UNIT III

SOCIAL DANCES

Brief history about Modern Ballroom Dancing

Ballroom dancing has a unique contributed to its current popularity as a recreational and
competitive sports. Ballroom Dancing has its origin in England during the late 18" and early 19th
century primarily on the upper class who participated in social events at balls. During the late 19th
century & and early 20th century, Ballroom dancing became popular among working class who
attended public dance halls or popular assemblies. Ballroom competitions gained popularity during the
1920’s, in 1924 the Ballroom Branch of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing was formed; its
mission was to standardize the music, steps, and technique of Ballroom Dancing. Throughout the years,
Ballroom Dancing gained increased popularity throughout Europe, Asian-Pacific, and the Americans.

In April 1995, the International Dance sports Federation (IDSF) announced that the
International Olympics committee (LOC) had granted provisional IOC recognition to Ballroom
dancing or “DANCESPORTS”. This is a major step towards having Ballroom Dancing recognized as an
Olympic sports.

Modern Standard Ballroom Dances

The five dances categorized as “Modern standard Ballroom” dances International Dance sports
Championship, namely Viennese Waltz, Modem Waltz, Tango, fox-trot, and quickstep.

These five dances are danced world over both socially and in dance sports competitions. The figure in
these modern ballroom dancers have now been standardized and categorized into various levels for
teaching, with international agreed vocabularies, techniques, rhythms and tempos.

While these “Standard Ballroom” dances diverse origins, rhythms , tempos, and aesthetics, the one
thing each has common is that they are all dance by a couple ( usually a man and a lady) in “Closed
Hold” maintaining five areas of contact between partners while performing all the figures of the dances.

Social Dance Positions:

1. Close position- partners stand facing to each other, Girl's left hand rest lightly on boys shoulder,
Boy’s right arm is around her waist, His left hand holds the girl's right hand out to the side about
shoulder, Height with elbows in a relaxed position.
2. Semi-open position - boy stand with his right side close to the girl's left side his left side and her
right side are away from each other at an angle, They may not hold hands depending on the
nature of the dance.
 3. Open position- partner face each other, about twelve inches apart. They may assume the hands of
the closed position. With the boy's right hand on the side of the girl's waist or he may hold her
hands at shoulder level to the side.
4. Apart position- partners are so far apart that the boy’s right hand cannot hold the girl’s waist.
Boy hold girl's hand in the left hand.
5. Opposite side position- same as open position except boy stands with his left side close to the
girls right side. They may, or may not hold hands depending on the nature of the dance.

The Cha-Cha
 The Cha-Cha is a popular of all latin american dances and originally called “Cha-Cha-Cha”. It
is an offshoot of Mambo and therefore performed to Mambo music. The Cha-cha-cha is actually three
beats taken with feet close together or in place. The Cha-cha-cha as we know it today, Is a combination
of the Mambo and the Cha-cha-cha.

B. Variations
a. Fan step
b. Alemana turn
c. Hockey stick

The boogic-woogie was originally called the “Lindy” after Charles Linbergh’s successful non-
stop flight from New gh’s successful non-stop flight from New York to Paris on May 21, 1927. It
inspired the dance which can be describe as energetic and uninhibited.

The dance when it was introduced to the Filipinos became known as boogie-woogie after the
music it was dance to. Its other names as jitter burg, the shag and the rock and roll.

The basic steps are a tap with the left foot and then the right foot followed by a back step and a
closed for the boys and opposite for the girls. The partners may hold in the closed, open or one-hand
position.

A. Basic Steps:

Tap R foot in front (ct.1), close R to L (ct. and), tap L foot in front (ct. 2),close L to
R (ct. and),back step R foot (ct.3),and close R to L (ct. and)

B. Variations

a. Pivot turn
b. 2 Snap
c. 3 Wrap-around
 The history of swing dates back to the 1920's, where the black community, while dancing to
contemporary jazz music, discovered the Charleston and the Lindy Hop.

On March 26, 1926, the savoy ballroom opened its doors in New York. The Savoy was an
immediate Success with its block-long dance floor and a raised double bandstand. Nightly dancing
attracted most of the best dancers in the New Yorkarea. Stimulated by the presence of great dancers and
the best black bands, music at the Savoy was largely Swinging Jazz.

