Ballroom dancing is a word used to the form of dancing men and women perform in formal suits on the dance floor during a grand event or special occasion. One may find pleasure by watching the Waltz being performed or admire the liveliness of the Fox Trot.
Webster defines ballroom dancing as simply “Any of various, usually social dances in which couples perform set moves”. The word ball actually comes from the Latin word “ballare†which means to dance. It is good to note that the word ballet and ballerina has the same origins as ballroom too.
History reveals that this is a form of dance famous among the people from the upper class in England back in the late 18th and 19th century. This form of dance is not common among people of the working class until late 20th century. In the early 1920’s an association called the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing set up a Ballroom Branch with the purpose to standardize all forms of modern ballroom dance.
Modern dancing revolves around five dances, the Modern Waltz, the Viennese Waltz, the Slow Foxtrot, Tango and the Quickstep. The Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Cha-Cha and the Jive are some names that come to mind when you talk about American Latin ballroom dances. The word Latin America refers to the word Latin and America.
Ballroom dancing consists of couples moving in specific set of moves in predetermined rhythm and tempo, dancing closely together. A closed hold involves 5 bodily points of contact between the couple. Three of these points involve the hands, his left hand holding her right, her left hand on top of his right upper arm (for the Tango her hand would go behind his arm) and his right hand on her back resting on her left shoulder blade. The other points come in contact through elbows and chests which rests comfortably on each other as they glide through the dance floor. This dance posture goes all the way back to the dancing in the European royal courts and makes for a very elegant look as the couples float around the dance floor.
The strange right to right contact comes from an era when men danced while wearing their swords which was placed on the left side. The strange counter clockwise movement is also explained this way, and it helps prevent the sword stabbing any of the people watching or the dancers as he gracefully waltzes by. It would be interesting to note that the posture change from one dance to another in the American Latin ballroom. Just as the modern ballroom dance has been standardized, the Latin American dances have been programmed with a similar standardization for easy teaching.