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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. There is a variety of dance steps one can perform such as the slow Waltz right to the fast upbeat nature of the Fox Trot.

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 word ball does not originate from the toy “ball” but from the Latin word “ballare” which means to dance. Obviously the word ballet and ballerina has the same origin.

History reveals that this is a form of dance famous among the people from the upper class in England back in the late 18th and 19th century. This is not a common practice of the working class until late 20th century. The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, an association for the development of ballroom dance, started a Ballroom Branch to standardize all form of modern day ballroom dance.

One can enjoy the elegance of Waltz, the passion of tango and the liveliness of the Quickstep, the slow Fox trot and the Viennese Waltz as forms of modern day ballroom dancing. The American Latin ballroom dance can be classified as Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Cha-Cha and the Jive. Latin American ballroom is short for Latin and American - not a reference to Latin countries.

The modern day version of ballroom dancing involves couples dancing closely together in specific tempo and rhythms. There are five points of contacts between couples. Three of these points involve the hands, his left hand holding her right, her left hand on top of his right upper arm (for the Tango her hand would go behind his arm) and his right hand on her back resting on her left shoulder blade. 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. This elegant posture was used since the days of the European Royal Court.

The strange right to right contact comes from an era when men danced while wearing their swords which was placed on the left side. This is also the obvious reason for the counter clockwise movement, that serves to prevent hitting any of the people watching as he dances past them. In Latin American dances, he postures varies from dance to dance. The vocabulary, technique, rhythm and tempo of the American Latin ballroom have been standardized for training purposes.

Tags: , ballroom dancing, dance one, dance steps, dancing men, formal suits, fox trot, imperial society, latin american ballroom, latin ballroom dance, latin countries, left chest, liveliness, paso doble, quickstep, shoulder blade, slow fox, slow waltz, social dances, upbeat nature, viennese waltz