The term Ballroom Dancing is the most general and the oldest term that is used to describe formal dances and generally includes Waltz, Tango, Slow Foxtrot, Quickstep and Viennese Waltz dances as well as some of the Latin dances. There two types of waltz in this group, the Classic Waltz and the Viennese Waltz.
The Classic Waltz is known as the mother of dances as it was the first dance where people actually danced in front of each other. This made it a very exciting dance when it was first introduced. It is based on an 18th century Austrian folk-dance and the steps are based on a box step with a rotary motion. The Classic Waltz, or the 'slow' or 'English' Waltz as it is sometimes called, is known for a gliding motion with a slight rise and fall and is normally danced to a slow tempo which requires a large degree of control to dance well.
The Viennese Waltz on the other hand is elegant and beautiful to watch. It is sometimes seen in movies and even Disney cartoons! As the name suggests it is linked to Vienna where the Aristocracy danced the Viennese Waltz to music by Strauss and other classical composers. The Viennese Waltz is a faster movement than the Classical Waltz, and is danced at about 180 beats (58-60 measures) a minute, as opposed to about 90 beats per minute with 3 beats to the bar for the Classical Waltz.
The Viennese Waltz is a rotary motion where the dancers are constantly turning either in a clockwise (natural) or anti-clockwise (reverse) direction. This is interspersed with non-rotating change steps to switch between the directions of rotation. Furthermore, in a properly danced Viennese Waltz, couples do not pass, but turn continuously left and right while they travel counterclockwise around the floor following each other in procession. Although this dance is still danced on social occasions, it is more usual for the Classical Waltz to be used.
In the Standard dances such as the waltzes, men traditionally wear formal coat-tails, vests or waistcoats, and bow ties. Women wear elegant and colorful gowns, often with sheer fabric draped from the shoulders or arms. Partners remain in closed position facing each other, throughout the dance, and movements tend to be elegant and sweeping.
American Smooth allows more open work where the partners can separate from each other and dance in open positions. American Smooth can be best described as a variation of ballroom dancing with an enhanced range of movements and exciting steps. All basic principles and the technique of ballroom dancing still apply, however partners are not required to maintain a continuous body contact. The removal of the body contact restriction allows the dancers to perform a variety of new steps such as: lady under arm turns, spins, side by side positions, parallel turns, dips, drops and other variations that would never be allowed in the traditional ballroom dancing.
The term 'Ballroom' has been used to describe Waltz, Tango, Slow Foxtrot, Quickstep and Viennese Waltz as a group of dances together with a range of Latin dances such as the Rumba, Quickstep and Cha-Cha-Cha. Ballroom dances may have at one time also included historical dances like Minuet, Quadrille, Polonaise, Pas de Gras, and Mazurka. However there was no standard definition and so as different dances were introduced new terms were introduced to differentiate these. "Modern Ballroom" (in short "Modern"), was introduced in Britain to referring to Old Time, Sequence or Latin-American dances.
But in Europe the term "Modern" was already frequently used to describe a totally different type of dancing (eg. jazz or other form of solo dancing), so the term Standard was introduced instead. But "Standard" had an unclear meaning in America, where there is an American version of it called American Smooth. Therefore American's introduced the term "International Standard" to make the difference clear.
In spite of its historical image as a pastime for the privileged; formal competitions, sometimes referred to as DanceSport, allow participation by less advanced dancers at various proficiency levels. In the United States, amateur dance proficiency levels are defined by USA Dance (formerly United States Amateur Ballroom Dance Association,) The International Olympic Committee now recognizes competitive ballroom dance. It is doubtful that it will be included as an official sport in the Olympic Games especially in light of efforts to reduce the number of offerings, but the application has not been permanently rejected.
Of all of the dances, the Waltz is the perfect one to learn first. It can be learnt in a few minutes and yet can take a lifetime to master.
Roger Titley manages a successful Internet Marketing Company that operates a number of websites that cover a range of topic. For more articles and information like this article, then visit http://www.studiodancing.com
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