Waltz
This is the best known of all the ballroom dances. Slow and romantic, the Waltz features lots of turns as well as smooth rise and fall. Originally danced by farming communities in the alpine regions of Austria, it became popular after it was embraced by society's wealthy elite in the eighteenth century. Although it was considered scandalous and sinful by English high society because of the close hold involved, it was secretly enjoyed by Queen Victoria, who was an expert dancer and loved the Waltz. It is thought that the controversy it generated actually served to make it the most popular of all the ballroom dances!
Waltz
This is the best known of all the ballroom dances. Slow and romantic, the Waltz features lots of turns as well as smooth rise and fall. Originally danced by farming communities in the alpine regions of Austria, it became popular after it was embraced by society's wealthy elite in the eighteenth century. Although it was considered scandalous and sinful by English high society because of the close hold involved, it was secretly enjoyed by Queen Victoria, who was an expert dancer and loved the Waltz. It is thought that the controversy it generated actually served to make it the most popular of all the ballroom dances!
Cha-Cha
A fun, staccato dance, the Cha Cha is all about the man and woman flirting with each other. It originated from the Mambo, adding a triple step to liven up the dance. Many of today's popular music chart hits are perfect for the Cha Cha.
Disco/The Hustle
A kind of dancing more than a specific dance, Disco has strong roots in Swing, Samba, Cha-Cha, Mambo, Merengue, Fox Trot and Tango. The most popular version, the Hustle (of "Saturday Night Fever" fame), is believed to have originated in New York in 1970. This free form style is still one of the most popular at all night clubs and socials.
Rumba
The Rumba is an ever increasingly popular romantic Latin dance dating back some 400 years ago, and is better known as the Latin get acquainted dance or the dance with the wiggle. The Rumba sometimes substitutes for those in-between tempos and features a subtle or relaxed (lateral) hip motion and Latin styling. Rumba hip movements are used in most of the popular Latin dances as well as the free-style of disco and nightclub dancing.
Samba
This dance originated in the carnivals of Brazil. It's a true party dance, with bounce and plenty of rhythm changes. Unlike most of the Latin dances, the Samba moves around the floor rather than staying primarily in one place.
Swing
Swing dance history begins in the 1920s, during the Harlem Renaissance in New York City. Swing dancing became popular among African Americans and was mostly danced to jazz music. With a dance floor nearly as long as a city block, the Savoy Ballroom became the place to go for swing dancing when it opened in 1927. New York City's best dancers would gather every weekend to show off their moves, and the craze quickly caught the attention of local newspapers. The Lindy Hop was the first dance to spread from the Savoy to nightclubs across America. Entertainer Cab Calloway helped make swing dancing a national favorite when he created a six-beat version of the Lindy Hop that he named The Jitterbug. Swing dancing was actually considered to be a mocking form of Europe’s waltzes, with movements from dances such as tap, the Charleston and some free-form dancing mixed in.
Tango
Tango is earthy and dramatic. Although walking movements dominate, Tango walks, having a "stalking" or "sneaking" character, are unlike the walks of other ballroom dances. Movements are sometimes slow and slithery, and other times sharp and stacatto, such as a quick foot flick or a sharp head snap to promenade position. Tango has the same counter clockwise flow of movement around the dance floor, but with a lesser sense of urgency in comparison to the smoother and more continuous ballroom dances. American Style Tango, especially at highly-developed skill levels, makes great use of open and alternate dance positions to further showcase Tango's dramatic nature. Waltz
Fox Trot
Created in 1912 by Harry Fox, the Fox Trot was the first dance that permitted people to hold each other closer than arm's length. If you think the term "dirty dancing" was a product of the 80s, think again. The Fox Trot was the first to be tagged "indecent behavior". Today it's still the most popular of all social dances. Some people refer to the Fox Trot as the "Slow Dance" or the "Two-Step", or a "Conversational Dance" because of its closeness and conversation ability at the same time. The Fox Trot is good for developing "smoothness" and "ease of movement".
Salsa
Salsa is not easily defined. Who invented salsa? The Cubans, Puerto Ricans? Salsa is a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances. Each played a large part in its evolution. Salsa is similar to Mambo in that both have a pattern of six steps danced over eight counts of music. The dances share many of the same moves. In Salsa, turns have become an important feature, so the overall look and feels are quite different form those of Mambo. Mambo moves generally forward and backward, whereas, Salsa has more of a side to side feel.
There are two main styles of ballroom dancing: American and International.
American style is danced primarily in the USA. It's also not as standardized as International style, which is danced and known worldwide. Here in the USA, American style is practiced more for social dancing while International style is primarily seen in competitions. People will dance either American or International style socially, and competitions may include both styles.
There are also other social styles of dances that are not ‘strictly ballroom’ but rather "fun" although "non-traditional." They include the hustle, salsa, merengue, west coast swing, Argentine tango, lindy etc.
There are two categories:
In American style, the categories are called Smooth and Rhythm and in International style they are called Standard and Latin. For the most part, the Standard and Smooth categories contain the same dances and the Latin and Rhythm categories contain basically the same dances.
American Style
- Smooth: Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz
- Rhythm: Cha Cha, Rumba, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Bolero, Mambo, Samba
- Standard: Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot , Quickstep
- Latin: Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Jive