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The Ballroom Dances (close chronological order)
Church authorities- "in many areas, the Waltz was banned from public ballrooms for many years-" because it was "the first dance to use closed dance position for any extended period of time.
The Waltz, of course, did survive this scrutiny, but was forced to split into two distinct styles, the Waltz know to the French and English ballrooms and the Viennese Waltz, 1812, know to the strong-mined Germans who refused to give into the criticism of the church. In the first style, it was kept slow, with the knowledge that "the gentleman wait until the dance had begun before encircling the lady's waist" that it would be immoral to ever have the gentleman "put his hand on that portion of her anatomy." It was said that "should he lack gloves, the least he could do was to hold a handkerchief in his hand." The Waltz was to be performed solely for the demonstration of elegance and not pleasure. The Viennese style Waltz, on the other hand, "made an immoral name for itself" because the youth refused to give up its mobility and freedom, thus offering the suffer the churches' consequences of dancing adance of "more speed,... gliding and turning around the room while throwing head and body from one side to the other.
Even though the Waltz caused so much trouble with the church, it did bring about one change that exuberated the course of concert music,that of the increased need for increased tempo and more joyous moods in the concert halls. "Perhaps Chopin is the best known composer of brilliant Waltz music, although today when we hear his melodies in the ballroom as distinct from the concert hall, they are distorted for'contemporary' purposes almost beyond recognition." Other composers for the new Viennese style also arose; "Brahms and Schumann composed Waltzes which are typically German in style and character." But probably the most famous and influential Waltz composer of that era was Johann Strauss. Percy Scholes wrote "...it seems as likely that such a Waltz as the 'Blue Danube,' by Johann Strauss the younger, the 'Waltz King' will last for ever as that Beethoven's Fifth Symphony will do.
Polka
The Polka had originated in Bohemia and formalized by the French."There is a romantic story of its origins, whereby a Czech servant girl,a certain Anna Chadimova, was moved on Sunday to a dance in a way not seen before. The steps and the tune were noted down by musical observers who just happened to be on the scene, and thus a new dance supposedly was born." From that point, "its rhythms and steps took a firm hold on the audience, and Paris ballrooms promptly went Polka-mad, to which fever England soon succumbed.
The name "Polka" came from the Czech word meaning "half," because of the number of half steps used in the dance.The Polka is "a bright, lively dance step in uneven rhythm... with the addition of a hop so that it becomes hop, step, close, step. The hop comes on the pick- up beat. Thus the Polka, traditionally in a 2/4 meter possesses a hop, quick, quick, slow pattern with the count of hop, 1 and 2, hop, 1and 2. Though is may seem to be an awkward pattern of motion, in actuality, it adds to the joyousness and celebratory mood of the dance.
Since the introduction of the Polka in the 19th century, the Polka has entered the ballroom scene as mainly a Folk dance done in celebration rather than in exact and standardized basic "correct" and incorrect" movements. Though the Polka does contain its distinct basic steps, the mood of the Polka is that which makes it the dance it is."Every ballroom was like a whirlpool; dancing more resembled the driving home from Derby than anything else; the collisions rivalled in frequency and severity, those of the iron railways before the infants had learned how to behave themselves. Though this is not the kind of behavior that was normally tolerated by the social elite, it was said that "the masses who now favored the public halls whizzed and twirled about the floor in outbursts of robustness which matched the vulgar but vital energy" brought out by the Waltz. "The Polka came just at the right moment to harness this energy and to direct it into a less uncontrolled and unseemly direction.
Tango
The Tango began as two different dances. The first, with it's home in Spain, was "an exhibition dance performed by a solo dancer who directs the sharp accents of heel rhythms, snapping fingers, and flowing arm movements into a blend of both classical and Gypsy Iberian dance."The contrast to this is the well known ballroom style performed today.This style began in Argentina as "El Baile con Corte meaning 'the dance with a stop'" and later changed to "tango" or the "touch dance." It was performed as a taunting dance of the males upon the females.
Originally the Tango was danced as a courtship dance of the "gauchos, sailors, and Italian immigrants, all competing for the'favours' of the half-Indian women habituees of the waterfront cafes." It was a dominating dance of the working men who had been away for long periods of time; it "was now a sensuous, flamboyant and highly exotic dance, as yet known only in the lowest haunts of Buenos Aires and completely taboo in polite Argentine society." But, like most "unpopular dances" as it gained popularity among the dancers it would slowly "become slightly more respectable" though for the Tango, this popularity was mostly due to the new orchestra sound that was too good to remain in small bars.
