Dance Styles Explained..

Bolero

Bolero is a unique dance style combining the patterns of Rumba with the rise and fall technique and character of Waltz and Foxtrot. The music is 4/4 time, and is danced to the slowest rhythms of the latin ballroom dances (the spectrum runs Bolero, Rumba, ChaChaCha, Mambo). The basic rhythm of steps in patterns, like Rumba, is Slow-Quick-Quick.

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Cha Cha

Cha Cha is an offshoot of the Mambo. In the slow Mambo tempo, there was a distinct sound in the music that people began dancing to, calling the step the "Triple" Mambo. Eventually it evolved into a separate dance, known today as the Cha Cha.

The dance consists of three quick steps (triple step or cha cha cha) and two slower steps on the one beat and two beat.

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Foxtrot

The Foxtrot was the most significant development in all of ballroom dancing. The combination of quick and slow steps permits more flexibility and gives much greater dancing pleasure than the one-step and two-step which it has replaced. There is more variety in the fox-trot than in any other dance.

Variations of the foxtrot include the Peabody, the Quickstep and Roseland foxtrot. Even dances such as the lindy and the hustle are derived to some extent from the foxtrot.

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Jive

Jive is an American dance that evolved from a dance called the Jitterbug by removing the lifts and acrobatic elements. The Boogie, Rock & Roll and the American Swing also influenced this dance. Jive is the faster version of the swing. People use a more bouncy type movement using the balls of the feet a lot. A lot of kicks are used in jive. It is a very fast, energy-consuming dance. It is the last dance danced at the competitions.

The Jive is danced to music written in 4/4 time. The same time value (6 beats in 4/4 time) is used for single, double or triple jive. The difference in rhythm is determined by the number of steps, according to the speed of music.

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Lindy Hop (Jitterbug)

Lindy Hop, also known as Jitterbug, is the authentic Afro-Euro-American Swing dance. It is an unabashedly joyful dance, with a solid, flowing style that closely reflects its music -- from the late 20's hot Jazz to the early 40's Big Bands. Just as Jazz combines European and African musical origins, Lindy Hop draws on African and European dance traditions. The embracing hold, and the turns from Europe, the breakaway and solid, earthy body posture from Africa. The dance evolved along with the new swing music, based on earlier dances such as the Charleston and the Black Bottom, by black people in Harlem.

Lindy Hop is a social dance. Partners are connected smoothly and gently to each other, while relating closely to the music, in feeling, improvisation and phrasing. The core tempo range is 120-180 beats per minute.

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Mambo

The fusion of Swing and Cuban music produced this fascinating rhythm and in turn created a new sensational dance. The Mambo was originally played as any Rumba with a riff ending. It may be described as a riff or a Rumba with a break or emphasis on 2 and 4 in 4/4 time.

In most Rumba based dances, you commence your steps on the 2nd beat of the music and change weight from one leg to another between the beats. In Mambo your feet only move on the second, and fourth beats, the change of weight which gives the dance its look and feel occurs half way through the second, third and fourth beats. On the third beat you are simply rocking back/forward before the change of weight, so while there shouldn't be any foot movement, this is still referred to as a step.

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Merengue

With monotonous thumping 1-2-3-4 bass drum beat, all steps are on one beat and have a characteristic appearance. Sometimes this step called paso "de la empalizada" (pole-fence step).

Partners hold each other in closed position and do walks sideways or circle each other, in small steps. They can further switch to a double handhold position and do separate turns never letting go each other's hands. During these turns they may twist and tie their handhold into intricate pretzels. Other choreography is possible.

Although the tempo of the music may be frantic, the upper body is kept majestic and turns are slow, typically four beats/steps per complete turn.

In US social dancing the "empalizada" style is replaced by exaggerated Cuban motion.

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Paso Doble

Paso Doble is a lively Spanish style of dance in duple meter that was developed in France. Paso doble means "two step" in Spanish. This dance is based on music played at bullfights during the bullfighters' entrance (paseo) or during the passes (faena) just before the kill. The leader of this dance plays the part of the matador and the follower plays the part of the matador's cape.

Paso doble, like Samba, is a progressive International Latin dance. The paso doble is the Latin dance most like the Standard International style, in that forward steps are taking with a heal lead, the frame is wider and more strictly kept up, and there is significantly different and less hip movement.

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Quickstep

Quickstep is an International Style ballroom dance that follows a 2/4 or 4/4 time beat similar to a fast Foxtrot. This dance gradually evolved into a very dynamic one with a lot of movement on the dance floor, many advanced patterns include hops, runs, quick steps with a lot of momentum, and rotation. The tempo of quickstep dance significantly increased, especially in ballroom competitions, due to the extensive use of steps with eighth note durations. While in older times quickstep patterns were counted with "quick" and "slow" steps, many advanced patterns today are cued with split beats, e.g., "quick-and-quick-and-quick-quick-slow".

Quite in contrast to the slowfox or the waltz, the quickstep often has patterns or sequences that have a duration of multiples of measures as well as containing patterns with an extra half measure, creating a shift of the emphasis from beat one to beat three and vice versa.

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Rumba

The word Rumba is a generic term, covering a variety of names (i.e., Son, Danzon, Guagira, Guaracha, Naningo), for a type of West Indian music or dancing.

The native Rumba folk dance is essentially a sex pantomime danced extremely fast with exaggerated hip movements and with a sensually aggressive attitude on the part of the man and a defensive attitude on the part of the woman. The music is played with a staccato beat in keeping with the vigorous expressive movements of the dancers.

The "Son" is a modified slower and more refined version of the native Rumba. Very small steps are taken, with the women producing a very subtle tilting of the hips by alternately bending and straightening the knees. The American Rumba is a modified version of the "Son".

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Salsa

Salsa is danced to music with a recurring eight-beat pattern, i.e. two bars of four beats. Salsa patterns typically use three steps during each four beats, one beat being skipped. However, this skipped beat is often marked by a tap, a kick, a flick, etc. Typically the music involves complicated percussion rhythms and is fast with around 180 beats per minute.

Unlike Foxtrot or Samba, in Salsa a couple does not travel over the dance floor much, but rather occupies a fixed area on the dance floor.

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Samba

Sa

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Single Swing

Sa

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Slow Two Step

Sa

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Swing

Or

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Tango

Sa

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Two Step

Sa

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Waltz

Waltz music is written in 3/4 time, with three equal beats to the measure. The first note of each measure is stressed, or emphasized. Dancers must learn to hear the stressed note, which indicates the count of one or a "boom". The three counts of "one two three" may be counted verbally as "boom cha cha".

In the waltz, each count has a related foot movement. Despite the stress, however, each note is of equal duration. The waltz was the first dance to use the closed position for any extended
period of time.

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West Coast Swing

Or

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