Ballroom dancing is often referred to grand evenings where a swarm of beautiful women danced gracefully in the company of handsome men in formal suits. Those who prefer to start off with something slow would love the gracefulness of the Waltz and those who are adventurous may prefer to try out the Tango, a dance so passionate it can make heartbeat and temperatures rose even by merely watching them.
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. The term ballroom dancing has its root in the Latin word “ballare†which literally means to dance. This is the base for ballroom (a room for dancing), ballet (a dance), and ballerina (a dancer).
This is a form of dance common to the members of the English upper class in the late 18th and 19th century. It is not common among people from the working class until the arrival of the 20th century. Later the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing created a Ballroom Dance Branch, whose sole purpose is to create a standard for the modern day version of ballroom dancing.
There are five major moves that make up the modern day ballroom: the Waltz, the Viennese Waltz, the Slow Foxtrot, Tango and the Quickstep. The Latin American Ballroom dances are the 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.
Ballroom dancing consists of couples moving in specific set of moves in predetermined rhythm and tempo, dancing closely together. Basically, there are five main points of contact between the couples. His left and would be holding hers while his right would rest comfortably on her left shoulder blades. Other point come close as her right side of the set touches his left chest and the elbow, her left touches his right touch each other as they glide round the dance floor. The member of the European Royal Court had long used this posture to dance.
A few decades ago, men danced while wearing their sword and this helps to explain the obvious right-tight contact between the men and the women. The strange counter clockwise movement is also explained this way, and it helps prevent the sword stabbing any of the people watching or the dancers as he gracefully waltzes by. In Latin American ballroom the postures vary from dance to dance with some using the closed hold and others where the partners hold each other with only one hand. Just as the modern ballroom dance has been standardized, the Latin American dances have been programmed with a similar standardization for easy teaching.
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