Though the Argentineans tried so hard to suppress this dance, a number of recognized dancers discovered it and in time toned it into and acceptable ballroom version. The first moderation came prior to World War I by Vernon and Irene Castle. Though they did not radically change the domination or style of it, they toned it down to hold what was know as "Tango tease." This where is was made standard to the slow, slow,quick, quick, slow pattern that exuberated the motion of the quick stop and dramaticism. The most widely known was the new French version transformed by Valentino. Valentino returned to emotion to the Tango"where the steps were more 'exotic'" and expressed the original emotion of the gauchos of Argentina. With this, Valentino returned the extreme closeness of the male to the female and the stubbornness to comply of the female to the Tango, which were what had been disapproved of from the beginning.
Foxtrot
The Foxtrot known as the first truly American ballroom dance, was named after the creator, Mr. Harry Fox, after he sformed into grotesque holds with exaggerated body and arm movements." These "animal dances"contained "such descriptive names as the Turkey Trot, Grizzly Bear,Kangaroo Hop, Bunny Hug, and Harlem Glide.
Dance teachers then answered the call for this syncopated dance and want to rid themselves of the "animal dances" and went to work onmodifying the Foxtrot for the ballrooms. The result was "one of the moststandard and popular dances wherever dancing is performed." And even though music has changed so much since the 1910's and 20's, "becoming smother and more flowing," it has always been accepted, though it has often taken on the title of "the slow dance" by the youth. The original Foxtrot was characterized by English dance teacher Victor Silvester as to "walk four slow steps (2 bars), then take a run of even quick steps, bringing the right foot to the back of the left on the eighth beat. Because the quick steps would rapidly de-energize the dancers, the Foxtrot had to be modified down to an even and systematic dance for the masses.Unfortunately since the Foxtrot had to be modified so many times it, in the end, was turned into four different styles. The first, and most standardized and known, brought about by Vernon and Irene Castle became four walking steps with one step on each beat. The formation was then noted by the popular "Box" of Step, Touch, Side, Together. The second, known as the dance walk is a slower version of the first with two slow walking steps for each measure of music. The third form that was helped to be standardized by Arthur Murray, along with the fourth form,is the "Magic Step." "The Magic step represents broken rhythm as it takes a measure and a half of music... (and) it is an uneven rhythm pattern,slow, slow, quick, quick." The last, as just as popular, is the"Westchester" style, characterized by a slow, quick, quick walking in cut time that takes two measures to complete one "Box. But no matter how it has been changed or how it is performed, what remains is that it has been the standard American dance, and thus transformed and defined the style of all American-style of ballroom dances to follow.
Swing
"The 1930's were years of financial depression and hardship, yet they were also years which ballroom dance reached one of its highest peaks of popularity and finesse in the United States." From this period of World War I and the Great Depression also came the New Orleans and Chicago- style Jazz of Benny Goodman, who "is the band leader credited with developing the rhythm eventually known as Swing. And along with this new, vibrant style of music, came a dance to compliment the upbeat feel of it: Swing.Named after Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, the "Lindbergh Hop," later the "Lindy Hop," "Lindy,""Shag," "Jitterbug," and others, the Swing is noted for its acrobatic movements that complement the "exuberant" and "bounding" new rhythmic music. This brought about its wide popularity among the GIs of theWorld War II era. Though there are three different types of Swing, Single Lindy,Double Lindy, and Triple Lindy, the basic steps for them all is just that, basic. The Single Lindy is a Slow Side Step, Slow Side Step, QuickRock Step; the Double Lindy is six Quick Steps with a Side Together, Side Together, Rock Step; the Triple Lindy is a Side Together Side for two beats, Side Together Side, for two beats, and Rock Step.The acrobatics come as variations to these basic movements. The most notable variations in the Swing are Collegiate (hands joined),Semiopen Basic, Turn, Swing Out Break, Continuous Underarm Turns, BrushOff (flirtation pass), Tuck Spin, Wrap, Dish Rag, Overhead Swing, Swivel Step, Out and Close, Wrap-Unwrap Spin, and other variations and combinations to these added steps. These can all be done to the music but since "the rhythm pattern is generally the same over and over but the changes of position and direction and the constant subtle smooth roll to offbeat rhythm generates a fabulous excitement for both dancer and observer. For classifying swing to the other ballroom dances, Arthur Murray wrote that "swing is the general, all- inclusive term that is applied to syncopated Foxtrot dancing. Formally called, Jitterbug, Lindy Hop, and various other names in different sections of the country, Swing is the newer title.