One evening in 1927, following Lindbergh's flight to Paris, a local dance enthusiast named
“Shorty George” Snowden was watching some of the dancing couples. A newspaper reporter asked him
what dance they were doing, and it just so happened that there was a newspaper with an article about
Lindbergh's flight sitting on the bench next to them. The title of the article read, “Lindy Hops The
Atlantic,” and George just sort of read that and said, “Lindy Hop” and the name stuck.

In the mid 1930's, a bouncy six beat variant was named the Jitterbug by the band leader cab
Calloway when he introduced a tune in 1934 entitled “Jitterbug.”

With the discovery of the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug, the communities began dancing to the
contemporary Jazz and swing music as it was involving at the time, with Benny Goodman leading the
action. Dancers soon incorporated with tap and jazz steps into their dancing.

A. Basic Steps:
Step, step, ball change

B. Variations

a. Change of places
b. Ballroom
c. Shoulder mark
d. Overhead
e. Spin
 Originally the Tango was (ad still) a light spirited flamenco dance from Spain. With the
Spanish conquest of much South America, this Tango together with other Spanish folk dances naturally
emigrated with settlers from Spain, although its involvement in the formations of the modem Tango is
suspect. The Tangano, the African dance imported with the Negro slaves is more likely precursor. Over
the years one or both became merge with other dances in the New World. In particular, in Argentina, in
the slams of Buenos Airs in the late 19th century, they became known as the Milonga. Although
initially popular with the lower classes of Argentine society, by the turn of the 20° century, it had gained
acceptance with the upper classes there. Its importation in the upper classes of Western Europe was
catalyzed by France’s greatest music-hall star: Mistinguett, who gave the first ever demonstration in
Paris in 1910 (Colliere, 1995,1996) interest in the dance rapidly exploded as a “Tangomania”, initially
through Paris the London then New York. The first world war did nothing to cool this interest, with
Rudolph Valentino popularizing the Tango further in this film “The Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse” (1921). More recent film demonstration have been given by al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar
in “Scent of a woman” (1992), and by Arnold Schwarzenneger and Tia Carrere in the “True Lies”
(1994). Add to this list, madonna’s “Evita”. The character of the Milonga is a very soft private dance,
with visual emphasis on the leg movements. This character was changed dramatically in Paris in 1930’s,
where the dance was combined with the proud torso of the other ballroom dances, and given a staccato
action. This moved the visual emphasis to the torso and head, a characteristic which remains to this day.
The dance has been used as an example of Irrational Dancing.

A. Basic Rhythm:
slow, slow, quick, quick slow

B. Variations
a. Two walks
b. Progressive steps
c. Reversed turn turn, closed finish
d. Progressive Link
e. Closed Promenade

"Master the basic steps and the Variations and prepare for the
presentation."
 Suggested Dance Activities:
Meringue
The Meringue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic, and also to some extent, of
Haiti, the neighbour sharing the Island. There are two popular versions of the origin, of Dominican
national dance, the Meringue. One story alleges the dance originated with the slaves who were chained
together and, of necessity, were force to drag one leg as they cut Sugar to the beat of the drums. The
second story alleges that a great hero was wounded in the leg during one of the many revolutions in the
Dominican Republic . a party of a Villagers welcomed him home with a victory celebration and, out of
sympathy, everyone dancing felt obliged to limp and drag one foot. Meringue has existed since the early
years of the Dominican Republic (in Haiti, a similar dance is called the meringue). It is possible the dance
took its name from the confection made of sugar and egg whites because of the light and frothy character
of the dance because of its short, precise rhythms. By the middle of the 19" century, the Meringue was
very popular in the Dominican Republic. Not only in its used on every dancing occasion in the Republic,
but it is very popular throughout the Carribean and south America, and in one of the standard Latin
American dances. There are a lot of variety in Meringue music. Tempos vary a great deal and a
Dominicans enjoy a sharp quickening in pace toward the latter part of the dance. The most favoured
routine at the clubs and restaurants that run a dance floor is a slow Bolero, breaking into a Meringue,
which becomes akin to the bright, fast jive in its closing stages. The ballroom Meringue is lower and has a
modified hip action. The Meringue was introduce in the United street in the New York area. However,
it did not become well known until several years later. Ideally suited to the small, crowded in the dance
floors, it is dance that easy to learn and essentially a ‘fun’ dance.

