BALLROOM DANCE

DEFINITION
• Originated from the Latin word “BALLARE” which means “to dance”
• Also known as “PARTNER DANCING”
• Ballroom dancing began in the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe when
Kings and Queens were entertained by dancing performances
• Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed
both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its
performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely
enjoyed on stage, film, and television.
• A form of social dancing whose primary purpose is for recreation and
entertainment.
DANCE SPORT
• It's competitive ballroom dancing, where couples perform choreographed
routines in diverse styles. The enthralling aspect lies in its seamless blend of
art and sport, as dancers express emotions in sync with movements.
• The variety of dance styles and competitive spirit enhance the engaging
appeal of dancesport—read on to delve deeper into this captivating world.
• Dancesport has its technical origins in Ballroom Dancing, transitioning into
a competitive realm.
• Traditionally, ballroom dancing served as a social activity during the 19th
and early 20th centuries, enjoyed at social gatherings and dance halls. As
the early 20th century unfolded, ballroom dancing evolved into its
competitive form, leading to the emergence of the term "dancesport."
 Dance Sport
Ballroom dancing encompasses 4 main styles:
• AMERICAN SMOOTH
a. comprises dances known for their flowing and continuous movements, with Waltz,
Tango, Foxtrot, and Viennese Waltz serving as prime examples.
b. Smooth dance styles originated from European and American social dances,
evolving over time to integrate elements from diverse dance genres, including
ballet and contemporary dance.
• AMERICAN RHYTHM
a. comprises dances featuring a distinct and syncopated beat, with examples such as
Cha-Cha, Rumba, East Coast Swing, Bolero, and Mambo.
b. This dance style was influenced by African, Caribbean, and Latin American
cultures, creating a vibrant and diverse collection of styles.
c. This style emphasizes freedom in body movement, fostering a dynamic and
engaging dance experience.
 Dance Sport
Ballroom dancing encompasses 4 main styles:
• International Ballroom
a. is the epitome of classic ballroom dance, featuring five elegant and poised
dances—Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, and Quickstep.
b. In this style, dancers remain in a closed hold, maintaining a graceful and
connected "dance position" throughout the entirety of each dance.
• International Latin
a. spotlights dances influenced by Latin American, African, and European
cultures, recognized for their lively and rhythmic character.
b. This category encompasses dances such as Cha-Cha, Rumba, Samba, Paso
Doble, and Jive.
BENEFITS BEYOND THE DANCE FLOOR
1. Dance sport offers numerous advantages.
Among them are:
2. enhanced mental well-being,
3. strengthened social connections
4. improved physical fitness
5. a platform for personal expression and
creativity.
COMPETITIVE DANCES
Standard/Smooth
 WALTZ
• Originated from a German word “WALZEN”, which
means “to roll” or “to turn” and is popularly known as
“WELLER” or “SPINNER”
• Waltz began as a country folk dance in Austria
and Bavaria in the 17th century and was introduced in
England in the early 19th century
• It was the first dance 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, the
follower's body leans to the right side of the leader
while the head is extended left to follow the elbow.
• IT IS PERFORMED FASIONABLY BY COUPLES
VIENNESE WALTZ
• Viennese waltz originated in Provence area in France in
1559 and is recognized as the oldest of all ballroom dances.
• It was introduced in England as German waltz in 1812 and
became popular throughout the 19th century by the music
of Josef and Johann Strauss.
• It is often referred to as the classic “old-school” ballroom.
• Viennese Waltz music is quite fast. Slight shaping of the
body moves towards the inside of the turn and shaping
forward and up to lengthen the opposite side from
direction. Reverse turn is used to travel down long side and
is overturned. While natural turn is used to travel short side
and is under turned to go around the corners.
• Viennese waltz is performed for both International
Standard and American Smooth.
 • “BAILE CON CORTE”- to dance with many dramatic or
TANGO atistic poses
• Tango originated in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century.
Modern Argentine tango 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.
• Tango is a flat-footed dance and unlike the other dances, has
no rise and fall. Body weight is kept over the toes and the
connection is held between the dancers in the hips.
• Ballroom tango, however, is a dance with a far more open
frame, often utilizing strong and staccato movements.
Ballroom tango, rather than Argentine tango, is performed in
international competition
 STYLES OF TANGO

