The Int. style Rumba is quite different from the Am. style Rumba (mentioned above). In this Rumba the dancers arrive mostly on a straight leg, and the figures are “linear”. There is a very strong emphasize on doing “sensual” hip movement (figure 8) and arm extensions to express the slow tempo Rumba music.

The Rumba is is a non-progressive dance (it does not travel around the room), and is closely related to the Cha-Cha sharing many of the same figures. Despite this similarity, it has a completely different look and feel. It is danced to music in 4/4 time at a pace of 23-25 bars per minute.

There is a misconception that the Rumba is a soft,
slow and somewhat mushy dance, but whilst the music itself is slow, the dance
should actually be crisp, strong and toned, with a mix of fast and slow
movements.

Cha Cha is another playful and flirtatious dance style. It is passionate and energetic style that is quite similar to Rumba and Mambo. It originated in 1940s in Cuba and was developed as an adaptation of the Mambo and Rumba. It requires small steps and a lot of hip movements. It is danced in 4/4 beat and the fourth beat is split into two, giving the rhythm 2,3,4, and 1. Thus, five steps are danced to these four beats that becomes “One, two, cha cha cha”. The music involving this dance type is happy and creates a party-like atmosphere with 110-130 beats per minute because of its carefree and easy-going nature.

Samba Is a lively and rhythmic dance of Brazilian origin and is danced in 2/4 time. It’s a dance that is known for its energetic and upbeat tempo. Ballroom Samba, is somewhat disconnected from its origins and evolution of the dance and music that gives it its name. It is a form adapted for its ability to be a partner dance. Samba’s movements are borrowed from Afro-Brazilian traditional dances, and may be considered to be the sexiest and most difficult of all Latin dances. The Samba is characterized by its bouncing and swaying movements, with a strong emphasis on hip movements and footwork. The music of the Samba is typically fast paced and lively, with a strong beat and a lot of percussion.

The mambo dance genre is a Latin style dance that originated in Cuba. Mambo dance music is a combination of Afro-Cuban and Latin American rhythms that originated in the early 1940’s in Cuba. American jazz and Afro-Cuban music were also influential in the way the dance developed. The mambo spread from the casinos in Cuba to Mexico and across the United States. It became very popular in the 1940’s and 1950’s with the Latin pop music.

East Coast Swing is one of the swing dances along with Lindy hop, Carolina shag, jitterbug, Charleston and West Coast swing. The original swing dance was the Lindy hop, which evolved in the 1920’s at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. The swing dances were developed by dancers and dance studios originally in response to swing era jazz music. The jitterbug evolved in the 1930’s as a six-count variant of the Lindy hop. The Lindy hop spread across the country and regional variants were developed.

Today there are two main styles of Swing Dance called East Coast and West Coast; the latter being more popular on the West coast. It is danced to slower ‘blues type’ music – it is a sexy nightclub type dance and should be part of every competent dancers repertoire.

There are two distinct forms of The Bolero – Spanish and Cuban. The Spanish ballroom form, and oldest of the two, originated in Spain during the 18th Century. It is danced to slow-tempo Latin music. Both forms were invented independently in two separate regions oddly enough. But both are beautiful and passionate expressions. The dance known as Bolero is one of the competition dances in American Rhythm ballroom dance category. This dance is quite different from the other American Rhythm dances in that it not only requires ‘cuban hip’ motion but rises and falls such as found in waltz.

Paso Doble 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. The follower generally plays the part of the matador’s cape, but can also represent the shadow of the matador. (The follower never represents the bull, although it is commonly thought this way).
The dance relates back to a French military march with the name “Paso Redoble.” This was a fast-paced march, which is why this is a fast-paced Latin American dance modeled after the Spanish bullfight. Bullfighting was well known around this time. Today the Paso Doble is a show dance that is usually only seen on the competition or showcase dance floor.

Merengue is mainly a club dance set to fast Latin music. It is characterized by dramatically swinging hips and a closed hold position. The couple steps side to side in sets of 8 to 2/4 music, turning clockwise or counterclockwise and features a characteristic hip swing and graceful arm flourishes. It is the national dance of the Dominican Republic and there are a number of popular versions as to the origin of this dance. One story claims the dance originated with slaves who were chained together, and, of necessity, were forced to drag one leg as they cut sugar cane to the beat of a drum.

