhythm Cha Cha

Cha Cha Elements

• Walking step forward
• Walking step backward
• Sidestep
• Rock step

Quickstep

• A popular ballroom dance that originated in Charleston and the foxtrot crazes of the 1920s.
• Heavily influenced by jazz culture.
• Charleston had a significant impact on its growth.
• An up-and-down, rise-and-fall swinging motion performed at a fast pace.

Merengue

• A Caribbean style of dance music typically in duple and triple time, chiefly associated with Dominica and Haiti.
• Dancing is associated with alternating long and short stiff-legged steps.
• Hip Movements are crucial, requiring body to be supple and flexible.
• The Dominican Republic is generally credited with inventing the merengue.
• Relatively easy to learn but fun and sexy.
• Merengue has its origins on the Island of Santo Domingo.

Merengue Instrument

• Traditional instrument of merengue: accordion, guitar, tambora, guira, marimba.

Merengue Styles

• Merengue de orquesta or big band merengue became the merengue of choice for the urban Dominican middle and upper classes in the twentieth century.
• Merengue de guitarra is a modern style, which relies on the presence of guitars, both acoustic and electric.
• Merengue Tipico is the oldest style, and is mostly played using traditional instruments