A Primer on Ballroom Dance

So you saw Shall We Dance...

Richard Gere and J Lo looked pretty snazzy gliding across the floor. The gown was incredible, and the shoes made you drool.

Or maybe it was Vanessa Williams and Cheyenne in Dance with Me...the salsa music, the Latin rhythm, the movements...Heck let's be honest the dresses were good enough to hook you.

The thought of flying across a ballroom to the tune of Latin music, waltzes and quicksteps intrigues you. Richard Gere looked as good as he did in years...much better than in Runaway Bride. The Doc has been recommending some more exercise for months...Maybe it might do you some good...so could you dance ?

Sure...

I've been dancing for almost eight years...ballroom for most of them. In fact, I had the pleasure of running one of the Chapters down in Southern California for a while...that is until I embarked upon a journey to become a lawyer (story for another time). But I danced through law school, moonlighting in clubs and studios, dancing for the sheer fun of it. Dancing is something that stays with you...something you don't give up. And what's more, its something you can always come back to.

This article is intended to give the layperson a brief introduction to Ballroom Dance. Whether you want to give it a try, learn more before you start, or are curious about those ballroom dance competitions on KPBS, this article should whet your appetite. (Nota Bene: If you are curious about those ballroom dance shows on KPBS join the club...I've been dancing for eight years and I still don't get many of the moves those dancers use !) Truthfully though, I hope you give dancing a try. Coming from a lawyer, its an incredibly liberating and energetic experience. In law school I had the chance to meet a very old and distinguished professor, who apart from being a leader in tort jurisprudence, happened to be a champion ballroom dancer. Evidence that it takes all kinds (lawyer's included).

Ballroom Dancing has been around for some time. It's only recently that the United States, particularly the West Coast, has allowed ballroom dancing to merge with popular culture. Despite the swing phenomenon, salsa phenomenon, and finally the Dance With Me/Shall We Dance phenomenon, ballroom dancing has been a shadow aspect of American culture for years. In much of Europe, and of course in Latin America, ballroom dancing is highly popular and competitive.

Dancing is as ancient as language. Every single culture in the world has a means of bodily expression either independent of, but more commonly a corollary to music. Ballroom Dancing is centuries old itself, and based largely on dances developed during the late Renaissance. From the 16th through 19th century, dances intertwined with each other, borrowing steps, rhythms and movements...commonly called "syncopations." At the end of the 19th century, many of the dances commonly found in competitions were rising rapidly. Yet this was not the end.

By its very nature, dancing is a fluid and evolving art. Ballroom Dancing is no exception. As late as the 1950's new dances were evolving from their roots in the 18th century. The famous Spanish-French tango evolved into a completely new dance in Argentina, while Jazz and Swing music criss-crossed the Atlantic multiple times, melding African-American rhythm with traditional orchestra harmonics. In time the Jitterbug migrated from the Eastern United States to the West Coast, where it fused with rhythm and blues, and borrowed Latin beats to form West Coast Swing...the California State Dance.

At this point I must apologize to the various Ballroom Dance teachers and advanced dancers who are reading this article and are quite ready to pillory me for over-simplifying ballroom dance. It is very difficult to 'organize' ballroom dance into any sort of semblance of categories. Like martial arts, it is a compendium of different styles, groupings, and schools. To make it easily digestible, I have over-simplified to a horrendous degree (for instance completing removing mambo etc.) and apologize in advance to those who live, breath, and eat ballroom dance...


Standard Dances

Ballroom Dancing itself is a compendium of three large schools. The Standard Dances are those which typically leap to mind when the general public imagines 'ballroom dancing.' (I often think we should have a word for non-ballroom dancers. I was going to use Muggles but didn't want to get sued for copyright infringement) In Standard Dance competition, many gentlemen dancers wear full coat and tails, while women wear long extravagant ballroom gowns. Many Standard Dances also utilize a characteristic "rise-and-fall" portraying the illusion the dancers are 'gliding' or 'floating' across the floor. In most dances, this is accomplished by alternating raising and lowering the entire body by standing on the ball of one's foot, and moving forward onto the heel. It also really works out your calf muscle. (If you'd like to try this, stand in front of your sink and raise and lower yourself for about 5 minutes...which is about the length of an average-to-long song).