Foxtrot is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. The American style version of the Foxtrot takes many forms: The Bronze level Foxtrot, truest to the original Harry Fox version, is a simple combination of walks and chasses ideal for social dancing. Silver American Foxtrot adds continuity, taking on the quality of its International counterpart. And with the possibility of open, apart, and side by side movements, the Gold level Foxtrot resembles the signature styles of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.

Waltz is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, flowing movements, continuous turns, and rise & fall. Graceful and elegant, Waltz dancers glide around the floor almost effortlessly. The American style is punctuated with lavish open movements, underarm turns, and solo spins. At 28-30 measures per minute, the tempo is slow at best, but the expressive quality of the music often invites very powerful and dynamic movement from dancer.

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.

Born in the suburbs of Vienna Austria, the Viennese Waltz is the oldest of the ballroom dances dating back to the 13th century. What is now called the Viennese Waltz is the original form of the Waltz. It was the first ballroom dance performed in the closed hold or “Waltz” position. The dance that is popularly known as the Waltz is actually the English or slow waltz, danced at approximately 90 beats per minute with 3 beats to the bar (the international standard of 30 measures per minute), while the Viennese Waltz is danced at about 180 beats (58-60 measures) per minute. The Viennese Waltz is a rotary dance where the dancers are constantly turning either toward the leader’s right (natural) or toward the leader’s left (reverse), interspersed with non-rotating change steps to switch between the direction of rotation. As the Waltz evolved, some of the versions that were done at about the original fast tempo came to be called specifically “Viennese Waltz” to distinguish them from the slower waltzes. In the modern ballroom dance, two versions of Viennese Waltz are recognized: International Style and American Style.

Quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the 1920s in New York City and was first danced by Caribbean and African dancers. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.

Cha Cha is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the 1920s in New York City and was first danced by Caribbean and African dancers. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.

Samba is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the 1920s in New York City and was first danced by Caribbean and African dancers. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.

The Int. style Rumba is quite different from the Am. style Rumba (mentioned above). In this Rumba the dancers arrive mostly on a straight leg, and the figures are “linear”. There is a very strong emphasize on doing “sensual” hip movement (figure 8) and arm extensions to express the slow tempo Rumba music.

The Rumba is is a non-progressive dance (it does not travel around the room), and is closely related to the Cha-Cha sharing many of the same figures. Despite this similarity, it has a completely different look and feel. It is danced to music in 4/4 time at a pace of 23-25 bars per minute.

There is a misconception that the Rumba is a soft,
slow and somewhat mushy dance, but whilst the music itself is slow, the dance
should actually be crisp, strong and toned, with a mix of fast and slow movements.

Paso Doble 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. The follower generally plays the part of the matador’s cape, but can also represent the shadow of the matador. (The follower never represents the bull, although it is commonly thought this way).
The dance relates back to a French military march with the name “Paso Redoble.” This was a fast-paced march, which is why this is a fast-paced Latin American dance modeled after the Spanish bullfight. Bullfighting was well known around this time. Today the Paso Doble is a show dance that is usually only seen on the competition or showcase dance floor.

the fastest of the five International Latin dances, the Ballroom Jive is a very happy and lively dance. It is danced at a speed of 176 beats per minute, FAST!
The lifting of the knees and the bending or rocking of the hips often occurs. Many of its basic patterns are similar to those of the slower East Coast Swing with the major difference of highly syncopated rhythm of the Triple Steps (Chasses), which use straight eighths in ECS and hard swing in Jive. To the players of swing music in the 1930s and 1940s “Jive” was an expression denoting glib or foolish talk, that may well be where it got its name from since Jive music is a playful, foolish expression of Swing. It is always danced last in International Style ballroom competitions

Waltz is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, flowing movements, continuous turns, and rise & fall. Graceful and elegant, Waltz dancers glide around the floor almost effortlessly. The American style is punctuated with lavish open movements, underarm turns, and solo spins. At 28-30 measures per minute, the tempo is slow at best, but the expressive quality of the music often invites very powerful and dynamic movement from dancer.

