Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance.
Some resources for the ballroom dancers
Here are complete resources for International Standard and American Standard ballroom styles.
James Joseph published Every Man's Survival Guide to Ballroom Dancing, a great book and website that introduces the basics, counting music, and various figures.
I skimped on dance shoes for many years. When I finally purchased some, I regretted waiting so long. The shoes give me more comfort, support, spring and turning ability. Find affordable ballroom dance shoes:
Here are some instructional videos of International and American Social Ballroom dance styles. But beware, there are some differences between these videos and what your local instructor may teach you.
Round dancing is ballroom dancing to cues, where a complete song is choreographed and the figures are called by a cuer. Learn more here.
Use It or Lose It: Dancing Makes You Smarter, Longer, by Richard Powers. For centuries, dance manuals and other writings have lauded the health benefits of dancing, usually as physical exercise. More recently we've seen research on further health benefits of dancing, such as stress reduction and increased serotonin level, with its sense of well-being. We've heard of another benefit: Frequent dancing apparently makes us smarter.
In a 2016 study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, it was concluded that ballroom dancing, as well as other forms of social dancing, can help prevent the onset of dementia in elderly patients.
To help dancers practice at home, here is a selection of music to practice each dance style:
James Joseph published Every Man's Survival Guide to Ballroom Dancing, a great book and website that introduces the basics, counting music, and various figures.
I skimped on dance shoes for many years. When I finally purchased some, I regretted waiting so long. The shoes give me more comfort, support, spring and turning ability. Find affordable ballroom dance shoes:
- in Embrun at Boutique Joma, and
- there are several places in Ottawa, just google Dance Shoes Ottawa.
- Figure 8 Skate Specialists, 380 Industrial Avenue, Ottawa, ON has a wide selection of dance shoes and a lot of other sport equipment. You can order online or visit in person.
- Audrey’s Costume Castle and Dancewear, 2271 Gladwin Crescent, off St. Laurent Blvd, telephone 613-744-7742, email audreys@kingston.net. Shoe prices range from $70.00 to $150.00. Open for in-person shopping all week except Tuesday.
Here are some instructional videos of International and American Social Ballroom dance styles. But beware, there are some differences between these videos and what your local instructor may teach you.
- Ballroom Dancers presents a good selection of videos for both American and International dance styles.
- I also like Leon's accessible presentations at Passion 4 Dancing. They have free newsletters and introductory material.
- Dance Insanity teaches methods that are also very close to our own.
Round dancing is ballroom dancing to cues, where a complete song is choreographed and the figures are called by a cuer. Learn more here.
Use It or Lose It: Dancing Makes You Smarter, Longer, by Richard Powers. For centuries, dance manuals and other writings have lauded the health benefits of dancing, usually as physical exercise. More recently we've seen research on further health benefits of dancing, such as stress reduction and increased serotonin level, with its sense of well-being. We've heard of another benefit: Frequent dancing apparently makes us smarter.
In a 2016 study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, it was concluded that ballroom dancing, as well as other forms of social dancing, can help prevent the onset of dementia in elderly patients.
To help dancers practice at home, here is a selection of music to practice each dance style:
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International Rumba:
The Rumba dance originated in Cuba and draws influence from Spanish and African dances. The International Rumba is a romantic sensuous dance with a count of Quick-Quick-Slow. The rock and recover action accentuates the hip movement. We dance the Rumba to slow four-beat music in the latin, soft rock, pop genres.
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International Cha Cha:
Originating from Cuba, the Cha Cha dance style is upbeat and energetic. It is versatile and adaptable to latin, pop, soft rock, and some country-western music. The count of 1 2 3 4-ah-1 makes the International and American versions almost identical.
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Triple Swing (also called East Coast Swing):
The Triple Swing dance, also called East Coast Swing in American Ballroom, evolved from the swing and lindy hop dance styles in the 1940s. It is high energy, lots of fun, and very versatile. We can dance Triple Swing to classic rock, soft rock, country rock, and pop music. The count of 1 2 3-ah-4 5-ah-6 keeps us hopping and mixing all kinds of creative figures.
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Bachata:
We are now demonstrating the Bachata, danced to typical music from the Dominican Republic. It is a count of 4 beats: 1, 2, 3, touch, and then we return on the other foot. It offers lots of hip movement and a solid feeling of the beat of the song.
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American Tango:
The American Tango originated from Buenos Ares and became popular throughout the latin countries. With a distinctive count of Slow-Slow-Quick-Quick-Slow, the dance is intense and sensual. The couple adopts a three-point frame with the shoulders and the hips.
This video gives a quick review of simple American Tango figures - https://youtu.be/3KMAas_xDxA |
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American Waltz:
The American Waltz is a progressive dance, meaning that dancers travel around the room. It is characterized by a romantic sway with a rise and fall action, resulting in gliding movement. Figures follow a pattern of three or six beats to a relatively slow music tempo. Slow steps and elegant poses are often used to contrast fast-paced dance segments.
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Viennese Waltz:
The Viennese Waltz is a fast travelling dance, meaning that dancers travel around the room. Figures follow a pattern of six beats to a fast tempo tempo. It involves a lot of changing of position between the leader and the follower which is accomplished by a fast twirling action.
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Mambo:
Mambo is a Latin dance of Cuba which was developed in the 1940s and became popular throughout Latin America. There are several variations; we dance a version that is similar to the Salsa, meaning that we attack beat #1.
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International Foxtrot:
Our Foxtrot is a simplified International Foxtrot, which makes it similar to the Slow Waltz. It dances to 4-beat slow music in a Slow-Quick-Quick movement. Then adapt the 1st and 4 movement from the Waltz figures to the Slow movement of the Foxtrot.
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Samba:
Samba was created in Brazil from the music and dance culture that people brought from Africa. Samba is very rhythmic, involves a rolling hip movement, and follows a beat of ta-ta-ta in a count to eight.
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