posted by admin on Aug 11
The bevy of beautiful women and men in formal suits may be the image you see when ballroom dance is mentioned. They are composed of different forms of steps such as the slow motion waltz, the lively fox trot or the passion of Tango.
This is the definition from the Webster dictionary, for ballroom dancing: “any of various, usually social dances in which couples perform set moves”. The word “ball”, when referring to a social gathering as opposed to a child’s toy, comes from the Latin “ballare” meaning to dance. Obviously the word ballet and ballerina has the same origin.
This is a form of dance common to the members of the English upper class in the late 18th and 19th century. This form of dance is not common among people of the working class until late 20th century. In the early 1920’s an association called the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing set up a Ballroom Branch with the purpose to standardize all forms of modern ballroom dance.
Modern dancing revolves around five dances, the Modern Waltz, the Viennese Waltz, the Slow Foxtrot, Tango and the Quickstep. The Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Cha-Cha and the Jive are some names that come to mind when you talk about American Latin ballroom dances. 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.
The modern day ballroom dancing consists of specific steps and tempo with couples dancing together. There are five points of contacts between couples. His left hand would be holding her right hand while the other rests on her shoulder blade. The other two points of contact are her left elbow resting on his right elbow and the right side of her chest touching the right side of his chest. This dance posture goes all the way back to the dancing in the European royal courts and makes for a very elegant look as the couples float around the dance floor.
This right side-to-right side contact of the closed hold may have originated from a time when men danced while wearing their swords, which were hung on their left sides. This would also explain the counter clockwise movement around the dance floor as the man would’ve stood on the inside of the circle so he wouldn’t inadvertently hit any of the people watching the dancers with his sword as he danced past. 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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