Ballroom Dancing

Ballroom dancing has evolved throughout the centuries into multiple dance forms, but the idea for each style is the same: you are dancing with a partner and communicating with that partner through footwork and body language. It might sound or look complicated at first, but any dancer will tell you that it is, in fact, fairly easy to do, and is also a great way to socialize and meet new people.

There are ballroom dances (a.k.a smooth), Latin dances (a.k.a. rhythm), and social dances. Each category offers a wide variety of dance styles; some are easy, some are hard, but all are highly enjoyable!

The Different Dances

Want to know what's what? Below you'll find a brief description of dances that are currently popular both competitively and socially. Many of these dances are taught here at Hartford Ballroom.

Dances Taught Here At Hartford Ballroom

American/Ballroom Tango

Ballroom tango is a smooth dance that was developed when European and American dance teachers wanted to standardize Argentine Tango. American style and International style are different from each other, but in general, the trademark style of ballroom/American tango is a mixture of smooth gliding steps, and sharp movements.

American Tango has the simplest most basic foot pattern, and that is what we normally teach our students at Hartford Ballroom.

Argentine Tango

Argentine Tango is the original tango, and a specialty of our dance teacher, Nate Evans. Tango was originally danced by the working class in Argentina, but eventually became popular with all social classes. In the early 20th century, Argentine Tango's popularity became international, with people dancing tango throughout Europe and America.
Various styles have evolved throughout the decades, but there are 3 basic forms of Argentine Tango:

Milonga: the earliest form, involving a quick, almost bouncy quality that matches the music.
Argentine Tango: the most popular form, involving fluid movements, and plenty of foot play
Vals: the tango version of the waltz, where all tango movements and rhythm are based off of the waltz 3-count as heard in the music.

The basic principle of all of this forms is improvisation. There's an unlimited number of movements that can be done, and no set pattern. It's very much like jazz music: you're given a guideline but then you're left to your own devices and interpretation. It is the ultimate show of partnership and teamwork between a leader and a follower.

Bachata

Bachata is a Latin dance that is popular among salsa dancers. Originally danced in the Dominican Republic, it is a fairly simple dance that, like tango, has evolved into various styles around the world. Most dancers in Connecticut, however, keep it easy and casual, and use it as a chance to take a break from the fast-paced salsa.

Bolero

Bolero is a Latin dance. The version that is widely used in ballroom dancing evolved from Cuban music, and currently uses a very slow, romantic beat. Bolero movements are bigger and slower than other Latin dances, almost waltz-like in quality. This is a dance that also works really well with slow music in 4/4 time, making it excellent for wedding couples.

Cha Cha

Cha Cha is a fairly easy Latin dance that originated in the early 1950s when a Cuban composer introduced the cha-cha-cha rhythm in to his songs, and dancers began improvising a triple step into their footwork while they danced to the music. The dance took off and is now popular worldwide.

Country Waltz

Country waltz (we call it "Fast Waltz") covers a wide variety of informal waltzes that are locally popular among the waltz-dancing community. These dances are frequently danced to songs that have a medium-paced waltz tempo, too fast for a comfortable ballroom box step, but not fast enough to really be considered Viennese Waltz. The steps and patterns are among the easiest waltz moves to learn.

Another similar form of waltz is called Cross-step waltz. It shares similar patterns with country waltz, but there's a trademark cross-step that defines this form.

East Coast Swing

East Coast Swing is a fun and bouncy social dance that was created by dance studios in the 1940s. It's forerunner, the Lindy Hop, was considered too difficult for beginners, and too unstructured for dance studios to teach, so East Coast Swing was born. It can be done with either a triple step or a single step, and while there are technically correct ways to dance it, East Coast Swing is versatile enough to allow improvisation and personal styling.

