Ballroom dance encompasses an astonishing variety of dance styles.
Each dance is steeped in it's own unique history.
For example: the peculiar ballroom hold is believed to have originated before the 1500's,
when men wore swords on the left side of their belt.
Men consequently had to hold their right arm around their lady partner,
and hold their left hand farther away from her body to keep her from tripping over his sword.
The modern-day competition dances break down into two primary categories:
International Style and
American Style.
There are also
Other Styles
of dance popular in our local ballroom dance community.
We recommmend new dancers make the effort to learn basic patterns in a wide variety of social partner dances.
This will allow you to dance to almost any kind of music,
and maximize your enjoyment and ability to participate throughout an evening of dancing.
International Style is popular among competitors in the United States as well as social dancers and competitors across the world. The International "Latin" dances consist of the Cha-Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, and Jive. The International "Standard" dances consist of the Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Quickstep, and Viennese Waltz. Click here to learn more about the International Style Dances.
American Style is popular among social dancers in the United States. It is done competitively only in the United States and from our observations in competition over the past six years, is decreasing in popularity. The upside of American style dance is that the technique is generally considered easy to execute in the context of social dancing. Additionally, these dances are often considered easier to win in amateur competition, because there is less competition and the competition is of a lower caliber than International Style. The American "Smooth" dances consist of the Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, and Peabody. The American "Rhythm" dances consist of the Cha-Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, and Mambo. Click here to learn more about the American Style Dances.
Other dances popular within various ballroom dance communities in our region include but are not limited to Single Swing, West Coast Swing, Hustle, Nightclub Two-Step, Merengue, Salsa, and Argentine Tango. Click here to learn more about Other Dances you might want to learn.