SOCIAL BALLROOM The term 'ballroom dancing' is derived from the word ball, which in turn originates from

the Latin word ballare which means 'to dance' (a ballroom being a large room specially designed for such dances). In times past, ballroom dancing was social dancing for the privileged, leaving folk dancing for the lower classes. These boundaries have since become blurred, and it should be noted even in times long gone, many ballroom dances were really elevated folk dances. The definition of ballroom dance also depends on the era: balls have featured popular dances of the day such as the Minuet, Quadrille, Polonaise, Polka, Mazurka, and others, which are now considered to be historical dances. HISTORY Renaissance Period The first authoritative knowledge of the earliest ballroom dances were recorded toward the end of the 16th century, when Jehan Tabourot, under the pen name "Thoinot-Arbeau", published in 1588 his Orchsographie, a study of late 16th-century French Renaissance social dance. Among the dances described were the solemn basse danse, the livelier branle, pavane, and the galliarde which Shakespeare called the "cinq pace" as it was made of five steps. In 1650 the Minuet, originally a peasant dance of Poitou, was introduced into Paris and set to music by JeanBaptiste Lully and danced by the King Louis XIV in public, and would continue to dominate ballroom from that time until the close of the 18th century. Toward the latter half of the 17th century, Louis XIV founded his 'Acadmie Royale de Musique et de Danse', where specific rules for the execution of every dance and the "five positions" of the feet were formulated for the first time by members of the Acadmie. Eventually, the first definite cleavage between ballet and ballroom came when professional dancers appeared in the ballets, and the ballets left the Court and went to the stage. Ballet technique such as the turned out positions of the feet, however, lingered for over two centuries and past the end of the Victoria era.

Victorian Era The waltz with its modern hold took root in England in about 1812; in 1819 Carl Maria von Weber wrote Invitation to the Dance, which marked the adoption of the waltz form into the sphere of absolute music. The dance was initially met with tremendous opposition due to the semblance of impropriety associated with the closed hold, though the stance gradually softened.[3] In the 1840s several new dances made their appearance in the ballroom, including the Polka, Mazurka, and the Schottische. In the meantime a strong tendency emerged to drop all 'decorative' steps such as entrechats and ronds de jambes that had found a place in the Quadrilles and other dances. Early 20th century Modern ballroom dance has its roots early in the 20th century, when several different things happened more or less at the same time. The first was a movement away from the sequence dances towards dances where the couples moved independently. This had been pre-figured by the waltz, which had already made this transition. The second was a wave of popular music, such as jazz, much of which was based on the ideas of black musicians in the USA. Since dance is to a large extent tied to music, this led to a burst of newly invented dances. There were many dance crazes in the period 19101930. The third event was a concerted effort to transform some of the dance crazes into dances which could be taught to a wider dance public in the USA and Europe. Here Vernon and Irene Castle were important, and so was a generation of English dancers in the 1920s, including Josephine Bradley and Victor Silvester. These professionals analysed, codified, published and taught a number of standard dances. It was essential, if popular dance was to flourish, for dancers to have some basic movements they could confidently perform with any partner they might meet. Here the huge Arthur Murray organisation in America, and the dance societies in England, such as the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, were highly influential. Finally, much of this happened during and after a period of World War, and the

effect of such a conflict in dissolving older social customs was considerable. Later, in the 1930s, the on-screen dance pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers influenced all forms of dance in the USA and elsewhere. Although both actors had separate careers, their filmed dance sequences together, which included portrayals of the Castles, have reached iconic status.[5] Much of Astaire and Rogers' work portrayed social dancing, although the performances were highly choreographed (often by Astaire or Hermes Pan), and meticulously staged and rehearsed. ORIGIN OF CHA CHA CHA The modern style of dancing the cha-cha-ch comes from studies made by dance teacher Monsieur Pierre (Pierre Zurcher-Margolle), who partnered Doris Lavelle. Pierre, then from London, visited Cuba in 1952 to find out how and what Cubans were dancing at the time. He noted that this new dance had a split fourth beat, and to dance it one started on the second beat, not the first. He brought this dance idea to England and eventually created what is now known as ballroom cha-cha-cha. The validity of his analysis is well established for that time, and some forms of evidence exist today. First, there is in existence film of Orquesta Jorrin playing to a cha-cha-cha dance contest in Cuba; second, the rhythm of the Benny More classic Santa Isabel de las Lajas written and recorded at about the same time is quite clearly syncopated on the fourth beat. Also, note that the slower bolero-son ("rumba") was always danced on the second beat ORIGIN OF TANGO The tango was born by the end of the 19th century from a mixture of several rhythms that were danced in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. Originally it was almost exclusively connected to cabarets, a sort of contention house for the predominantly male population that was increasingly immigrating to the country. Since only prostitutes would dare performing this dance, in the beginning most couples were formed by two men.

