UNIT 5: Ballroom

Dance
Lesson 1: Fundamentals of Social
Dance: Dance Etiquette, Ballroom
Dance Holds
• People love to gather together and have fun
while chatting, singing, or dancing. Any
occasions that can be celebrated, people
congregate.
• It can be a birthday, anniversary, school
events, fiesta, and other moments.
• One of the highlights in these celebrations
are the dance performances.
• Dancing is a highly sociable activity.
• There are many forms of dancing. One of which is the ballroom dance .
• Ballroom dance is a social dance particularly for couples but is not limited
to them, where one leads the routine while the other follows the steps.
• It came from the Latin word ballare, which means dance.
• There are a lot of people that include ballroom dance in their recreational
activities. There are also social gatherings on ballroom dance held in
schools.
• As a grade nine student, you must be familiar with and excited about your
Junior-Senior Promenade (JS Prom) or graduation ball (for seniors - grade
ten students).
• It is one of the high school life events that you cannot disregard. Many
junior and senior students are looking forward to such affairs. The
occasion features ballroom dance experience that thrill students like you.
• Truly, JS prom is an enchanting moment of high school life.
However, specific rules are needed to follow on occasions with
ballroom dance. It is essential in maximizing the fun of the event.
• There are many forms of ballroom dance as well. In this unit, the
lessons will focus on understanding the ballroom dance
etiquette, proper ballroom dance holds and forms of ballroom
dance.
• Knowledge on this will enable you to develop an active lifestyle
through physical activity such as ballroom dance sustained in
communities like the school environment.
• Dance etiquette is vital for any social dance. Ballroom
dance is no exception. There are particular rules to
follow on occasions with ballroom dance. In this
lesson, you will get to understand about the ballroom
dance etiquette, and ballroom dance holds.
• There are many things that one must follow in ballroom dance
events. Even before the actual dance, certain rules are already
applied.
• Keeping hygienic and choosing the proper attire for the
dance are parts of the pre-ballroom dance activities.
• During the dance, there is explicit conduct on asking for
a dance and while dancing.
• Dance etiquette also encompasses the proper practice
of giving comments to the dance partner.
• Figure 2 shows the different aspects of ballroom dance
etiquette.
Personal Hygiene
• Ballroom dance requires close contact between two people,
and so, it is relevant to keep hygienic.
• It is essential that sanitation is preserved throughout
the event so that the dancing partner will keep on the
pairing up.
• Table 1 below shows some things that a person should do to
maintain his hygiene.
 Dress Code
• Formal social dances require appropriate attire.
• There is a proper type of clothes for the ladies and gentlemen that
must be worn when attending such events.
• However, in considering the attire, comfort should be the priority.
• The attire can determine the impression and image one might
want to portray, but it should not offend the partner.
• There are some clothes like metal belt buckles and beaded sleeves
that could hurt the other person when dancing.
• The table below lists the appropriate clothing for ballroom dance.
Things not to do in terms of Outfits and Dance
Shoes
• Sneaker or any footwear with the spongy sole is not allowed.
• They can cause accidents and injuries such as ankle sprain as they stick to the
floor.
• Wear jazz shoes (male) and appropriate dancing shoes (female).
• Make sure outfits are in good condition to avoid malfunction during a
performance.
• Each dancer should be comfortable and confident with their outfits.
• Refrain from wearing accessories that will hinder the movements like big
rings, watches, brooches, loose/long necklaces, and big belt buckles. They may
also cause injuries like scratches and bruises.
• Do not let the hair unkempt. Long hair should be neatly tied in a ponytail.
• It can hinder the motion while dancing or cause injuries.
Dance Floor Demeanor
• On formal social gatherings, particular dispositions must be followed and
observed.
• Be amiable, beam a smile and make eye contact with the partner.
• Show a positive image.
• Regulate the dance level appropriate to the level of the partner.
• When asking for a dance, be polite and gracious.
• When asked for a dance but chooses to decline, courtly refuse immediately.
• When someone declines the offer, take the excuse graciously at face value.
• Refrain from instructing the partner about how to dance. It may shame
the
partner.
• Never cut other pair of dancers off.
On-the-Floor
• The main feature of the ballroom is the dance itself.
• When on the dancefloor, there is a protocol to follow. Figure 3 shows
the things to do while on the dance floor.
• These are the things to remember and execute when dancing on
the dance floor.
• Always keep in mind to show grace and courtesy with the
dancing partner and other pairs.
• Ballroom dance does not require rigorous training to
have fun.
• There are simple and basic dance movement and positions that
one can follow.
• In this part, you will learn about the different ballroom dance
holds.
First Aid Basics, Guidelines, and
Procedures
• Certain situations lead to accidents and events that can pose a
threat to the safety of people.
• These emergencies require proper knowledge of first aid to
deal with for everyone involved not to have any threats to
their safety.