• Argentine Tango- Close embrace where the lead and

follow connected chest-to-chest
• International Tango- Connected in upper thigh or hip
area
• American Tango- combination of Argentine and
Internationl Tango
 FOXTROT
• The 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 of the jazz or big
band music. The partners are facing one another and
frame rotates from one side to another, changing
direction after a measure.
• The dance is generally danced flat, with not much
rise and fall. The walking steps are taken as slow for
the two beats per steps and quick for one beat per
step. Foxtrot is performed for both International
Standard and American Smooth.
QUICKSTEP
• 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, run, quick step, jump and
skips.
• Quick step is performed as an International Standard
dance.
Competitive Dance
Latin/Rhythm
 PASODOBLE
• The Pasodoble originated from Spain and its
dramatic bullfights.
• The dance is mostly performed only in
competitions and rarely socially because of its
many choreographic rules.
• The lead plays the role of the matador while
the follow takes the role of the matador's cape,
the bull, or even the matador.
• The chasse cape refers to the lead using the
follow to turn them as if they are the cape, and
the appel is when the lead stomps their foot to
get the bull's attention. Pasodoble is performed
as an International Latin dance.
SPANISH BOLERO
• The Spanish bolero was developed in the
late 18th century out of the seguidilla,
and its popularization is attributed to
court dancers such as Sebastián Cerezo.
• It became one of the most popular
ballroom dances of the 19th century and
saw many classical adaptations.
• However, by the 20th century it had
become old-fashioned. A Cuban music
genre of the same name, bolero, which
became popular in the early 20th century,
is unrelated to the Spanish dance.
CUBAN BOLERO
• Although Cuban bolero was born as a form
of trova, traditional singer/songwriter tradition
from eastern Cuba, with no associated dance, it
soon became a ballroom favorite in Cuba and all
of Latin America.
• The dance most commonly represents the
couple falling in love. Modern bolero is seen as
a combination of many dances: like a slow salsa
with contra-body movement of tango, patterns
of rhumba, and rise and fall technique and
personality of waltz and foxtrot.
• Bolero can be danced in a closed hold or singly
and then coming back together. It is performed
as an American Rhythm dance.
 • Samba is the national dance of Brazil.
SAMBA • The rhythm of samba and its name originated from
the language and culture of West African slaves.
• In 1905, samba became known to other countries
during an exhibition in Paris.
• In the 1940s, samba was introduced in America
through Carmen Miranda.
• The international version of Ballroom Samba has
been based on an early version of Brazilian Samba
called Maxixe, but has since developed away and
differs strongly from Brazilian Ballroom Samba,
which is called Samba de Gafieira.
• International 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, although most of its
modern development has occurred outside Latin
America.
RUMBA
• Rumba came to the United States from Cuba
in the 1920s and became a popular cabaret
dance during prohibition.
• Rumba is a ballroom adaptation of son Cubano
and bolero (the Cuban genre) and, despite its
name, it rarely included elements of Cuban
rumba.
• It includes Cuban motions through knee-
strengthening, figure-eight hip rotation, and
swiveling foot action. An important
characteristic of rumba is the powerful and
direct lead achieved through the ball of the
foot.
• Rumba is performed for both International
Latin and American Rhythm.
MAMBO
• Mambo was developed as an offshoot of danzón,
the national dance of Cuba, in the late 1930s by
Orestes López and his brother Cachao, of Arcaño y
sus Maravillas.
• They conceived a new form of danzón influenced
by son Cubano, with a faster, improvised final
section, which allowed dancers to more freely
express themselves, given that danzón had
traditionally a very rigid structure.
• In the 1940s, Dámaso Pérez Prado transformed the
mambo from the charanga into the big band format,
and took it to Mexico and the United States, where
it became a "dance craze".
 • Cha Cha (sometimes wrongly called Cha
CHA CHA Cha Cha based on a "street version" of
the dance with shifted timing) was
developed by Enrique Jorrín in the early
1950s, as a slower alternative to
Mambo—and, in fact, was originally
called Triple Mambo.
• The Cha Cha is a flirtatious dance with
many hip rotations and partners
synchronising their movements. The
dance includes bending and straightening
of the knee giving it a touch of Cuban
motion.
• Cha-cha is performed for both
International Latin and American
Rhythm.
 EAST COAST SWING
• Swing in 1927 was originally called the Lindy
Hop named by Shorty George Snowden.
• There have been 40 different versions
documented over the years; most common is the
East Coast swing which is performed in the
American Smooth (or American Rhythm) only in
the U.S. or Canada.
• The East Coast swing was established by Arthur
Murray and others only shortly after World War
II. Swing music is very lively and upbeat and can
be danced to jazz or big band music.
• The swing dancing style has much bounce and
energy. Swing also includes many spins and
underarm turns. East Coast swing is performed as
an American Rhythm dance.
JIVE
• In 1927, Shortz George Snowden named it
“LINDY HOP” and was later renamed to
“JITTERBUG”
• In 1940, Laure Haile, made first documentation of
the dance and named it “WESTERN SWING”
• Jive originated from African American clubs in the
early 1940s. During World War II, American
soldiers introduced the jive in England where it
was adapted to today's competitive jive.
• In jive, the man leads the dance while the woman
encourages the man to ask her to dance. It is
danced to big band music, and some technique is
taken from salsa, swing and tango.
• Jive is performed as an International Latin dance.
Check out the following!!
AMERICAN SMOOTH/ STANDARD DANCES

• https://youtu.be/h0-a7rN5Z8o?si=ZtLrVNRkATQ_XME9 (Waltz)
• https://youtu.be/GuD57omsMsA?si=wCMt9iPkJJr8oc_V (Viennese Waltz)
• https://youtu.be/qNRp4PSANwg?si=hC8y-myvv-tnP7ST (Tango)
• https://youtu.be/BggHIe462kE?si=9mzzwdad6CcpnK8l (Foxtrot)
• https://youtu.be/yM9zSwautak?si=4h3bZm39Z3W1RuoM (Quick Step)
Check out the following!!
LATIN DANCES

• https://youtu.be/JvAWgX8e76g?si=Om-CIMZK9vet3F1d (Pasodoble)
• https://youtu.be/UdnwIVEjA_g?si=lcJCGlrl587T73q2 (Bolero)
• https://youtu.be/OaM8DALTFOY?si=wtNdN_PIxyGLsttD (Samba)
• https://youtu.be/iViVKNErVH8?si=nQ5rItLiWt_vIYYU (Rumba)
• https://youtu.be/T-21O6ZwOzo?si=I22WKWKoRulVYzYj (Mambo)
• https://youtu.be/Rz55mgfxhxA?si=YtXF8_3RjjrnsS6S (Cha cha)
• https://youtu.be/DQAtkeBEF-Y?si=a_YCCwUQozhZj5R3 (East Coast Swing)
• https://youtu.be/QU6NBfuJv84?si=60rTl8hjzcMmKTIS (Jive)