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VARIOUS DANCES
ARGENTINE TANGO

The most passionate of all dances... and considered by many to be the hardest to learn. The Argentine Tango uses much softer movements than the competitive Ballroom Tango cousin. The focus of this dance emphasizes on what happens around the legs and feet. Men learning this dance concentrate on developing their leading skills with freedom of movement. Ladies must develop acute Following skills in order to follow their partner's movements. This creates for a very strong lead/follow partner connection. Men find this dance to have a steeper learning curve since the dance allows for so much freedom of Lead and many spend a great deal of their lives studying the dance. However, the Argentine Tango gives back to the dancer 10 fold what the dancer puts into it.

SALSA

Hot and Spicy. Salsa has become one of the more popular club partner dances. It is characterized by its fancy and complex turn patterns. In the clubs the dance has a very fluid and soft motion when danced by someone with much experience. Mambo played a large role in the development of Salsa. Salsa came about when people dancing it took on other styles of turns from dances like Swing and Hustle. This dance has developed into 2 distinct styles or ways in which it can be danced. On1 and On2. On1 is the more internationally common way to dance it where the man steps forward (left foot) on the first count of the music phrase. On2 where the man steps almost in place and then back(right foot) on the second count, has much of it's roots from New York. On2 is becoming more and more commonly danced throughout North America and becoming more accepted in Europe as well.

RUMBA

The slow seductive dance of love. Rumba has a definite sexual charateristic and plays out a story of the woman seducing the man with her almost aloof manner of dancing. Show a bit of skin and interest.. and then taking it away. The movements of the woman in this dance(when danced properly) are enough to drive any man crazy with desire. The man in this dance is constantly seeking her attention an only been given it in short amounts. Most onlookers watch in envy when competitive International Latin dancers are performing Rumba and become mesmerized by it's seductively playful nature.

CHA CHA

A dance that sizzles with sexy style. Cha Cha just like the Salsa has a history very connected to the Mambo. It is danced in a very similar step pattern like an Salsa. As the Salsa can be danced On1 or On2.. so can the Cha Cha. Competitive Ballroom Dancers dance Cha Cha On2 while many that would frequent salsa clubs or more latino bars will tend to dance it On1. The Cha Cha tends to have long drawn out movements which are also enhanced by the syncopation of the Cha Cha or Cha Cha Cha when danced On1.

SAMBA

The dance that makes your hips and backside go wild. Samba has its origins in Brazil and though they dance it much differently in Brazil than in the North American and European Ballroom world, the manner in which your moves your hips have a similar stucture. Samba is probably one of the hardest dances in the competitive Ballroom world because the hip motion is accentuated and dancers must spend a lot of time in perfecting the technique. People that dance a lot of Salsa will find the hip motion in Samba quite tricky since it's totally the opposite in structure. Samba is a dance that much like a Waltz or a Foxtrot will use up a lot of space on the dance floor.

SWING/JIVE

The crazy swinging dance of the golden era. The Jive or Swing as it's known in the social Ballroom world combines a lot of underarm spins using a swinging motion in it's basic pattern. The competitve world goes only by the name Jive and though much of the patterns are the same in essence. Jive is considered to be a bit more difficult due to its exhausting jumpy nature with extra refined techniques. Back in the 40's and 50's after the Second World War, many of the youths during that era would flock to dance halls and dance to the sound of the big band music. Back in those days dancers would incorporate a lot patterns which would lift the girl right off the ground. Nowadays that style is left more for the modern day Lindy Hoppers.

PASO DOBLE

El Torrero and his nemisis the bull. Paso Doble though it originated in Spain as a very simple 2 step dance with and exxagerated side to side motion of the shoulders, has now become one of the most expressive dances in the competitive Ballroom world. It tells a very Spanish tale using Flamenco movements and motions quite frequently used by the Torrero during a bullfight. This dance is also characterized by quick suddent burst of stomping of the feet like in Flamenco using very sharp expressive movements. The music is always recognized by the sound of the trumpets played at bullfights.

WALTZ

Flowing with grace and poise, the Waltz began as simple dance by the Aritocrats in Northern Europe near countries like Austria and Germany. The Waltz is a danced to a 3/4 time meaning three beats to every bar in the music. This means that if a step is taken on each beat, then each bar starts with the opposite foot to that of the previous bar. Those starting off in Waltz will always have certain difficulty with getting around in the step, though once mastered it can allow the dancer to glide across a dance floor with much beauty.


FOXTROT

Characterized by it's subtle trot or saunter like motion, the Foxtrot or also known as slow Fox can be quickly learned by a beginner dancer and allow them to get up on a dance floor to make their way around. The dance started during the Vaudville era in New York with a man named Harry Fox. During his performances Harry would use the simple step on stage and between shows audience members would see Harry Fox doing the step with his wife together. And so it become known as the 'Fox trot'. The Foxtrot is considered the simplest of all the Ballroom dances and rightly so since it's basic pattern is 2 walks forward with a side together step using a slow, slow, quick quick rhythm. Many starting out in Ballroom will learn a Foxtrot first for this very reason. It's fun, it get people on the dance floor, and it's as easy as 1, 2, side together.

TANGO

Firey and sharp; the competitve ballroom Tango has become a favourite in the Ballroom world. The Tango is characterized by it's long jagged walking motion and sharp directional changes with a jerkiness of the head. It incorporates a style much more staccato than its brother of origin, the Argentine Tango. By 1912 many musicians and dancers left Argentina to Europe, particularly in Paris where the Tango made its first appearances to the rest of the world. Many were appalled by its nature and it lost it's popularity to other dances like the Foxtrot and Waltz. It soon made a comeback in New York when Ruldoph Valentino made the Tango a hit in 1921. The Tango eventually made its way into the Ballroom world after the 1950's and it gradually evolved into what it is today.

QUICKSTEP

A dance that you just gotta love. When you hear that classical big band music, you can't help but want to get up and move about. The Quickstep, which the name pretty much describes it, is a dance that follows a very similar pattern like that of the Foxtrot..., only quicker. It's also characterized by certain jumpy movements that can be performed by the dancers at given moments in the dance.

VIENNESE WALTZ

Quicker than the Quickstep and glides futher than its cousin the Waltz. Viennese Waltz uses the same 3/4 time like a regular Waltz... only sped up considerably. It is a dance that is great fun when done with an experienced partner and allows the couple to clear across a huge floor in a matter of seconds. A Viennese Waltz doesn't tend to employ any fancy patterns.. or rather doesn't need to. It's enjoyment comes from perform simple patterns. The beauty in this dance lies in the couples ability to glide and turn together very fast across a large dance floor. Before attempting a Viennese Waltz, one should practise first with it's slower cousin the Waltz.