Foxtrot

Foxtrot is a ballroom social dance that first premiered in 1914, and was originally danced to ragtime music. It was the most popular fast dance for the first half of the 20th century, and is still one of the primary dance forms danced in competitions and taught at studios. Now done at a slower pace, it is frequently danced to popular classics, such as Frank Sinatra's "Somewhere Beyond The Sea" and Top Hat's "Cheek To Cheek".
Currently there are three widely used forms:

American Social Foxtrot: this version is easy to learn, and involves either slow-slow-quick-quick, or slow-quick-quick rhythms
American Continuity Style: Silver level form, frequently used in competitions, where the feet don't come together, and body contact is optional
International Style: Similar to American Continuity, except body contact is a must. It's the most difficult version

Hustle

A social dance that originated in the early '70s, it is a style that is frequently associated with disco music and the disco era in general. It can also be danced to pop and alternative rock music, and has some features in common with East Coast Swing, although this style is smoother and sleeker than Swing. It is thought to have originated in the South Bronx among Puerto Ricans and was originally known as "Latin Hustle".

Merengue

A Dominican dance that involves stepping to the beat of the music (also Dominican) in small steps. The dance allows plenty of freedom to move, dance in place, and to do turns, making this one of the easiest dances to learn.

Quickstep

Developed in the 1920s by the English, Quickstep has the smoothness and elegance of foxtrot, but the speed and hop of Swing and Charleston. There isn't so much a basic step as there are 3 basic patterns: the quarter turn, the chasse, and the lockstep.
This dance was created to go with the ragtime jazz music that was popular in the 1920s, so it has a rather fast pace. Modern quickstep music sounds like like really fast foxtrot or swing music. A prime example of quickstep music is "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing"

Rumba

Rumba (a.k.a "ballroom rumba" or "rhumba") is a dance that originated in the '30s and '40s in the East Coast of the US. It has some Cuban roots in it's music and it's dance form, but the form of rumba that ballroom dancers use socially and competitively looks very different from Cuban Rumba.

The American form is the version we teach at our studio. It has a box-like form in it's basic figures and it's patterns have some similarities to cha-cha and bolero patterns.

There's another form called International rumba, which is frequently used in competitions. It's slower than the American style, and has different figures and patterns.

Salsa

Salsa is a Latin social dance that has its roots in Caribbean dancing and music. It is a popular and widespread, with people dancing salsa in clubs, at restaurants, and festivals. There are multiple variations everywhere, but each variation is easy to adapt to. Salsa is immediately recognizable with it's break steps, turns, and hip action. It's fairly easy to learn and highly enjoyable.

Samba

Samba dancing (the version we recognize on the ballroom dance floor), evolved separately from Brazilian samba, to the point that the two versions look completely different. However, it's evolution and development was influenced by Brazilian samba.

Samba is a very rhythmic and lively dance, with heavy-sounding beats in it's music. It has the appearance of bouncing without actually bouncing, and has large, yet grounded, movements.

Slow Waltz

Waltz is a dance form that's been around for centuries. It is always danced to music that has 3 beats per measure (1-2-3, 1-2-3). In the 16th century, it was danced without hand and body contact, and it was considered scandalous among the upper class when body contact was introduced in the 18th century.
The latter form became widely popular, however, and has evolved into the various forms of waltz we know today.
The term "Slow Waltz" is used to differentiate from Country/Western waltz and Viennese Waltz, as this form of waltz uses slower-paced music. The style we teach is the American Style, which has patterns that allow partners to open up or break contact with each other.

Viennese Waltz

Viennese Waltz is the oldest form of the current waltz styles. It originated in Austria in the latter half of the 18th century, and is danced at a considerably faster pace than the other waltzes. "The Blue Danube" is a prime example of Viennese Waltz music.

The true form of this dance only has 3 moves: a right turn (natural), a left turn (reverse), and a change step (where you change weight from one foot to the other). Other patterns that are seen in this dance (underarm turns, sways, and fleckerls) are modern inventions. At our studio, we teach both the true form and modern patterns.

West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing is a form of dance that originated from the Lindy Hop in the '40s and '50s. It's a slinkier, more elastic form of swing that is danced along a line, or "slot". It is typically danced to more bluesy types of music. Alternative rock is also popular for this style of dance.
Because this dance is flexible and easy to improvise with, there are many arguments on how exactly it must be led and followed, as there is no single style for this form (East Coast Swing is the same way). However, it is generally agreed that the basic patterns for this dance are the sugar push, the whip, and the pass.