While each standard dance has its own individual style, the Standard dances are characterized by their "closed position", or a hold in which the gentlemen's arm never leaves the lady's body. This is opposed to an "open position" where a gentlemen could lead, spin, turn, the lady with one hand, or remove his hand either from the lady's back, or from the lady's other hand.

The five most common standard dances are;

Waltz: Waltz is often used to teach beginning dancers the rudiments of dancing, including balance, movement, and poise. It also allows the dancer to focus on his technique, which is vitally important as it allows the beginning student to build upon a solid form. Remember when you were learning how to ride a bike and they had you use training wheels first ? Sort of the same concept...The familiar 1...2...3...beat used in Waltz is best exemplified in the Blue Danube Waltz from 2001.

Quickstep: Danced to a fast 'swing-like' tempo, Quickstep is danced in a trapezoid shaped figure...to a Quick-Quick-Slow-Slow beat. The fastest of the standard dances, quickstep music is very similar to fast swing, but is a 'traveling' dance, requiring the couple to move at great speed across the dance floor. Quickstep dancers utilize their centrifugal force to their benefit to perform fast, intense spins. The famous quickstep "run" is shown numerous times in Shall We Dance (both the Japanese and the U.S. version).

Viennese Waltz: Similar to the waltz but much faster, the Viennese Waltz requires the man and woman to, ideally, execute a 180 degree turn for every measure of music. While traditional waltz has an equal amount of time for all 3 beats, Viennese Waltz places the greatest time on the first beat. A good Viennese is, for instance Pussycat Pussycat I Love You.

Foxtrot: Think Frank Sinatra, or Bobby Darin's Beyond the Sea. Foxtrot is a slow, easy, rhythmic dance which is designed to be stylish, but not jazzy. A very East-Coast dance, foxtrot is slowly growing in popularity with younger groups. Foxtrot dancers also execute rise and falls, which creates the beautiful illusion of gliding across the floor.

Tango: The ultimate love-hate relationship, Tango is a centuries old dance emerging from Paris and Spain. Characterized by brusque, quick, movements and a style which varies largely from dancer to dancer, the tango beat is instantly identifiable. The female dancer is trained to pull her head away from the partner, while driving her lower body into the gentleman, and vice versa

Latin Dances:

The Latin Dances have distinctive, fast beats and are characterized by turns, spins, and quick, often startling movements. Latin Dances, with few exceptions, are danced in an open position, or a position in which the gentleman may remove his arm from the lady's shoulder, allowing her to perform a variety of movements away from his grasp. Ladies often wear very risqué dresses and shoes during Latin competition, while men generally wear straight black. The shoes in both Latin and Standard are vastly different, with male Latin Dancers having a large heel.

The five most common Latin Dances are;

Cha-Cha: The Cha-Cha is a party dance immensely popular among social dancers. Fast, with a propensity for quick, swinging movements, Santana has performed some of the most memorable Cha-Cha's. The lay person might recognize "Smooth" as a textbook Cha-Cha...with the beat numbered (2...3...4-and-1...2..3...). The Cha-Cha is the basis for many Latin dances, and teaches Latin movement, posture, and muscular control. Socially, the cha-cha can remain static (without traveling around the floor), or 'traveling' (moving throughout the dance floor in a wide circle).

American Rumba: The Basic Steps of American Rumba are
identical to the standard waltz. While the familiar waltz 'box- step' uses a 1-2-3 beat, and is designed to allow the dancers to rise
and fall, American Rumba is slow, sensual and with a great deal of hip movement. Like the cha-cha, American Rumba is also a
very popular social dance but surprisingly, is not taught early in many dance studios. The American Rumba follows the famous
"slow-quick-quick-slow rhythm).

Samba: Easily the most energetic and tiring of ballroom dances,
Samba is a Brazilian dance with a quick, sharp back and forth
movement. Samba requires a preternatural control over the waist
and hips, and static (or motionless) upper body. Samba music
has a very distinctive beat, which is typically louder and easier to
hear than other Latin songs. In Dance with Me, Vanessa Williams
and her partner danced a Samba to the song Magalena, and
Black Machine.

