The waltz (from German Walzer [ˈvalt͡sɐ̯]) is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple (help. · info) time, performed primarily in closed position. Waltz: a dance born in the suburbs of Vienna and in the alpine region of Austria. As early as the seventeenth century, waltzes were played in the ballrooms of the Hapsburg court. The weller, or turning dances, were danced by peasants in Austria and Bavaria even before that time.
Dances We Teach
The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a 4 4 time signature instead of 3 4. Developed in the 1910’s, the foxtrot reached its height of popularity in the 1930’s and remains practiced today.
Tango is a partner dance which originated in the 1880s along the River Plate (Río de Plata), the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. It was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries, where natives mixed with slave and European immigrant populations.[2] The tango is the result of a combination of the German Waltz, Czech Polka, Polish Mazurka, and Bohemian Schottische with the Spanish-Cuban Habanera, African Candome, and Argentinian Milonga.[3] The tango was frequently practiced in the brothels and bars of ports, where business owners employed bands to entertain their patrons with music.[4] The tango then spread to the rest of the world.[5] Many variations of this dance currently exist around the world.
Viennese waltz (German: Wiener Walzer) is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, danced to the music of Viennese waltz.
What is now called the Viennese waltz is the original form of the waltz. It was the first ballroom dance performed in the closed hold or “waltz” position. The dance that is popularly known as the waltz is actually the English or slow waltz, danced at approximately 90 beats per minute with 3 beats to the bar (the international standard of 30 measures per minute), while the Viennese waltz is danced at about 180 beats (58-60 measures) per minute. To this day however, in Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and France, the words Walzer (German), vals (Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish), and valse (French) still implicitly refer to the original dance and not the slow waltz.
The Viennese waltz is a rotary dance where the dancers are constantly turning either toward the leader’s right (natural) or toward the leader’s left (reverse), interspersed with non-rotating change steps to switch between the direction of rotation. Furthermore, in a properly danced Viennese waltz, couples do not pass but turn continuously left and right while traveling counterclockwise around the floor following each other.
As the waltz evolved, some of the versions that were done at about the original fast tempo came to be called specifically “Viennese waltz” to distinguish them from the slower waltzes. In the modern ballroom dance, two versions of Viennese waltz are recognized: International Style and American Style.
Today the Viennese waltz is a ballroom and partner dance that is part of the International Standard division of contemporary ballroom dance
The Peabody is an American ballroom dance that evolved from the fast foxtrot of the ragtime era of the 1910s and 1920s.[1]
The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the 1920s in New York City and was first danced by Caribbean and African dancers. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.
The cha-cha-chá, or simply cha-cha in the U.S., is one of the most popular of Latin dances deriving from Cuban origin. In the early 1950’s, the dance (new rhythm) was created as a “solution” by violinist/composer Enrique Jorrín for charanga group Orquesta América dancers attempting to dance to the difficult rhythms of danzón, danzonete, and danzon-mambo for dance-oriented crowds. Once the dancers began dancing to Enrique’s new music, the dance was on it’s way to becoming a total success. Interestingly enough, the new style of dance got it’s name “ChaChaCha” from the sounds the dancers shoes would make while dancing.
ChaCha is fun, high-energy, moderately paced and full of personality with a steady and constant beat. In ballroom dance it will often be accompanied by Latin pop or Latin rock music. ChaCha is most commonly identified by it’s (one, two, cha-cha-cha) or (two, three, cha-cha, one) counts.
Rhumba
Stylistic origins Son cubano, American ballroom music
Cultural origins East Coast of the United States, early 1930s
Typical instruments Vocals, trumpet, saxophone, trombone, guitar, piano, violin, bass, maracas, congas, bongos, timbales, drums
Subgenres
Ballroom conga
Regional scenes
New York City
Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also conga and rumba. Taking its name from the latter, ballroom rumba differs completely from Cuban rumba both in its music and dance. Hence, authors prefer the Americanized spelling of the word (rhumba) to distinguish between them.
Swing dance is a group of dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s–1940s, with the origins of each dance predating the popular “swing era”. During the swing era, there were hundreds of styles of swing dancing, but those that have survived beyond that era include: Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, and Charleston.[1][2] Today, the most well-known of these dances is the Lindy Hop, which originated in Harlem in the early 1930s.[3] While the majority of swing dances began in African American communities as vernacular African American dances, some swing era dances, like Balboa, developed outside of these communities.
There are two distinct forms of The Bolero – Spanish and Cuban. The Spanish ballroom form, and oldest of the two, originated in Spain during the 18th Century which we demonstrate below. It is danced to slow-tempo Latin music. Both forms were invented independently in two separate regions oddly enough. But both are beautiful and passionate expressions.
Learn to dance the Mambo here at Celebrity Ballroom Dance Studio. Mambo is a Latin dance of Cuba. Mambo was invented during the 1930s by the native Cuban musician and composer Arsenio Rodríguez, developed in Havana by Cachao and made popular by Dámaso Pérez Prado and Benny Moré.
The hustle is a catchall name for some disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. Today it mostly refers to the unique partner dance done in ballrooms and nightclubs to disco music.[1] It has some features in common with mambo, salsa and swing dance. Its basic steps are somewhat similar to the discofox, which emerged at about the same time and is more familiar in various European countries. In the 1970s there was also a line dance called the hustle. Modern partner hustle is sometimes referred to as New York hustle, however, its original name is the Latin hustle. People still do this dance around the world today.
West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in the Lindy Hop. It is characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. The dance allows for both partners to improvise steps while dancing together, putting West Coast Swing in a short list of dances that emphasize improvisation.
Typically the follower walks into new patterns traveling forward on counts “1” and “2” of each basic pattern, rather than rocking back. Traditional figures include 6-count and 8-count patterns of one of the four basic varieties: Starter Step, Side Pass, Push Break / Sugar Push, Whip.
Alternatively the basic patterns in West Coast Swing are defined as: Sugar Push; Left Side Pass; Right Side Pass; Tuck Turn; and Whip. Virtually all other moves in West Coast Swing are variations of these basic patterns.
The Anchor Step is a common ending pattern of many West Coast Swing figures.
Salsa is a popular form of social dance that originated in the Caribbean.[citation needed] The movements of salsa have origins in Puerto Rican bomba and plena, Cuban Son, cha-cha-cha, mambo and other dance forms. The dance, along with salsa music, originated in the mid-1970s in New York.[4] Different regions of Latin America and the United States have distinct salsa styles of their own, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, Cali Colombia, L.A. and New York styles. Salsa dance socials are commonly held in night clubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outside, especially when part of an outdoor festival.
Samba is a lively, rhythmical dance of Afro-Brazilian origin in 2/4(2 by 4) time danced to Samba music whose origins include the Maxixe.
Samba is a dance to black/African people in Brazil who brought much of their music and dance culture into Latin America with them upon arrival into many Latin American countries. Samba music is very similar to and has been influenced by many Angolan music genres. It has also been influenced by many other Latin American music genres and dances. The Samba music rhythm has been danced in Brazil since its inception in the late 16th century. There is actually a set of dances, rather than a single dance, that define the Samba dancing scene in Brazil; however, no one dance can be claimed with certainty as the “original” Samba style.
Another major stream of the Samba dance beside the Brazilian Samba dancing styles is Ballroom Samba, which differs significantly.
Merengue is a style of Dominican music and dance. Partners hold each other in a closed position. The leader holds the follower’s waist with the leader’s right …