The tango then started to call more and more attention, not only in the obscure areas where it came from but also among working-class neighborhoods. Even respected Argentine families got fascinatated by the dance, especially after it reached great success in Paris and then all over Europe. Its distinctive sound came to life thanks to the combination of violin, guitar and flute, which was eventually replaced by the "bandonen" or concertina. Additionally, the immigrants added all their nostalgia to the lyrics and helped to develop tango's unique flavor. Carlos Gardel was the first and most famous tango singer, who also gave an enormous contribution to spreading this Argentine music overseas until he tragically died in 1935. During the 60's, the tango had been virtually abandoned outside its home country, but it was brought to life again thanks to the more jazzistic traits added by bandonen genius Astor Piazzolla. Nowadays, the tango is more alive then ever. Although it is not a massive phenomenon as in its early years, it is still the best way to penetrate the Buenos Aires soul and will always stand as its most genuine symbol. ORIGIN OF RUMBA The word Rumba is a generic term, covering a variety of names (i.e., Son, Danzon, Guagira, Guaracha, Naningo), for a type of West Indian music or dancing. The exact meaning varies from island to island. The word "rumba" comes from the verb "rumbear" which means going to parties, dancing, and having a good time. There are two sources of the dances: one Spanish and the other African. Although the main growth was in Cuba, there were similar dance developments which took place in other Caribbean islands and in Latin America generally. The "rumba influence" came in the 16th century with the black slaves imported from Africa. The native Rumba folk dance is essentially a sex pantomime danced extremely fast with exaggerated hip movements and with a sensually aggressive attitude on the part of the man and a defensive

attitude on the part of the woman. The music is played with a staccato beat in keeping with the vigorous expressive movements of the dancers. Accompanying instruments include the maracas, the claves, the marimbola, and the drums. As recently as the second world war, the "Son" was the popular dance of middle class Cuba. It is a modified slower and more refined version of the native Rumba. Still slower is the "Danzon", the dance of wealthy Cuban society. Very small steps are taken, with the women producing a very subtle tilting of the hips by alternately bending and straightening the knees. The American Rumba is a modified version of the "Son". The first serious attempt to introduce the rumba to the United States was by Lew Quinn and Joan Sawyer in 1913. Ten years later band leader Emil Coleman imported some rumba musicians and a pair of rumba dancers to New York. In 1925 Benito Collada opened the Club El Chico in Greenwich Village and found that New Yorkers did not know what Rumba was all about. Real interest in Latin music began about 1929. In the late 1920's, Xavier Cugat formed an orchestra that specialized in Latin American music. He opened at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and appeared in early sound movies such as "In Gay Madrid". Later in the 1930's, Cugat played at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. By the end of the decade he was recognized as having the outstanding Latin orchestra of the day. In 1935, George Raft played the part of a suave dancer in the movie "Rumba", a rather superficial musical in which the hero finally won the heiress (Carol Lombard) through the mutual love of dancing. In Europe, the introduction of Latin American dancing (Rumba in particular) owed much to the enthusiasm and interpretive ability of Monsieur Pierre (London's leading teacher in this dance form). In the 1930's with his partner, Doris Lavelle, he demonstrated and popularized Latin American dancing in London.

Pierre and Lavelle introduced the true "Cuban Rumba" which was finally established after much argument, as the official recognized version in 1955. Rumba is the spirit and soul of Latin American music and dance. The fascinating rhythms and bodily expressions make the Rumba one of the most popular ballroom dances. ORIGIN OF PASO DOBLE The Paso Doble is a Spanish pair dance, but assigned to the Latin and North American dances. The Paso Doble is the most secretive of competition dances. There is hardly anything written about it. In competitions it is only rarely danced and of its origin we can only make assumptions. But one thing is certain; it is characterized by easy, marchinglike steps. Its origin supposedly dates back to a French military march with the name Paso Redoble. This is a march with 2/4 beat with about 130 steps per minute. However, at this pace walking is hardly possible; it is more like running. Thats why the Paso Doble is the fastest Latin American dance. Every second step is emphasized and thats probably also where its name comes from, meaning double step in English. In Spain the dance is also known by the name El Soleo; it was played during the Toreros arrival in the bullring. This ritual was known already in the 18th century. Not far away from Spain, in Southern France, this practice was interpreted dance-wise and music-wise around 1910 by French competition dancers and dance instructors from the One Step. It is thanks to this French development that the Spanish dance has mostly French figure descriptions. Today it is danced as Two Step, mostly in 2/4 or 2/6 beat. But it wasnt until the 1920s that a choreographed bull fight pantomime appeared. Here, the Paso Doble was the bull fight performed as a dance. The man played the Torero, the woman the read cloth, the Capa, or the Muleta and not the bull. This performing way of dancing was a novelty at that time. Because of its arrogant pride and its bold decisiveness, all characteristics of a Torero, the dance expressed the main features of the master. Thats why the