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.

Born in the suburbs of Vienna Austria, this is the oldest of the ballroom dances dating back to the 13th century. What is now called the Viennese Waltz is the original form of the Waltz. It was the first ballroom dance performed in the closed hold or “Waltz” position. The dance that is popularly known as the Waltz is actually the English or slow waltz, danced at approximately 90 beats per minute with 3 beats to the bar (the international standard of 30 measures per minute), while the Viennese Waltz is danced at about 180 beats (58-60 measures) per minute. The Viennese Waltz is a rotary dance where the dancers are constantly turning either toward the leader’s right (natural) or toward the leader’s left (reverse), interspersed with non-rotating change steps to switch between the direction of rotation. As the Waltz evolved, some of the versions that were done at about the original fast tempo came to be called specifically “Viennese Waltz” to distinguish them from the slower waltzes. In the modern ballroom dance, two versions of Viennese Waltz are recognized: International Style and American Style.

Fox Trot is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. The American style version of the Foxtrot takes many forms: The Bronze level Foxtrot, truest to the original Harry Fox version, is a simple combination of walks and chasses ideal for social dancing. Silver American Foxtrot adds continuity, taking on the quality of its International counterpart. And with the possibility of open, apart, and side by side movements, the Gold level Foxtrot resembles the signature styles of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.

Quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the 1920s in New York City and was first danced by Caribbean and African dancers. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.

Country western dancing evolved from other European and Mexican dances in the 1800’s. Moreover, it evolved considerably from its older form to current form. For the most part, it began to take its current form in the mid-nineteen nineties. Country Two Step, also known as Texas two step or just two step was heavily influenced in the early 20th century by ballroom progressive dances like the foxtrot. The two step really took off in the early 1980’s after the movie Urban Cowboy with John Travolta. Two Step is a smooth, progressive dance danced in dance frame, and is characterized by weaved patterns and rhythm accents that separate the quicks and slows, emphasizing slows. The basic pattern is two short walking steps (“quick-quick”) followed by two longer walking steps (“slow-slow”).

The Progressive Double Two-Step is a type of country and western dance popular in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It typically consists of 6- and 8-count dance patterns.
The basic 6-beat pattern consists of two shuffle steps (counted as “1 and 2”, “3 and 4”) with the woman being led by an arching one quarter semicircle clockwise then counterclockwise followed by two walking steps (counted “5, 6”).

West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in the Lindy Hop. It is characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. This dance will get you hooked! Not an easy dance to start with, but this dance is very versatile and works with pretty much any music style out there, It originates from Blues music but is now danced to Pop / Rock / Ballads and many more types of music.

Night Club 2 Step It is a smooth dance with a sway and counter sway motion like a flower moving back and forth. The dance position for Night Club Two Step is with a more relaxed hold than typical ballroom dances. This relatively stationary Country Western dance was initially developed by Buddy Schwimmer in the mid-1960s. The dance is also known as “Nightclub” and was “one of the most popular forms of contemporary social dance” as a Disco Couples Dance in 1978. A classic example is the song “Lady In Red”.

East Coast Swing is one of the swing dances along with Lindy hop, Carolina shag, jitterbug, Charleston and West Coast swing. The original swing dance was the Lindy hop, which evolved in the 1920’s at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. The swing dances were developed by dancers and dance studios originally in response to swing era jazz music. The jitterbug evolved in the 1930’s as a six-count variant of the Lindy hop. The Lindy hop spread across the country and regional variants were developed.

Today there are two main styles of Swing Dance called East Coast and West Coast; the latter being more popular on the West coast. It is danced to slower ‘blues type’ music – it is a sexy nightclub type dance and should be part of every competent dancers repertoire.

Cha Cha is another playful and flirtatious dance style. It is passionate and energetic style that is quite similar to Rumba and Mambo. It originated in 1940s in Cuba and was developed as an adaptation of the Mambo and Rumba. It requires small steps and a lot of hip movements. It is danced in 4/4 beat and the fourth beat is split into two, giving the rhythm 2,3,4, and 1. Thus, five steps are danced to these four beats that becomes “One, two, cha cha cha”. The music involving this dance type is happy and creates a party-like atmosphere with 110-130 beats per minute because of its carefree and easy-going nature.

