subject: A Short History On Ballroom Dancing [print this page] There is more to ballroom dancing than glittering gowns and ebony tuxedos. It is more than female dancers danced like they are floating in the clouds or gentlemen that really hold your breath.
Well, ballroom dancing is more than that. It is more than couple doing the waltz. It also has sensual moves of Tango or Paso Doble and quick and sprightly moves of Foxtrot and Quick Steps. This is what ballroom dancing is all about.
Ballroom dancing can be defined as a set of dance moves usually for usually dancing among couples. The word ball can be traced with a Latin word "ballare", which means to dance. Thus, it is the base word of popular dance related terms such as ballet, ballerina, and of course ballroom.
It used to be popular only among the elite class of the society in England during the later part of 18th century and early years of the 19th century. The popularity of ballroom dancing spread to the common only in the late 19th century and early decades of the 20th century. Competitions in ballroom dancing began in the early 20th century. At this time, the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing began to form separate body for ballroom dancing in order to standardize it.
At this time, the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing created a body for ballroom dancing to oversee its standardization. There are 5 dances involve in Modern Ballroom dancing; Modern Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Tango, and Quick Step. Latin American ballroom dancing on the other hand has the Samba, Tango, Rumba, Cha-cha, Paso Doble, and Jive.
There are 5 close hold body movements in modern ballroom dancing. Three of these close hold movements involves the hands. These are the following; male left hand holds female right hand, female left hand on top of male right upper arm (Tango has the female hand behind the arms of the male), and male right hand resting on the left shoulder blade at the back of the female. The remaining two close hold movements are female elbow resting on the right elbow of the male partner and her chest touches the right side of his chest.
The movements evoked of European origins. There also variations in the movement. For example, right side to right side contact of the close hold movement. This can due to male dancers at that time sometimes wore swords on their sides. Another is the counter clockwise movement. This is probably to avoid hurting the audience with his sword.
Latin ballroom has variations in terms of combining close hold movement and one hand hold movement. Modern and Latin Ballroom have been standardized for teaching purposes. Thus, rules were created for uniformity in terms of vocabulary, technique, tempo, and rhythm.
