Ballroom dance
By admin | July 12, 2009
Co-authored by: White Womens Laptop Totes. Ballroom dance means kind of social dances where a couple would dance together following very common steps. Ballroom dance derivates from the word ‘ball’ (early 18th century social events patronized by the high class people) that successively comes from the Latin word ‘ballare’ with the meaning ‘to dance’. The most widely found types of ballroom dance could be mentioned as Quickstep, Tango, Slow Foxtrot, Modern Waltz, Viennese Waltz and numerous forms of Latin dances.
Originating somewhere betwixt the late 18th and early 19th century in England, ballroom dance was practiced by the privileged class in parties and balls. By degrees over time and during the nineteenth century, ballroom dance became a fad among the working classes and middle classes who took part in social dance events.
In the 1920’s, ballroom competitions rose in popularity which led to the formation of the Ballroom Branch of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing in 1924 that bore the vision to standardize the steps, music, and technique of ballroom dance. Today, ballroom dance is performed not only in Europe, but in the Asian-Pacific and the Americas as well. It is common to find formal ballroom dance competitions, known as DanceSport, for ballroom dancers at different proficiency levels.
The different ballroom dance types originate from different backgrounds and have unique aesthetics, rhythms, techniques and tempos. Despite these differences, all ballroom dance types do share similar traits.
Performed by two people (usually a man and woman), these dances require that they dance in a certain arrangement which is very famously termed as the ‘Close Hold’. This position requires the two people to maintain five areas of contact – three hand contact points wherein the man’s left hand holds the woman’s right hand, the woman’s left hand is positioned on the man’s right upper arm and the man’s right hand is placed below the left shoulder blade on the woman’s back; one elbow contact point wherein the woman’s left elbow is placed on the man’s right elbow and both arms are maintained in a horizontal line contributing to the ease of movement; one chest contact point wherein the right area of the chest of the man touches the right area of the woman contributing to the expression of feelings and emotions between the two.
In conclusion, ballroom dance is a fashion that will never die away given the manifestations of love, joy and pain between 2 people.
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