Rumba
"In the thirties, an entirely new rhythm and dance from Cuba was becoming known- the so-called Rumba. The true Rumba is of Afro-Cuban origin, deriving from the days of Negro slavery... and is an exotic dance with violent and sinuous movements of hip, shoulder and torso." This form of the Rumba was of course not accepted by the social elite of the United States ballroom instructors, and had to be reformed for the dance scene of the 30's and 40's. Thus, the Rumba split into "the 'son' which is a slower and more refined version of the Rumba... that lacks the wild freedom of the true Rumba and may be accompanied by a romantic and sentimental melody." It was said that "the Rumba flaunts, the son insinuates." In 1946, this style of the son, played at a faster tempo was that which was finally accepted by the ballroom dancing profession. The "subtle, continuous, rolling motion" of the Rumba contains three main characteristics that distinguish it from other dances: [1] the action is in the feet and the knees; [2] there is a delay shift of weight; and [3] the upper body is upright and quiet, with a focus on one's partner. These work together in a spot dance form to"tease" your partner into exotic and rhythmic taunting and flirting,creating the excitement of a relatively slow and simple dance step. This taunting is formulated by and "side to side" motion of the hips and an"opposition hip shift- the hips are shifting in the direction opposite to the step-" causing an exaggeration in the normal movement of the hips in a sensual and seductive manner.The basic step of the Rumba is placed into two distinct forms, the Bolero and the Rumba Box. Either form is standardized by a Forward step- Back step on the 2nd and 3rd counts, and a hold on the 1st (though some American styles have begun on the 1 rather than the 2). The 4 count is, typically, the only one which distinguishes the two styles. The Bolero is performed on in a side to side motion causing a more stationary dance with some traveling, while the Rumba Box is performed in a Foxtrot-like box step, but can be traveled somewhat about the floor.
Quickstep
The Quickstep, or "joy" dance of ballroom dancing, is noted as a quick Foxtrot. As the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, 1924, continued to standardize the ballroom style dance, it was thought that the "proper" Foxtrot had been made slower and slower, and some dance had to fill "the need for a dance that could be performed at a fair speed but with smooth 'walking' movements. This dancewas the Quickstep.Because the "red-hot baby" dances of the twenties were being tamed and placed out of fashion in order to accommodate dances of "sweetmusic," the sedateness of ballroom dancing had to be "rescued" by some dance. The standard four dances of the time, Waltz, Foxtrot,Tango, and Quickstep, became more and more unpopular as the "excitement"had been taken from them. Studies showed that the approval rate of the Foxtrot, Waltz, and Tango had fallen drastically due to this lack of ability of free movement that was prominent in the Swing.The Quickstep, then, became the free-flowing dance that the youth had been looking for. It was said to be so elated due to its quicker tempo that dance halls had to resort to using "No Jive" signs that disallowed Swing and Quickstep dances at the same time. Thus, theQuickstep found its way to the large ballrooms, and an equivalent wide popularity and to be considered a "recognized" dance of the elite ISTD.The Quickstep is characterized by a Slow-Slow-Quick- Quick-Slow rhythm performed to relatively fast 48-52 bars/min. music that brings out all of the "frills" it has. It's main aspect is the quick, short steps with a distinct rise and fall motion in the walk. Alex Moore tells that "the dancer who masters the fundamentals of the Quickstep will have command of a dance that can never grow stale, a dance that is unquestionably the most attractive expression of rhythm the world hasever known.
Paso Doble
The Paso Doble finds its roots in the Spanish style music of the 1930's that "had inspired such dances as the Maxixe and... the Tango." It came from the Spanish Bolero as a One-step. Most popularly known is that the Paso Doble is the "man's" dance, portraying the story of the matador with (the female being) his cape, where the matador is to"wield" his cape according to the "anger and intensity" of of the roaring boar. And thus for the accompanying music, "as strong as the matador's concentration."Though originally known as dance of the common people- as with most dances- it later split into two distinct styles which brought about it's worldwide popularity. The first, the original, remained in Latin-America and gave way to the rise of the Rumba; while the second,found its way to France prior to the war, where it "gained great popularity in England for demonstrations, competitions, professional examinations, and amateur medal tests." (10:77) The first distinction has been questioned by many sources, however.The main features of the Paso Doble include the "precision of footwork and elegant deportment as seen in all Spanish dancing,... the hold... higher than the normal ballroom hold,... a light hip contact,...(and) the Torero, (the male portrayal of) fighting the bull and handling his cloak.
Samba
"The Samba comes from Brazil. It differs from other Latin-American dances in that it is lively and vigorous and the feet are constantly leaving the floor. It is literally a bouncing step.The Black Brazilians were often know for their "imaginative" songs and dances, and "as the paraders moved along the streets with jaunty,body-swinging, rhythmic movements, a leader would occasionally shout''Semba' (Americans later changed to "Samba")." At this point, theparticipants were to "perform a series of freely improvised dances." The ballroomers then toned these wild dances down to a closed position, but kept the bounciness and exuberance to form the style known and accepted today. It was expected that the Samba had begun by the drunken bar hoppers imitating an equally drunken friend, who was "gyrating" to the folk music. This soon after was cleaned up to become a standard for social functions, and even today remains just as popular. Beverly Yerrington claimed the story as such: "some people claim that at the big carnival in Rio de Janeiro there happened to be a group of street dancers who had been unduly influenced by the spirits of alcohol, and were performing a bouncy and gay version of the batuque. Those watching like it so much that within hours it spread to many street dancers at the carnival." "The basic step pattern is similar to the Waltz balance, but the feeling and the quality of the movement are quite different. The movement of (the) Samba uses the whole body,... the upper body tilts forward as the feet go backward. It is characterized by three distinct step motions: step forward on the left, body sways backward; [2]step right foot besides left; and [3] step left foot in place.
