Smooth

It is also known as Slow Waltz or English Waltz depending on locality.

The waltz provides the origin of modern ballroom dance in that moved it away from a group sequence of movement to the independent movement of an individual couple, Originating in southern Germany in the 17th century, the popularity of the Waltz dance grew with the music of Johann Strauss and exploded to great popularity in the 20th century. It is the “backbone dance” of the ballroom and is the basis for many dances. A truly romantic dance, the Waltz is comprised of soft, round, flowing movements.

The Waltz is a smooth dance that travels around the line of dance. Characterized by its “rise and fall” action, the Waltz includes a step, slide, and step in 3/4 time. Dancers should move their shoulders smoothly, parallel with the floor instead of up and down. Dancers must strive to lengthen each step. On the first beat of the music, a step is taken forward on the heel, then onto the ball of the foot with a gradual rise to the toes, continuing on to the second and third beats of the music. At the end of the third beat, the heel is lowered to the floor to the starting position.

A dance that was developed in Argentina, where legend has it that gauchos, having ridden all day, walked with flexed knees. Of a night they would go to crowded night clubs and ask ladies to dance but since the gaucho hadn’t showered, the lady would dance in the crook of the man’s right arm, holding her head back. There is no rise and fall in the steps. This should be a very level, flat dance. The legs are therefore always slightly flexed (i.e. the knees should be slightly bent at all times).

The Tango is a very emotional dance and this should be conveyed. Tango dancers must strive to make a strong connection with the music as well as their audience. There must be lots of clipped movements and the action must always be staccato. One teacher suggests that the movements are very “panther-like.” Work on sharp head turning and stops. The hold is different in the tango. The man’s left arm is more towards head level. The general hold is far more compact and the couple are much tighter together.

In some countries (for example, Austria) Viennese is known as the Waltz, while Waltz is recognized as English or Slow Waltz. What is now called the Viennese Waltz is the original form of the waltz. It was the first ballroom dance performed in the closed hold or “waltz” position. It is a fast paced (180 beats a minute) rotary dance where the dancers are constantly turning either in a clockwise (natural) or counter-clockwise (reverse) direction interspersed with non-rotating change steps to switch between the directions of rotation. A true Viennese waltz consists only of turns and change steps.

Although its creation is unclear with many claiming to have invented it, the foxtrot became an instant hit. It was originally danced to ragtime. From the late nineteen-teens through the 1940s, the foxtrot was certainly the most popular fast dance and the vast majority of records issued during these years were foxtrots. The waltz and tango, while popular, never overtook the foxtrot. When rock and roll first emerged in the early 1950s, record companies were uncertain as to what style of dance would be most applicable to the music. For example, Decca Records initially labeled its rock and roll releases as

“foxtrots,” the most famous of which was “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets.”

The International style has, as Its defining characteristics, the requirement that partners must maintain body contact at all times and that all steps are passing steps. Consequently, the variety of possible figures and positions is much more limited than in the American style. Dancers concentrate on creating an image of a smooth, gliding motion around the dance floor. The use of body contact makes it possible to execute very tight turns, which is further enhanced by the extensive use of heel turns. This use of heel turns, and the effort required to produce the desired gliding motion, give International Style Foxtrot a reputation as being perhaps the most difficult of all ballroom dances to execute well.