Dance Styles

Every type of dancing has one thing in common: movement to music. Great dancing is achieved when the movement is an accurate portrayal of the music. Because of this, many songs do not go well with any of the traditional ballroom dances. Therefore, we often do not use any of the dances below in our choreography. Here is a description of the dances we use when appropriate.

Foxtrot:

The foxtrot is a very social, happy dance. Typically danced to standards (Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darrin, Nat King Cole), it is also called the "walking" dance. It is a progressive dance, and the character is smooth and flowing. The style or technique used is brush and follow through with the feet. There are two timings: Slow - Quick - Quick and Slow - Slow - Quick -Quick. Foxtrot shares many of the same steps with the Waltz.

Night Club Two-Step:

This dance was designed so people would have something to do besides sway back and forth during slow songs. It does use a sway-back-and-forth feeling, but adds some steps to break up the monotony. It is a very romantic, casually flowing dance with simple steps and uses the timing of Slow - Quick - Quick. Music is usually contemporary and always slow. It is a spot dance.

Waltz:

Waltz, also a progressive dance, is considered by most to be the most elegant, regal, and graceful of the ballroom dances. It is traditionally danced to classical music, but many contemporary songs work very well. The style or technique used is rise and fall. The timing is: ONE - two - three With the "one" being the downbeat. The basic Waltz step is the box step, a sequence of six steps which, if you were to draw a line connecting all six, would form a box.

Salsa:

One of the more sensual dances, Salsa is enjoying enormous popularity right now. It has many variances, but they are all danced with 6 steps over 8 beats of music and share a timing of Quick - Quick - Slow repeated. It is a spot dance, danced very quickly with constant spins for both partners. Although styling is open to interpretation, we teach subtle hip motion throughout. Salsa music is salsa music.. easy to hear but difficult to explain without using a lot of musical terminology.

Country Two-Step

Two-Step shares its timing with Fox Trot, but that is all they have in common. Two-Step really doesn't have any shaping or rise and fall. It is a fast, progressive dance characterized by a lot spins and turns for both partners, often simultaneously. Obviously, it is danced to country music.

West Coast Swing:

Most would agree that this is the hardest dance to define. Interpretations are as numerous as those who have danced it. And therein lays its beauty. It is with out a doubt the most versatile dance in the world, and many avid WCS dancers don't feel the need to learn anything else. Characteristics that everyone agrees on:
1. It is a slot dance, danced back and forth.
2. Basic patterns involve six and eight beat movements.
3. It is danced to 4/4 music, generally between 85 and 130 beats per minute.
The music ranges from blues to jazz to hip-hop.

Cha Cha:

Cha Cha, originally known as Cha-Cha-Cha, has its origins in the Cuban Mambo. It gets its name from the distinctive syncopated triple step (cha cha cha) danced between 2 rock steps. Cha Cha is a spot dance and is expressed though body animation. The character is fun, flirty, playful with many of the same steps as Mambo or Salsa, but with the cha cha triple step thrown in due to much slower music.

Rumba:

Rumba is a modified version of the "Son", a popular dance in middle class Cuba before World War II. It is slow and rhythmical, sometimes called the "Latin Waltz". The Rumba is a "spot dance", romantic and sexy danced with plenty of hip action. The timing is: Slow - Quick - Quick, usually danced to Latin music.