Knowing the Origin and History of Ballroom Dance
Ballroom dance means kind of social dances where a couple would dance together following very common steps. Ballroom dance is a derivation from the word ‘ball’ (social events attended by elites in the early 18th century), that consecutively originates from the Latin word ‘ballare’ meaning “to dance” that successively comes from the Latin word ‘ballare’ with the meaning ‘to dance’. The most common ballroom dance forms can be distinguished into Viennese Waltz, Modern Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Tango, Quickstep and the various forms of Latin Dances.
Ballroom dance has its origins in England, sometime between the late 18th century and early 19th century, and was performed by the elite classes of society in balls and parties. By degrees over time and during the nineteenth century, ballroom dance became a fad among the working classes and middle classes who took part in social dance events. In the nineteen hundred twenties, the reputation of ballroom dance contests rose dramatically with the result of the setting up of the Ballroom Branch of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing in Nineteen twenty-four that was instrumental in standardizing the steps, music and performance of ballroom dance.
Presently ballroom dance is practiced in Europe, the Asian-Pacific and The Americas too. It is common to find formal ballroom dance competitions, known as DanceSport, for ballroom dancers at different proficiency levels. The different ballroom dance types originate from different backgrounds and have unique aesthetics, rhythms, techniques and tempos. In spite of these discrepancies, all ballroom dance forms have common related characteristics.
Executed by a couple (generally by a male and a female), these dances demand that they perform in a set pattern which is prominently referred to as the ‘Close Hold’. This position requires the two people to maintain five areas of contact – three hand contact points wherein the man’s left hand holds the woman’s right hand, the woman’s left hand is positioned on the man’s right upper arm and the man’s right hand is placed below the left shoulder blade on the woman’s back; one elbow contact point wherein the woman’s left elbow is placed on the man’s right elbow and both arms are maintained in a horizontal line contributing to the ease of movement; one chest contact point wherein the right area of the chest of the man touches the right area of the woman contributing to the expression of feelings and emotions between the two. To conclude, being one of the finest expressions of love, joyfulness and pain between two people, ballroom dance is a fad that will never fade away.
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