The music is for Country Waltz is faster than that used for the Ballroom Waltz, but the steps are very similar.

Polka - originally a Czech peasant dance, originating in the nineteenth-century in Eastern Bohemia (now part of Czechia). The word “pulka” is derived from the Czech phrase for “half step,” which refers to the dance pattern of lightly stepping from one foot to the other. In the 20th century, Polish American immigrants adopted the Polka as their national dance and to this day, is still popular worldwide. Polka is characterized by its lilting action and triple steps. The lilt is what allows Polka to be light on the feet and is created by slightly lifting onto the toes, then lowering back down on each step. Polka is a popular social dance and a competitive dance on the Country Western circuit.

Salsa is a dance with origins from the Cuban Son (circa 1920) and Afro-Cuban dance (specifically Afro-Cuban Rumba). It is commonly associated with the salsa music style, although it may be danced under other types of music with an 8-count rhythm. Salsa is danced by stepping on 3 consecutive beats of music and then pausing for 1 beat, then repeating. In many styles of salsa dancing, as a dancer changes weight by stepping, the upper body remains level and nearly unaffected by the weight changes, weight shifts cause the hips to move. Arm and shoulder movements are also incorporated. The Cuban Casino style of salsa dancing involves significant movement above the waist, with up-and-down shoulder movements and shifting of the ribcage.

Often referred to in the West as “authentic / Dominican” Bachata, this original social dance was created in the Dominican Republic during the 1960s and has been evolving for several decades. It is increasingly danced to faster music, adding more footwork, simple turns and rhythmic free-styling movements. Bachata is danced with soft hip movements and a tap or syncopation (1, 2, 3, tap/syncopation). This sensual and sexy dance is popular in the Caribbean and all over the world.

is mainly a club dance set to fast Latin music. It is characterized by dramatically swinging hips and a closed hold position. The couple steps side to side in sets of 8 to 2/4 music, turning clockwise or counterclockwise and features a characteristic hip swing and graceful arm flourishes. It is the national dance of the Dominican Republic and there are a number of popular versions as to the origin of this dance. One story claims the dance originated with slaves who were chained together, and, of necessity, were forced to drag one leg as they cut sugar cane to the beat of a drum.

is a passionate and elegant dance that originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has since gained popularity around the world. Argentine Tango is usually danced to a slower, more dramatic style of music that features a lot of strings and piano. The dance is characterized by a series of intricate and precise steps, with partners often dancing in a close embrace and moving in a line of dance around the dance floor. The basic steps involve a series of forward and backward steps, with the lead using subtle body movements to signal the follower’s next move. Argentine Tango dancers often incorporate embellishments and improvisation into their own routines, adding a sense of spontaneity and creativity to the dance. One of the unique aspects of Argentine Tango is the intense connection between partners, with the lead and follower constantly communicating through their bodies and movements. Overall, Argentine Tango is a beautiful and passionate dance that requires skill, precision and deep understanding of the music and rhythm.

Get your Saturday night fever on with the action packed Hustle. New York is said to be the birthplace of Hustle sometime around 1970. Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony recorded The Hustle that created Saturday Night “Hustle” Fever across America. The movie Saturday Night Fever was released in 1977 and it featured both the line and partner dance versions of the Hustle.

In the 1970s, disco became all the rage. This high-energy dance features lots of spins, turns, and wraps, Throughout the 70s acrobatic movements were introduced into the Hustle for performances, and competitions. The dance became faster and more exciting, and the original ‘1-2-3’ of the dance was dropped and just the ‘& 4-5-6’ of the count was utilized in order to move quickly into and out of the tricks that were becoming so popular in the Hustle dance contests. Hence, ‘&4-5-6’ became ‘&1-2-3’. This was the birth of Hustle dance as it is counted today. Hustle is not only danced to hits from the Bee Gees but today’s artists like Bruno Mars and Maroon 5