What Is History of Ballroom Dancing?
Ballroom dancing is a word used to the form of dancing men and women perform in formal suits on the dance floor during a grand event or special occasion. For steamy passionate night, one may perform the Tango and for those searching for some liveliness Fox trot would be appropriate.
This definition by Webster of ballroom dancing - “any of various, usually social dances in which couples perform set moves†reveals that the nature of ballroom dancing encompasses a wide variety of moves. It is interesting to note that the word ball originated form the word “ballare†which means to dance in Latin. Obviously the word ballet and ballerina has the same origin.
This is a form of dance common to the members of the English upper class in the late 18th and 19th century. This form of dance is not common among people of the working class until late 20th century. The Ballroom Dance Branch was set up by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing with the sole purpose of standardizing the modern day ballroom dancing.
Today, ballroom comprise of five major moves - the Waltz, the Viennese Waltz, the Slow Foxtrot, Tango and the Quickstep. The American Latin ballroom dance can be classified as Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Cha-Cha and the Jive. Make it a point to note that the word Latin America actually refers to the Latin and American styles, not just the South American countries.
Modern day ballroom dances do vary considerably in tempo, and rhythm and still they all consists of couples dancing closely together. A closed hold involves 5 bodily points of contact between the couple. Her right hand would be holding his left hand obviously while her left hand would rest on the top of his right arms. The other points come in contact through elbows and chests which rests comfortably on each other as they glide through the dance floor. This posture dates back form the days of the European royal courts when royal couples and aristocrats dance gracefully during social gathering.
The strange right to right contact comes from an era when men danced while wearing their swords which was placed on the left side. The sword can accidentally hit any of the dancers to, so they overcome this issue by a counter clockwise motion. The posture varies for different dances in the American Latin ballroom. The vocabulary, technique, rhythm and tempo of the American Latin ballroom have been standardized for training purposes.