• This unit focuses on what first aid is, the roles and
responsibilities of a first aider, and some commonly-used
methods for bandaging and victim transport.
• First Aid
• Many accidents or emergencies happen, and
medical help is often not immediately available in
these situations.
• Performing first aid, if done correctly, in these
cases can help decrease further injuries and the
chances of mortalities in the victims.
• First aid is the care given to an injured or sick person in
the absence of immediate medical attention until it
arrives at the scene for more long-term assistance.
• First aid can be done on injuries, on sick people, and
anyone needing immediate medical attention.
• This can reduce the chances of further medical
emergencies from happening, and can help make the
situation better for the victim.
• Roles and Responsibilities of a Good Aider
• Only the performance of proper first aid can help make the situation
better for the victims.
• As such, a first aider has specific roles and responsibilities to make
this possible. Some of these are the following:
● Protect the people involved.
● Assess the situation.
● Perform proper first aid.
●Prevent infections from happening. An infection occurs when
pathogens get into an injured area, like a wound. A pathogen is an agent
that can cause disease, and common examples are bacteria and viruses.
The first aider must make sure that no infections happen.
● Comfort the victim.
● Call for help.
• Primary and Secondary Survey of the Victim
• Some steps must be taken to assess the
status of the victim accurately. These are
known as the primary and secondary
surveys.
• Primary Survey
• The primary survey is a way of knowing any
urgent medical concerns for the victim.
• There is a series of steps in the primary survey
that will allow the aider to assess any conditions
that are immediately life threatening to the victim.
• The steps to assess the victim can be abbreviated into the
mnemonic DRSABCD. This mnemonic stands for the
following:
• ● D for danger. The first step involves checking for any
immediate
danger to the victim, to the aider, or anyone in the vicinity. The
aider
has to make sure that there is no immediate danger before
coming to the victim’s aid.
• ● R for response. This involves checking if the victim is
conscious and responding.
• ● S for send for help. Sending and calling for help is crucial since
the
aim of first aid is to provide immediate support, and more long-term
medical care should be called.
• ● A for airway. This involves checking if the victim’s airways
● B for breathing. Checking for the victim’s breathing comes after.
Common ways of checking involve looking for chest movements,
checking a person’s mouth and nostrils for any air exiting them, and
monitoring regular breathing.
● C for CPR.
CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is a method to restore
responses in a victim. It involves pressing on the victim’s chest
and compressing and restoring air to the victim.
● D for defibrillator.
A defibrillator is a device that uses electricity to restore the heart’s
beating. This is used in situations where a victim’s heartbeat
becomes dangerously irregular or when it completely stops.
• Secondary Survey
•
After the primary survey, the
secondary survey is conducted to get an
idea of the victims’ other health
conditions.
•
Any conditions that are related to the
emergency, as well as any past
circumstances, are taken into account and
surveyed.
• The secondary survey can be summarized with the mnemonic
SAMPLE.
●S for signs and symptoms. Self explanatory, this step
involves checking for relevant signs or symptoms related to the
emergency.
●A for allergies. This involves checking for the victim’s
allergic reactions and allergy history.
• ● M for medications. The victim’s regular regimen of medicines
should also be checked since this can give an insight into the
conditions of the victim.
●P for past medical history. This is a survey of any existing
or previous medical conditions that the victim has had.
●L for last intake. This involves checking for the victim’s
last meal, as it may have triggered any negative reactions.
●E for events leading to the situation. This checks for the
series of events that may have led to the emergency.
• Assessing Emergencies for Unintentional Injuries
• Unintentional injuries are some of the leading causes of
adverse health effects, and sometimes even death.
• The proper assessment of emergencies and situations
that arise from accidental injuries is necessary to
minimize the risks involved.
• Assess Your Capabilities
• The first aider must first assess his or her capabilities
before coming to someone else’s aid.
• Some considerations to note are the following:
• ● Am I physically prepared to help?
• ● Do I know enough to be able to help?
• ● Am I mentally prepared to perform first aid?
• Assess the Environment
• The safety of the environment must also be noted before first
aid is performed.
• The first aider must put his or her safety before the victims’, as
the aider can potentially become a victim that may get in the
way of a medical operation.
• Some things to note about the environment include present and
potential hazards, anything that can harm the aider or any
bystanders, and the like.
• Assess the Situation
• The events that led to the situation, as well as any possible
consequences that the event may have should also be properly
assessed.
• What was the cause of the emergency?
• How did it come about?
• How did the victims get injured?
• Is there a chance that more people could get hurt?
• These are some questions that the first aider needs to assess.
• Assess the Victim
• Most importantly, the first aider must be
able to assess the status of the victims,
any threats to their lives, and be able to
prioritize giving aid to those whose help is
needed more.
• After an assessment, the first aider must
then be able to follow the proper steps to
reduce injuries to the victims.