Ballroom Dance Categorization

Ballroom Dance Categorization

Ballroom Dance Categorization

2012 WDSF World DanceSport Championships, Latin
Austrian Open Championships, Vienna
Credit:	Ailura

Overview

Ballroom Dances are strictly organized into a number of categories, each with its own characteristics and history. This article addresses categories that appear in American and English Ballroom Dance competitions.

Categories of Ballroom Dance

Most broadly, Ballroom dances are separated into the International and American styles. In England and many parts of the world, the International style is simply referred to as "Ballroom." The American styles are mainly danced in the United States, where the term "International" is commonly used to refer to the styles from England and the rest of the world.

Style Differentiation

The International style is further granulated into the Standard and Latin categories. Outside of the United States, the Standard category is most frequently referred to as "Modern." The Standard dances, which include the Waltz, are characterised by closed hold, meaning that the leader and follower must remain in contact at all times. Standard is the oldest style of ballroom, and is considered by many to be the most elegant style.The Latin style, which includes the Cha-Cha, is intensely flamboyant, featuring rapid footwork, provocative hip and body movement, and, in competitions and certain social settings, suggestive costumes.

Similar to the International style, the American style is subdivided into the Smooth and Rhythm categories. These categories mirror the dances and imagery found in the Standard and Latin styles, with certain notable differences. Smooth contains its own versions of each of the Standard dances, with the exception of the Quickstep. Unlike in Standard, Smooth dances allow for an open hold. This means that the dancers may separate from each other, performing spins, turns, shadow position, and more. Rhythm contains versions of many of the Latin dances, but drops Samba and Paso Doble, adding in Mambo and Bolero in their places. Rhythm also features Swing instead of Jive. Because Jive is a direct descendant of Swing, this is not considered as major a difference. Rhythm further differentiates itself from Latin by the use of bent legs. In the Latin style, dancers almost always land on a straight leg. In Rhythm, dancers land on a bent leg which they quickly straighten. This leads to a key component of Rhythm, referred to as Cuban motion, which involves complex lower-body movement and hip rotation.

Ballroom dances can also be categorized as either Progressive or Spot Dances. Progressive dances are those that move around the dance floor, following the line of dance. As a rule, all Smooth and Standard dances are progressive. Spot dances, in contrast, remain in the same general area of the floor. Spot dances may move occasionally, but stay in one location overall. Most dances in the Rhythm and Latin categories are spot dances, with the exceptions of Samba and Paso Doble, which are both progressive dances and follow the line of dance.

International Styles

International Standard	International Latin
Waltz	Cha-Cha
Foxtrot	Rumba
Tango	Jive
Viennese Waltz	Samba
Quickstep	Paso Doble

American Styles

American Smooth	American Rhythm
Waltz	Cha-Cha
Foxtrot	Rumba
Tango	Swing
Viennese Waltz	Mambo
	Bolero