Ballroom dancing is often referred to grand evenings where a swarm of beautiful women danced gracefully in the company of handsome men in formal suits. This type of dancing can be elegant and sophisticated (like the Waltz) but it can also be hot, sultry and sexy (like the Tango or Paso Doble), or a good bit of lively fun (like the Fox Trot Jive or Quick Step).
Webster defines ballroom dancing as simply “Any of various, usually social dances in which couples perform set moves”. It is interesting to note that the word ball originated form the word “ballare†which means to dance in Latin. This is also the base word for ballerina and ballet.
History books tells us that the people from the upper class in England used this fro of dance in social gathering backs in the late 18th and 19th century. It didn’t really catch on with the working class until the late 19th and early 20th century. The Ballroom Dance Branch was set up by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing with the sole purpose of standardizing the modern day ballroom dancing.
One can enjoy the elegance of Waltz, the passion of tango and the liveliness of the Quickstep, the slow Fox trot and the Viennese Waltz as forms of modern day ballroom dancing. When American Latin ballroom Dance comes to mind, here are some names of famous dances Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Cha-Cha and the Jive. The word Latin America refers to the word Latin and America.
Ballroom dancing consists of couples moving in specific set of moves in predetermined rhythm and tempo, dancing closely together. The couples come close through five points of contact. His left and would be holding hers while his right would rest comfortably on her left shoulder blades. Her right side of the chest will rest against his chest while her left elbow will touch his left elbow as they dance the night way. The member of the European Royal Court had long used this posture to dance.
many years ago, the men danced while wearing their swords and this helps to explain why the strange right to right chest contact between the man and the women. The sword can accidentally hit any of the dancers to, so they overcome this issue by a counter clockwise motion. It would be interesting to note that the posture change from one dance to another in the American Latin ballroom. The vocabulary, technique, rhythm and tempo of the American Latin ballroom have been standardized for training purposes.