Dance Styles Taught at MM Ballroom -
International & American Style
Cha Cha Cha
The name could have been derived from the Spanish "Chacha" meaning `nursemaid, or most likely from the fast and cheerful Cuban dance: the Guaracha.
The music for the ballroom Cha-Cha-Cha is energetic and with a steady beat. The "Latin" Cha-Cha-Cha is slower, more sensual and may involve complicated rhythms.
The Foxtrot
Foxtrot is a ballroom dance that was popularized by actor Harry Fox. Foxtrot was originally performed to big band music. However, after the release of the song “Rock Around the Clock” during the 1950s, foxtrot became synonymous with rock and roll music.
In the years that followed, it was split into two forms, namely, the slow foxtrot, which is now referred to as foxtrot, and the fast foxtrot, which is now called quickstep.
Jive
The most lively, quickest and playful dance in the Latin-American program. The origins of the word "Jive" are unknown. It may refers to "jive talk" or badmouthing. This word reflects the character of the dance. Jive is most directly related to Swing. This is because it evolved from many of the competitions that were held in America and several parts of Europe during the early 1900's.
Jive is the last dance in the competition, and is also one of the hardest dances to perform.
Paso Doble
The story of the Spanish bullfights, presented in a dance of Paso Doble.
The competition version of the Paso Doble is danced with high chest, shoulders wide and down, and with a head kept back but inclined slightly forward and down. The man is the matador and the lady is the music. Often it is choreographed to the tune 'Espana Cani' (The Spanish Gypsy Dance), which has three musical phrases. These highlights are usually matched in the choreography by dramatic poses, adding to the spectacular nature of the dance.
The Quickstep
Quickstep is a ballroom dance which is similar to foxtrot, but the dance patterns are very different. The patterns in quickstep have an extra half measure as well as multiples of measure, and the time beat that is usually followed is 2/4 or 4/4.
Since quickstep was developed for jazz music, the tempo of the dance is quite fast.
Rumba
The Cuban Rumba, originally an erotic courting dance, is (of all the Latin American dances) the one most deeply rooted in its African origin. It is danced rhythm in its purest sense, and it is called dance of love.
Characteristic for this open couple dance with partly very complicated dance figures are the hip and pelvis movements originating in African traditions. The Rumba is, despite its African origin, the slowest dance among the Latin American dances.
Samba
The African rhythms enveloped in Latino music came from the Yoruba, Congo and other West African people, who were transported to the New World as slaves .It is these rhythms that has heavily influenced Brazilian music making Samba a unique genre of music.
Brazil is the birthplace of the Modern Samba. Both Samba the dance and music can take many forms. The ballroom Samba, have elements of what the Brazilians consider the true Samba. In general the Samba is a progressive dance and it have a more competitive character.
The Tango
Tango is a ballroom dance that originated from Argentina. There are two broad styles of modern day ballroom tango, which are the American Style and the International Style. Even though both styles are very popular, the International style is preferred in dance competitions. The American style, on the other hand, gives the dancers more freedom, whereby open moves such as alternate hand holds, underarm turns, and side-by-side choreograph can be executed.
The Viennese Waltz
Viennese Waltz, or the “Wiener Walzer” in German, is another version of ballroom waltz. It incorporates various types of rotary dance moves which include turning in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. When performing these moves, dancers execute non-rotating change steps.
Waltz
The Waltz is one of the dances that are included in the International Style ballroom dance category. It follows a slow rhythm, and it is danced to about 30 bars or 90 beats per minute. Usually, one step is taken for every beat, or three steps for every measure.
Despite having a slow tempo, the waltz can have advanced figures that may require six steps per measure, which may be complemented with various turns.