The five most popular Ballroom dances in the world are:

Foxtrot  Waltz Rumba Cha Cha  Swing

A person skilled in these five dances can go anywhere in the world and find someone to dance with.

Following is a little bit of history and some details about each of these dances.  See also  Dance Store ONLINE - with tons more detail

FOXTROT

The Foxtrot originated in 1914 in New York City by Harry Fox. It is one of the most versatile of all the ballroom dances as it can be danced to a wide variety of music with varying tempos.

The foxtrot is a "walking" dance. The dancers express the music by movement across the floor.

The character is smooth and flowing. The style or technique used is brush and follow through with the feet. There are two timings: Slow - Slow - Quick - Quick and Slow - Quick - Quick.
Foxtrot shares many of the same steps with the Waltz.


WALTZ

The Waltz originated in the suburbs of Vienna and the Alpine region of Austria. By the Seventeenth Century it was danced in the Ballrooms of the Habsburg Court in Germany. Today it is a popular dance at weddings and other social events.

The Waltz is also expressed by movement around the room. The character is elegant, regal, and graceful. The style or technique used is rise and fall.

The timing is: ONE - two - three with the "one" being the downbeat The basic Waltz step is the box step, a sequence of six steps which, if you were to draw a line connecting all six, would form a box.


RUMBA

American Rumba is a modified version of the "Son" a popular dance in middle class Cuba before World War II. It was introduced in this country in the 1920's and 1930's. It is slow and rhythmical.

Rumba is sometimes called the "Latin Waltz" or the "Waltz with a wiggle".

The character is romantic and sexy. The style or technique used is Cuban motion of the hips. The timing is: Slow - quick - quick

Many of the steps danced in the Waltz can be danced in the Rumba with Rumba timing, Cuban motion, and Latin arm styling.   More on Rumba


CHA CHA

Cha Cha, originally known as Cha-Cha-Cha, has its origins in the Cuban Mambo. It gets its name from the distinctive syncopated triple step (cha cha cha) danced between 2 rock steps. It came to this country in the middle 1950's.

The Cha Cha is also a spot dance and is expressed though body animation. The character is fun, flirty, playful The style or technique used is Cuban motion and syncopated steps. In America, Cha Cha is thought on the "one"" or "two" beat.

Cha Cha shares many of the same steps as Mambo or Salsa with the cha cha triple step thrown in.  Cha Cha Utube Video Wikipedia


SWING  Debbie D'Aquino Instructor

There are many forms of swing. East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Lindy, Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, etc. All of them originate in the 1920's with the Black community dancing Charleston and Lindy Hop to Jazz music.

The character is fast, fun, playful The style or technique used is 1/2 time motion

There are 3 different timings used in swing:
Single time: Slow (1,2) Slow (3,4) Quick (5) Quick (6)
Double time: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
Triple Time: 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5, 6

Swing steps are a combination of rock steps and triple steps.  More on Swing Video's

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