| As
a new dancer, you might not know which dances
to start with. These brief descriptions with
a song clip will give you an idea of what each
dance is like, so you can decide which ones
might suit you best.
Click
on the song title to hear a music clip.
Foxtrot
is like a Sunday afternoon
stroll in the park… smooth and relaxed,
with just a touch of liveliness in its steps.
It is a traveling dance, so it is comfortably
danced on a medium to large dance floor. Appropriate
music is jazzy with a medium to quick tempo. For
instance, if it’s by Frank Sinatra and you
can snap your fingers to it….it’s
probably Foxtrot.
Waltz
is smooth and romantic,
and as a traveling dance, requires a medium
to large floor to be danced comfortably. Rise
and fall throughout the dance give it a very
fluid, almost ‘floating’ look. Waltz
music can be identified as it is in ¾
time, as opposed to the 4/4 timing of the other
dances.
Viennese
Waltz is
a fast and invigorating style of Waltz. It travels
the floor at a feverish pace, and requires a large
floor to be danced comfortably.
American
Tango is
passionate and dramatic! Its staccato movements
and bold, forceful steps make it exciting for
both dancer and spectator. As a traveling dance,
it requires a medium to large floor to be danced
to it’s fullest.
Argentine
Tango is
the original Tango. It is a passionate, yet intimate
dance characterized by a close embrace and steps
that entwine the legs, as well as intricate and
delicate foot movement. It is a dance that allows
a lot of ‘playing’ with the feet.
Although this style of Tango may travel quite
a bit on the floor, it is also comfortably danced
in small spaces.
Rumba
is the mother
of the Latin dances. Its slow, sensual movements
make it perfect for an intimate ‘slow
dance’ (just you and your sweetie) whereas
it’s elaborate patterns make it just as
appropriate for a performance dance (just you,
your sweetie, and the cheering audience). Rumba
has a relaxed feel for the dancer, and is characterized
by plenty of Latin hip motion. It is compact
enough to be danced on a rather small dance
floor. In addition to traditional Latin music,
many popular (top 40 type) ballads are appropriate
for dancing Rumba.
Cha-cha
is exciting and
invigorating! Latin in nature, the Cha-cha is
characterized by fast Latin rhythms with a syncopated
beat. It is a ‘spot’ dance, so it
does not travel and can easily be danced on a
small dance floor. The hips are likely to get
a good workout in this dance, as it incorporates
plenty of Latin hip motion. In addition to traditional
Latin cha-cha music, many popular club songs and
faster ‘top 40’ type songs are appropriate
for dancing cha-cha.
Salsa
is by
far the most popular of the Latin dances in
the United States today. It is fast, sexy, and
relentless in its combinations of exciting spins,
twists, and turns. It incorporates the constant
rhythmic hip motion of the other Latin dances
to provide a dance experience that is “action
packed” (to say the least). It is a ‘spot
‘dance, so it requires only a small bit
of dance floor space to be comfortably danced.
(Which is good, because the Salsa clubs are
generally quite full!)
East
Coast Swing
is essentially the “Jitterbug” that
became so popular in the 40’s and 50’s…and
it is still very much alive today. A lively
dance, it has a less serious, very ‘happy’
feel to it. Swing is a ‘spot’ dance,
so it can be danced in rather tight quarters.
Plenty of twists and turns to be had-as well
as the occasional being wrapped up into your
partner’s arms! E.C.Swing can be danced
in three different timings - to accommodate
very fast to very slow tempos. Appropriate music
would be ‘Big Band’ style songs.
Lindy-Hop
is a traditional
version of swing, and an elaborate dance with
changes in timing throughout. It is danced to
Big Band music, at fast, medium or slow tempos.
It is a ‘spot’ dance, so it requires
little space to be danced comfortably. Lindy
is known for it’s aerials (lifting or
“throwing” one’s partner)
as well as abundant spins and swivels. (A girl
can “work her skirt” by swiveling
her hips from side to side.) Modern Lindy-Hoppers
are known for incorporating other dances of
the era such as Charleston, Balboa, Boogie-woogie,
and Shag.
West
Coast Swing is
a descendant of the Lindy-Hop, and the two dances
are structurally similar. W.C. Swing, however,
has a more sophisticated feel, and is traditionally
danced to Rhythm and Blues. (Cool & sexy).
Modern dancers, however, dance to many styles
of music including Hip-hop, and Funk. W.C. Swing
is a ‘slot’ dance, as each couple
takes up a ‘slot’ of space on the
floor. This enables dancers to take advantage
of even a very small space for dancing. The
dance is characterized by sharp stops-or freezes-at
appropriate breaks in the music, as well as
invitational patterns, which give the lady an
unusual amount of creative freedom.
Nightclub
Two-Step (also
called California two-step, Disco two-step,
or Night-club Slow) was invented by Buddy Schwimmer
around 1965. It is danced to medium to slow
pop music, and has a more relaxed feel and frame
than most ballroom dances. A spot dance with
a smooth feel, it has stationary as well as
traveling moves, and is appropriate for most
dance floors, whatever the size.
|
