History of Ballroom Dancing

Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively
around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, ballroom dance is also
widely enjoyed on stage, film and television. Ballroom dancing is when a couple performs any
various social dances that follow a pattern of predictable steps. Ballroom dancing has a relatively
short but interesting history and has evolved from a recreational activity to a worldwide sporting
event.
Ballroom dancing originated in England in the late 18th and early 19th century in which these
dances, such as the waltz were performed by the upper class and elite class of the society in
balls and parties. Ballroom dance may refer as its widest, to almost any type of social dancing as
recreation. However, with the emergence of dance sport in modern times, the term has become
narrower in scope. In legitimate Dance Sport competitions and social events, there are five
standard dances. These are the Modern and Viennese Waltz, the Tango, The slow Foxtrot and
the Quickstep. These dances are standardized and categorized into segregated teaching levels
and utilize vocabulary, rhythm, tempo and techniques which are accepted internationally.
The term Ballroom dancing is derived from the word Ball, which in turn originates from the
Latin word Ballare which means to dance. In times past, ballroom dancing was social
dancing for the privileged, leaving folk dancing for the lower class. The definition of ballroom
dance also depends on the era: balls have featured popular dances of the day such as the Minuet,
Quadrille, Polonaise, Polka, Mazurka and others, which are now considered to be historical
dances.
Although these dances come from different backgrounds and have special techniques, aesthetics,
rhythms and tempos, they do share common qualities. All ballroom dance, as with all forms of
dance, are expressions of feelings, thoughts and emotions. These dances may be stricter than
other forms of dance and may limit body movements involved, but still one of the best
expressions of love, joy and pain between two people.
Also, all ballroom dance are performed by two people, usually a man and a woman. These
dances are performed in a certain position termed as the Closed Hold. In this position, the
couple strictly remains in contact in five different points or places. These five points consist
of three hand contacts, one elbow contact and one chest contact.
1. The first contact occurs when the mans left hand holds the ladys right hand.
2. The second is when the ladys left hand is placed at the top of the mans right upper arm.
3. The third contact is when the mans right hand is placed under the left shoulder blade on
the ladys back.
4. The fourth contact is when the ladys left elbow rests on the mans right elbow and both
arms are kept in a horizontal line.
5. The last point of contact is where the right area of the chest of one touches the right area
of his partner.

Renaissance Period
The first authoritative knowledge of the earliest ballroom dance was recorded towards the end of
the 16th century, when Jehan Tabourot, under the pen name Thoinotarbeau, published in
1588 his Orchesographie, a study of the late 16th century French renaissance social dance.
Among the dances described were the solemn basse danse, the livelier branle, pavane and the
galliardewhich. Shakespeare called the cinc pace as it was made up of five steps.

Victorian Era
The waltz with its modern hold took root in England in about 1812. In 1819 Carl Maria Von
Weber wrote invitation to the dance, which marked the adoption of the waltz form into the
sphere of absolute music. The dance was initially met with tremendous opposition due to the
semblance of impropriety with closed hold, though the stance gradually softened. In the 1840s
several new dances made their appearance in the ballroom, including the Polka, Mazurka and
the Schottische. In the meantime a strong tendency emerged to drop all decorative steps that had
found a place in Quadrilles and other dances.

Early 20th Century

Modern Ballroom dance has its roots early in the 20th century, when several different things
happened more or less at the same time. The first was a movement away from the sequence
dances towards dances where the couple can move independently. This has been pre-figured by
the waltz which had already made this transition. The second was a wave of popular music, such
as jazz, much of which was based on the ideas of black musicians in the USA. Since dance is to a
large extent tied to music, this led to a burst of newly invented dances. There were many dance
crazes in the period of 1910-1930.

Kinds of Ballroom Dance

International Standard

American Smooth

Slow Waltz
Tango
Viennese Waltz
Slow Foxtrot
Quick Step

Waltz
Tango
Foxtrot
Viennese Waltz

International Latin

American Rhythm

Cha-Cha-Cha
Samba
Rumba
Paso Doble
Jive

Cha-Cha-Cha
Rumba
East-coast Swing
Bolero
Mambo