Mambo
The Mambo is credited to a Cuban bandleader named Perez Prado who, in 1943, mixed the strong American Jazz influence with the predominant Cuban rhythm, creating a "particular" dance with a "jagged rhythm: there was a beat in every bar on which the dancer took no step,but rested. The word "Mambo," though, has a discrepancy as to its actual meaning; one source says it is of "Nanigo dialect spoken in Cuba, and has no 'real' meaning while another source says it was"freely borrowed from African voodoo religion, in which the cult priestesses are honored with this name.But whatever the Mambo's meaning or who gets credit for it, one thing remains important: the Mambo was caused by the clash of the "American jazz beat with the Cuban Rumba rhythm. Even though the Mambo did not gain widespread approval until the 50's, this "new-style 'jazzed- up' Cuban Mambo music revived ballroom style dancing to the youth that were leaning toward the new Jive sounds of the day.The Mambo allowed for syncopated movements to an upbeat Jazz sound and a then warn-out Rumba sound.Beyond this new found excitement for the Cuban rhythm, the Mambo had gained just as "jazzed-up" movements to follow it. "As in the Rumba,... the movement is initiated in the hips,... but it is not quite so subtle as Rumba. It also uses the same rhythm as the Rumba,however there is a hold on the first beat of each bar. This hold was taught to be dressed up with kicks and body movements, thus creating a very "sinuous" and popular dance.The basic steps for the Mambo are similar to that of the Rumba and Cha Cha. It follows a Quick, Quick, Slow rhythmic pattern with the slow covering the beats 4 and carrying over to 1. The steps are Forward Left, Back Right, Close Left to Right, then Back Right, Forward Left,Close Right to Left for the next four counts.
Cha Cha
The Cha Cha is defined as the "Cuban dance that evolved from the Mambo... (rising) to great popularity in the mid 1950's." The major difference was that "the pause found in the Mambo was changed to a rapid triple step." (1) This triple step, when performed, sounds off a "cha cha cha" sound from the stepping on the 3-and-4 beats. This motion was said to have been enjoyable because "(to the elders) it could be performed with the Rumba figures substituted for the sexy wiggles favored by the young,... (while the youth) enjoyed it because it was another of those dances that allowed for individual display.This triple-Mambo, "involving five movements to one bar of music,became the basis of the 'cha-cha'." It had originally reached England and taught "to a count of 'one, two, cha cha cha' and indeed many of the commercial recordings stress this beat." This style though, was notably different from the "essential beat" and rhythm of the Cuban bands and was changed to contain "the count of 'one, two, three, cha cha. Though this became widely accepted and "being correct,... the other version...is still taught and is a competition style."The rhythm is an uneven beat pattern of the slow, slow, quick,quick, slow and will be counted 2, 3, 4, and, 1, with the 4-and-1 being the familiar Cha Cha Cha triple. "You will see few people beginning to step on count two- habit dictates beginning on count one. Even though the rhythm has remained constant, the American ballrooms have moved the Cha Cha Cha beats to the 3-and-4 counts to match the music emphasis and to make it easier and more standard for the ballroom regulars.
Jive
The Jive came about by taking over and taming the Jitterbug dancing of the 40's as the change from live bands to jukebox dancing hit the dance halls and soda parlors in the 1950's. This milder form of Swing/ Jitterbug/ Lindy dancing, with its loss of acrobatics that had been acquired through the years gave the youth of the "Rock and Roll 50's" their own version of the ballroom dances, since the"traditional" dances were being performed by the then elders of society who had started the dances.The Jive has three basic forms, the single, double, and triple,however it is the triple which has stuck and given the Jive the exuberance of the 50's as defined by performers like Bill Haley and his most famous "Rock Around the Clock." Though the "passive" television influence insured that ballroom dancing had to be tamed for the life-reducing "twelve-inch space," the basic steps remained relatively the same.Though the Jive has undergone many name and style changes, and as"the new dances come and go,... the Jive stays,... because it has definite basic steps." The basic steps of the Jive are defined by (for male) Step Right, Step Left, Step Right (moving 2-3"), Step Left (moving 2-3"), and a Small Right Side Step. The count for this Fallaway style,is 1, 2, 3, and, 4. As an alternative, the last three steps (known as the "Jive chasses'") can be done on the left foot also, thus giving acount of 1,2,3 and 4, 3 and 4.
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