Fitness Through Ballroom Dancing

FITNESS THROUGH
BALLROOM DANCING
Ballroom dancing as a term
hails from the Latin word
“ballare” which coincidentally,
means “to dance”.
Ballroom versus Latin dances
 Although commonly classified together as “ballroom”
dancing there are notable differences between ballroom
and Latin dance. The “ballroom” dances are generally
“smooth” dances like:
 WALTZ
 FOXTROT
 TANGO
 QUICKSTEP
 VIENNESE WALTZ
 “LATIN” dances are more rhythmic and include:
 RUMBA
 SWING/JIVE
 SAMBA
 CHA CHA
 PASO DOBLE
WALTZ
 Waltz – this dance is very slow and elegant. Its main technique is rise
and fall throughout. The Slow Waltz Originated in Vienna, Austria and
was soon the go to dance at various Ballrooms and parties. It is a
dance that has a very elegant and soft character to match the
classical music that often accompanies it. This dance has figures that
are stationary as well as figures that travel around the floor. It can be
danced to classy songs like “Appasionata” by secrete Garden and
“The Sweetheart Tree” by Johnny Mathis.
 One of the keys to make your Waltz look better is to do “rise and fall”
through out. In general you lower on count “1”, and go up on count
“2”, then lower at the end of count “3”.
FOXTROT
 The foxtrot has a smooth gliding feeling across the floor with lots of
passing of the feet. The Foxtrot dance originated around 1910and is
still danced today all over the world. This dance has similarities to
the “rise and fall” of waltz, but the steps do differ for the most part.
The character of this dance has a smooth gliding feeling across the
floor. It is one of the easiest Ballroom dances to start learning for new
students. It fits many of the “big band” type of music including “Fly
me to the moon” as well as “Can’t take my eyes off of you”.
 To achieve smooth gliding across the floor you need to practice
passing your feet without stopping, and also making sure the men are
stepping forward from their heel and ladies going back from their ball
of the foot.
TANGO
 Thisdance is very dramatic dance with lots
of sharp movements and mostly danced
with bent knees the entire time. An
intimate, sensual dance that expresses
elements of romance between the dancers
shown by their synchronized movements.
QUICKSTEP
 Thequickest dance in this style. It is all
about moving energetically across the floor
with hops, skips and flicks. Essentially the
quicker, swifter version of the foxtrot.
When you master the foxtrot, you will
surely master the quickstep as well.
 Count patter: slow-quick-quick,slow-quick-
quick.
Viennese Waltz
A quicker waltz that incorporates
continuous turning around the floor. A
dance characterized by simple and elegant
rotational movements with a subtle rise
and fall.
 Count pattern: 1,2,3
RUMBA
 This dance has a sensual feeling with lots of hip and body
action – referred to as “Cuban motion”. The American
Rumba originated in Cuba, and became famous in the USA
during 1920’s. This dance’s character was slow,slow, quick,
quick dance. This dance incorporates a lot of foot and leg
pressure into the floor with every weight change. There is a
natural hip action that is achieved from bending and
straightening the knees. In open figures there is an
emphasize on arm styling by extending the “free arms”.
Some of the popular songs that can fit Rumba include “
Save the last dance” .
 Count pattern: 1,2 (slow), 3 (quick), 4 (quick)
JIVE
This is the quickest dance in latin

dances and has lots of kicks. The
idea is to show lots of energy and
personality in this dance.
Count pattern: 1 2 3 a 4 5 6
SAMBA
 Isa type of ballroom dance that came from
Brazil. This partner dance mimics the
Brazilian “Carnival” feeling and there is a
lot of “bounce” action created through the
knees and ankles. While it is usually
performed with a partner, it can also be
dances in solo.
 Count pattern: 1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a 5 a 6 7 a 8
CHA-CHA
 This dance is a fun and cheecky dance with emphasize of
quick, concise foot and leg actions. The CHA CHA
originated in Cuba and has been named so because of
“triple shuffle” that is apparent in most basic steps. It’s a
dance incorporates small quick steps to match the fast
CHA CHA music. This dance has lots hip and body action on
every step to give it a latin look.
 Count pattern: 4/4 time signature – slow,slow,quick,quick
– 4,1,2,3 or 4,1 cha,cha
PASO DOBLE
 This dance is very dramatic character and shaping
– with the man and woman constantly challenging
one another. A danced modeled after the Spanish
bullfight. It originated from Southern France.
 Count pattern: 1 2, 1 2
Basic Positions/Holds in
Ballroom
Dancing

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FITNESS THROUGH

This is the quickest dance in latin

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