The Standard & Latin Ballroom Dances
Ballroom
The Ballroom (or standard) dances consist of
Waltz (English)
Foxtrot
Quickstep
Viennese Waltz
Tango (English)
The first four are known as swing dances because of
the body swing employed. Tango has no body swing. Although
Waltzing goes back two centuries the other dances developed around
or after the First World War.
Latin American
The international Latin dances consist of
Cha cha cha
Rumba
Jive
Samba
Paso Doble
The first two are danced to music derived from Cuban Son. (There is
a Cuban dance generically termed Rumba but both it and its music are
distinct from the international form.)
Jive is actually North American in origin, deriving from the wartime
Jitterbug. Samba is derived from Brazilian dancing; Paso Doble came to
us from Spain by way of France. None of the Latin dances in their
international form represent native styles that you would now see in
their places of origin.
Contemporary Latin
There are two Latin dances we teach that do represent contemporary
styles of dance in their native countries:
Salsa
Tango (Argentine)
Salsa, like Cha cha and our Rumba, is danced to music derived from
Cuban Son. There are several styles of Salsa dancing that have shot
up. Worldwide the native Cuban style and the more
showy LA style probably enjoy the greatest popularity. Present day
Argentine Tango is the modern development of the dance that
was the original root of Ballroom Tango before the latter was
adapted to be compatible with a tailsuit and a ballgown.
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Ballroom Dance Classes and Lessons, London & Cambridge.