Paso Doble is also called the dance of the master. The tenseness of his body can be felt by the audience and is decisive for its aesthetic appeal. The woman on the other hand, behaves toward him with a kind of self-confident distance, being lithe, agile and elegant at the same time. But also the lady takes on a dominant role in some figures, much like in the Flamenco. This dance, as well as the Spanish Fandango, greatly influenced the Paso Doble. This can be recognized in the mirror image way of dancing, so typical for the Flamenco. The Paso Doble has adopted some elements of the Flamenco in figures and steps. It is therefore sometimes described as a Flamenco-like march. The Paso Doble can be found in this stylized form in Latin America as well, where it also adopted the character of a folk dance. In Central Europe, it lost its significance. Surely, it has been a competition dance since 1945 and is being taught in dance schools, but it is rather seldom seen in public. Only a few music groups include the Paso Doble in their repertoire. Its music is clearly structured, full of energy, powerful and seems very strict thereby not very joyful. The preferred piece of music is Maria Andergasts The Master Torero. The best known Paso Double piece of music, the Espana Cani by Pascual Marquina, was written in the twenties. The Paso Doble seems to be reserved for professional dancers only. In competitions, the Paso Doble is only danced by these dancers. It is the only competition dance acting out a story and the only Spanish dance included in the worldwide competition dance program. Ernst von Garnier even wrote in his book, Berthold, Beat and Bossa Nova: The dance should be removed from the professional dance program. In 98 % of the couples the bull would be standing in the ring shaking its head uncomprehendingly, refusing any sportive comparison with the well-behaved Central Europeans. On public dance floors this dance also appears rarely. It is an artificial dance which, contrary to the Flamenco, doesnt originate from the people. This dance teaches discipline and gives the couple rather little artistic freedom.

It requires a lot of practice on the other hand, and should be taught regularly and early in the dancers career because it demands a lot of expressiveness and musicality. Furthermore it is very exhausting and requires the use of every single muscle. In the closed pose the dancers have continuous body contact from chest to thigh. This leads to the touching hands being held much higher than in all the other competition dances. In the promenade position the body contact is released and the Paso Doble danced with great distance. The structure is always the same: after the introduction two main parts follow with strictly defined peaks. On the dance floor it is the Spanish march Espana Cani that is almost always played. It has been a competition dance since 1945 and part of the World Dance Program since 1963. ORIGIN OF MERENGUE The origin of this dance, according to the Dominicans themselves, from a program shown on TV "SANTO DOMINGO INVITA". Merengue is a combination of two dances, the African and the French Minuet, from the late 1700's - early 1800's. The black slaves saw the ballroom dances in the Big Houses and when they had their own festivities started mimicking the "masters' dances". But the Europeans dances were not fun, they were very boring and staid, so over time, the slaves added a special upbeat (provided by the drums), this was a slight skip or a hop. The original Merengue was not danced by individual couples, but was a circle dance, each man and woman faced each other and holding hands - at arm's length. They did not hold each other closely and the original movements of this dance were only the shaking of the shoulders and swift movement of the feet. There was no blatant movement of the hips like there is today, as native African dances do not move the hips. In fact, African dances, as well as other Indigenous dances throughout the world, consist of complicated steps and arm movements. Tribal dancing does not have "primitive" sexual shaking of the hips, this is only done in Hollywood movies.

So, the origin of the Merengue is very similar to that of the "Cake Walk" dance of the American South. ORIGIN OF SAMBA Samba, an old Brazilian style of dance with many variations, is African in origin. It has been performed as a street dance at carnival, the pre-Lenten celebration, for almost 100 years. Many versions of the Samba (from Baion to Marcha) are danced at the local carnival in Rio. The ballroom Samba or Carioca Samba is derived from the rural "Rocking Samba" and has been known for many years. (The Carioca is a small river that runs through Rio de Janiero hence the name Carioca refers to the people of Rio.) Today Samba is still very popular in Rio. During carnival time there are "schools of Samba" involving thousands of elaboratelycostumed dancers presenting a national theme based on music typical of Brazil and Rio in particular. Before 1914 it was known under a Brazilian name "Maxixe". As early as 1923 an international meeting of professors of dancing took note of the rise of the Samba's popularity, particularly in France. A French dance book published by Paul Boucher in 1928 included Samba instructions. The dance was introduced to United States movie audiences in 1933 when Fred Astaire and Dolores Del Rio danced the Carioca in Flying Down to Rio and several years later, Carmen Miranda danced the Samba in That Night in Rio. A Samba exhibition was given at the November 1938 meeting of the New York Society of Teachers of Dancing. General interest in the Samba was stimulated at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, where Samba music was played at the Brazilian Pavilion. A few years later the Brazilian composer Ary Barroso wrote the classic Samba, "Brasil," which quickly became a hit, and in 1944 he went to Hollywood to write the score for the musical Brazil. Samba has a very specific rhythm, highlighted to its best by characteristic Brazilian musical instruments: originally called tamborim, chocalho, reco-reco and cabaca. Much of Samba music came from daily life in Rio, the first famous example being "Pelo Telefone" composed by Donga. To achieve the true character of the Samba a dancer must