La Cumbia

The La Cumbia is a Colombian musical style and folk dance that is considered to be
representative of Colombia, along with Vallenato. Cumbian originated from the Caribbean coast of
Colombia, Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the slave population that was later
mixed with European instruments and musical characteristics. It was also used during the Colombian
struggle for independence as an expression of resistance against Spain.

Slow Fox-Trot

This dance performed by couples in ballroom hold to music with a 4/4 rhythm and a 120
beats/minute tempo. A faster dance of this nature was variously called the One step in the Victorian era
in Western Society. This one had step per beat or two steps per bar; hence the dual nomenclature. It was
embellished into a nightclub performance dance by Vernon and Irene Castle, and popularized by
Harry Fox in the stage show “Ziegfeld Follies” in New York in 1913. Fox’s involvement has been taken
as the origin of the name “Fox-trot”, although the term had been used by the military for a equestrian
gait, which could well have been used to describe the dance. The original dance had a tempo of about 160
beats per minute, and was describe as being extremely jerky. It is still taught in dance studios of Arthur
Murray and Fred Astaire. This original “Fox-trot” is called “Rhythm” of the “The Blues”.

It rapidly became popular in New York and a year later in London. It was fashionably regarded as
a rebellion against 19" Century dancing, as it used parallel feet (rather than the turned out feet of the
Victorian dances). Around 1922, the trotting steps were discarded from a less energetic movement called
the Saunter. By 1927, the dance was called the slow Fox- trot and was characterized by smooth gliding
movements. Since that time, the dance has been developed into two derived from internationally: The
Quickstep and the slow Fox-trot. The Slow Fox-trot is perform to slower music (120 beats per minute),
and retains the walksand pivots of its predecessor. It has continued to have a smooth flowing aesthetic,
which makes it a great contrast on the ballroom floor to the antithetical Tango.

Samba

The Portuguese imported many slaves from Angola and Congo into Brazil in 16" century, who is
turn brought their dances were considered sinful by the Europeans as they involved the touching of the
navels. The Embolada is about the cow with the balls on its horns for safety, and became a term
meaning “foolish”. The batuque became so popular that Manuel passed a law for bibbing it.it was
described as a circle dance steps like the Charleston than to the hand clapping and percussion, and with a
solo couple performing in the center of the circle. A composite dance evolved in the 1830’s combining
the plait figures from these Negro dances and the body rolls and sways of the indigenous Lundu. Later
the carnival steps were added like the Copacobana ( the name of the beach near Rio de Janiero).
Gradually members of the higher society in Rio embraced it, although they modified it to be done in
closed to ballroom dancing position (which they new was the only
 Rumba

This had its origin with the African Negro slaves imported into Cuba, whose dances
emphasize the movements rather than the feet. The complex cross rhythms were considered more than
the tune, provided by a percussion of pits, spoons, bottles, etc. it evolve in Havana in the 19" century by
combination with the European Contradanza (Sadie, 1980, 5/86). The name “Rumba” possibly was
derived from the term “rumboso orquestra” which was used for dance band in1807, although in Spanish,
the word “Rumbo” means “route”, “rumba” means “heap file”, and “rhum” is of course an
intoxicating liquor popular in the carribean, any of each might have been descriptively when the dance
was being formed. The name has also been claimed to be derived from the way the slaves moved while
carrying heavy burdens. The step called “Curaracha” was stamping on the cockroaches. The “Spot
Turn” was walking around in the rim of the cartwheel. The popular Rumba tune “La Paloma” was
known in Cuba in 1886. The Rumba was introduced into the USA in 1930’s as a composite of a rural
Rumba with the Curaracha, the Cuban Bolero (unrelated to the Spanish Bolero) and the son. The british
dancer teacher Pierre Lavelle visited Havana in 1947 and discovered that the Rumba was dance with the
break step on beats 2 of the bar rather than the beat 1, have become art of the standard international
Cuban Rumba. With only a transfer of weight from one foot to other on beat one of each bar, and the
absence of an actual step on this beat, the dance has developed a very sensual character. Beat | is the
strongest beat of the music, but all that moves on that beat are the hips, so that the music emphasizes the
dancing of the hips. This together with the slow tempo of the music (116 beats per minute) makes the
dance very romantic. Steps are actually taken on beats 2,3, and 4. Knee straightening, weight transfer
and turns are performed in the intervening half beats. Again, as in the Samba, the weight is kept forward
with forward steps taken on toe, and the torso movement kept vary flat.