International Rumba and is danced in a "lazy-Z' pattern, to a 2-3-4-
hold beat. The beat in International Rumba is quite slow, but
allows higher-level dancers to syncopate several movements into
a single beat, thus being able to spin\turn\or dip several times.
Conversely, it also allows for beautiful, clear but slow movements,
allowing the audience to see the dancer move to every beat of
music. (From my early competitive experience, it is just plain
impossible to fake the beat in International Rumba...)

Paso Doble: Spanish for Double Pass, the paso doble mimics the
actions of a matador (the gentleman) and his red cape (the lady).
Paso Doble is quite complex dance and is almost never danced
socially. In competition it allows for leaps, twists, and (as we know
favorite, Paso Doble is quite stunning when performed by a
professional couple.

Club Dances:

Club dances are those which are not frequently danced in either Latin or Standard competition, but may have individual events or competitions of their own. Of course this does not in detract from their complexity or beauty, it merely means that many of these dances are not placed squarely in either category, and are so popular as to have a substantial following of their own. Indeed, many dancers exclusively dance a 'Club Dance' and focus primarily on cultivating their talent on that particular dance. In Southern California, this becomes almost Zen-like when it comes to Salsa, and if you visit a Club dedicated to one dance one can truly see the outcome. It's sort of Kiyujiko in Seven Samurai meets Scott Hastings from Strictly Ballroom.

Some of the Club dances are;

Salsa: Easily the most fun and easy dance to learn, Salsa is impossible to master because it is constantly changing, evolving and different in every region of the world. Learning the basic steps to salsa, and enough moves to survive on a dance floor is merely the beginning. As one progresses there is syncopation, tricks and dips which may be integrated into the dance...as well as the joy of dancing in differing locations, competing, and learning from others. These 'fun' moves make Salsa one of the most popular dances in the world, and a veritable necessity at any Ballroom Dance party, or Latin Club.

West Coast Swing: The state dance of California, West Coast Swing is danced to bluesy, rhythmic, music, on the fringes of fast jazz or slow rhythm and blues. The characteristic West Coast Swing is Stray Cat Strut or, in a pinch, Mustang Sally. Unlike many dances, the basic step for West Coast Swing is, actually a rarity on the dance floor, the natural step being an eight-count syncopation. Yet despite this beginning twist (forgive the pun), once one learns the 'feel' of West Coast Swing, it is quite enjoyable with a propensity for fun moves, and a great deal of 'pushing' spinning, and 'spins'.

Hustle: Think ballroom's answer to Disco. A fast paced incredibly fun dance which generally remains in a single location on the dance floor. Dancers rotate about each other, or move in a semi-circle, building up pressure and tension until the tone allows them to conduct a movement. As with most dances, Hustle movements may be strung together, however because of the speed and power of Hustle, the dance becomes quite vivacious. Hustle can be danced to virtually any Pop Rock song, and can also be syncopated with Cha-Cha.


Lindy Hop: Made famous in the movie Malcolm X as well as Swing Kids, Lindy Hop was a very popular dance during the 1930's -1950's, and was part and parcel of the famous Harlem Renaissance. Lindy Hop is danced very close to the floor, with both partner's knees bent...as such, it builds an incredible amount of strength in the upper thigh region as well as calves. The power of the dancers comes directly from their legs, allowing them to conduct movements extending from their basic rotating step. Lindy Hop is a centrifugal dances, with power emanating chiefly sideways as well as from the dancer's legs and floor.


Last Comments...

I hope this article gives you a quick peek at some of the dances you may encounter, either on television or in your own social activities. As someone who approached dancing with a mixture of unease and that sinking feeling in your stomach before you stand at the podium and argue before a judge, I can tell you every single dancer has been there. Even the champions have tripped over partners, fallen over, missed beats, and struggled through songs waiting to sit down. Heck I actually Knocked-somebody out once ! Try beating that for embarrassment !

We all started somewhere... but in the eight years I have been dancing, I have never regretted it. Give it a try...you never know, you could be the next Richard Gere.