give it a happy, flirtatious and exuberant interpretation. Many figures, used in the Samba today, require a pelvic tilt (Samba tic) action. This action is difficult to accomplish, but without it the dance loses much of its effect. Principal characteristics of the Samba are the rapid steps taken on a quarter of a beat and the pronounced rocking motion and sway of the dancing couple. The Samba (also known as the Brazilian Waltz) is now a moderately popular ballroom dance, limited pretty much to experienced ballroom dancers because of its speed. ORIGIN OF WALTZ There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim. The French philosopher Montaigne wrote of a dance he saw in 1580 in Augsburg, where the dancers held each other so closely that their faces touched. Kunz Haas, of approximately the same period wrote that, "Now they are dancing the godless, Weller or Spinner."[1] "The vigorous peasant dancer, following an instinctive knowledge of the weight of fall, utilizes his surplus energy to press all his strength into the proper beat of the measure, thus intensifying his personal enjoyment in dancing".[2] The wide, wild steps of the country people became shorter and more elegant when introduced to higher society. Hans Sachs wrote of the dance in his 1568 Eygentliche Beschreibung aller Stnde(1568). At the Austrian Court in Vienna in the late 17th century (1698) ladies were conducted around the room to the tune of a 2 beat measure, which then became the 3/4 of the Nach Tanz (After Dance), upon which couples got into the position for the Weller and waltzed around the room with gliding steps as in an engraving of the Wirtschaft (Inn Festival) given for Peter the Great. The peasants of Bavaria, Tyrol, and Styria began dancing a dance called Walzer, a dance for couples, around 1750. The Lndler, also known as the Schleifer, a country dance in 3/4 time, was popular in Bohemia, Austria, and Bavaria, and spread from the countryside to the suburbs of the city. While the eighteenth century upper classes

continued to dance the minuet, bored noblemen slipped away to the balls of their servants. In the 1771 German novel Geshichte des Fruleins von Sternheim by Sophie von La Roche, a high-minded character complains about the newly introduced waltz among aristocrats thus: "But when he put his arm around her, pressed her to his breast, cavorted with her in the shameless, indecent whirling-dance of the Germans and engaged in a familiarity that broke all the bounds of good breedingthen my silent misery turned into burning rage." Describing life in Vienna (dated at either 1776 or 1786), Don Curzio wrote, " The people were dancing mad [...] The ladies of Vienna are particularly celebrated for their grace and movements of waltzing of which they never tire." There is a waltz in the second act finale of the opera "Una Cosa Rara" written by Martin y Soler in 1786. Soler's waltz was marked Andante con moto, or "at a walking pace with motion", but the flow of the dance was sped-up in Vienna leading to the Geschwindwalzer, and the Galloppwalzer. In the transition from country to town, the hopping of the Lndler, a dance known as Langaus, became a sliding step, and gliding rotation replaced stamping rotation. In the 19th century the word primarily indicated that the dance was a turning one; one would "waltz" in the polka to indicate rotating rather than going straight forward without turning. The Viennese custom is to slightly anticipate the second beat, which conveys a faster, lighter rhythm, and also breaks of the phrase. The younger Strauss would sometimes break up the one-two-three of the melody with a one-two pattern in the accompaniment along with other rhythms, maintaining the 3/4 time while causing the dancers to dance a two-step waltz. The metronome speed for a full bar varies between 60 and 70, with the waltzes of the first Strauss often played faster than those of his sons. Shocking many when it was first introduced, the waltz became fashionable in Vienna around the 1780s, spreading to many other countries in the years to follow. It became fashionable in Britain during the Regency period,[12] though the entry in the Oxford English Dictionary shows that

it was considered "riotous and indecent" as late as 1825. The waltz, and especially its closed position, became the example for the creation of many other ballroom dances. Subsequently, new types of waltz have developed, including many folk and several ballroom dances. REFERENCES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballroom_dance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha-cha-cha_%28dance%29 http://www.mibuenosairesquerido.com/wTango1.htm http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/rumba.htm http://www.instepdance.co.nz/paso%20doble.html http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/merengue.ht m http://www.dancelovers.com/samba_history.html