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Arthur Murray Dance Studio
 

Waltz

The real origin of the Waltz is rather obscure, but a dance of turns and glides, leaping and stomping appeared in various parts of Europe at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. In Italy it was the Volta, France has its Volte, Germany the Weller and Austria had its Landler. These were round dances but at the end of the dance itself there was a short period in which the circle would break up into couples who would whirl madly round and round and finish with a jump in the air. In the Landler the hopping gave way more to a gliding motion and that is why it is considered the forerunner of the Waltz. The Waltz can be traced back as far as 400+ years. The Waltz regained its real popularity in the 20th century. The Waltz blossomed out as the Hesitation Waltz in 1913. Until the development of the hesitation, couples had waltzed in one direction until dizzy and then reversed until ready to drop. The Waltz had degenerated into an endurance contest. The Hesitation resulted in the Waltz it is done today. The slow Waltz was once known as the Boston Waltz. Today the slow Waltz is the American Waltz, English Waltz or just Waltz, and the faster is the Viennese Waltz.

Tango

There are essentially three types of Tango - Argentine, American and International Style.

Argentine Tango: (arrabalero) Originated in the West Indies where it was danced only by the lowest classes. The name is from the African Tanganya. The dance found its way into Argentina and then to France and finally into the United States in a modified form about 1914. Latin American ballroom Tango is danced in 4/4 time.

American Tango: Unlike the Argentine Tango, in which the dancer interprets the music spontaneously without any predetermined slows or quicks, the American Tango features a structure which is correlated to the musical phrasing. The dance is executed both in closed position and in various types of extravagant dance relationships which incorporate a particular freedom of expression that is not present in the International style.

International Tango: This is a highly disciplined and distinctively structured form of the Tango which is accepted worldwide as the format for dance sport events. The dancers remain in traditional closed position throughout and expresses both legato and staccato aspects of the type of music appropriate to this style.

Foxtrot

During the summer of 1914, actor Harry Fox was appearing in shows in New York with Yansci Dolly, in an act of Hammerstein's. Soon people at the Jardin de Danse on the roof of the New York Theater began copying the act that Harry was putting on downstairs, leading them to refer to the dance as "Fox's Trot."It is now a standard ballroom dance the world over and serves as a good foundation for social dances.

The foxtrot is a very smooth dance and there should be no jerkiness. It is a dance with many continuously forward or backward moving patterns which are straight and well aligned on the competition floor. It is called the Rolls Royce of the standard dancing styles because the smoothness that is required.

Quickstep

The English version of the Fast Fox Trot, which has quick hopping steps set in with the smoother gliding figures. It is very popular in Europe as a competition dance. It ranks among the "Big Five," the other three being the Slow Fox Trot, the Waltz, the Tango and the Viennese Waltz.

The Quickstep evolved in the 1920s from a combination of the Foxtrot and the Charleston, as bands started to play music which was too quick to make large open leg movements which the Foxtrot required. The Quickstep now is quite separate from the Foxtrot. Unlike the Foxtrot, the man often closes his feet, and syncopated steps are regular occurrences. In some ways, the dance patterns are close to the Waltz, but are danced to 4/4 time rather than 3/4 time.

This dance gradually evolved into a very dynamic one with a lot of movement on the dance floor, many advanced patterns include hops, runs, quick steps with a lot of momentum, and rotation. The tempo of quickstep dance significantly increased, especially in ballroom competitions, due to the extensive use of steps with eighth note durations.

The Quickstep is elegant like the Foxtrot, and should be smooth and glamorous. The dancers should appear to be very light on their feet.

The characteristic motion of a quickstep is an up-and-down swing motion. This rise-and-fall motion must be done at a fast pace. It is important to move powerfully and positively across the floor while remaining light on the feet. Two bodies moving in the speed of the quickstep require first of all a high level of synchronization and understanding about leg tension and use of the ankles. During execution of the "tricksteps," both dancers need the same tension of feet and legs. There needs to be lots of work on the balls of the feet and lots of spring from the feet. To achieve the right musical interpretation, the timing of the "Slows" should be slightly extended to force a sharp action in the ankles in the "Quicks."