Ballroom dance
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ballroom dance is a dance done in partners, one woman and one man. There are many styles of ballroom dance, such as International style and American style. Two of the most famous dancers were Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
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[edit] International style
There are ten international style ballroom dances, five standard (or modern) and five latin:
- Standard: Slow Waltz, Quickstep, Tango, Slow Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz
- Latin: Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba, Jive, Paso Doble
Most of these are British kinds of dances that started in other places.
Most people do these dances for fun. Some people compete against each other. Women wear nice dresses (gowns) for standard competition and very short skirts for Latin. Men wear white shirts and bow-ties for standard and black t-shirts for Latin.
People compete at many levels: Newcomer, Pre-Bronze, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Pre-Championship, and Championship. The best-known competition is in Blackpool, England.
Some people earn medals to show how they are improving. They dance in front of a judge to earn a medal at the Bronze, Silver, or Gold levels.
There are also some line dances, in which people dance as a group instead of with a partner. Some line dances are done to Mambo, Waltz, Paso Doble, and Samba.
Some people dance in couples, but also as a group, with everyone doing the same steps. This is called formation dancing.
[edit] American style
American style ballroom dancing is sometimes called Social style. It includes smooth and rhythm dances:
- Smooth: Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz
- Rhythm: Cha Cha, Mambo, Rumba, Bolero, East Coast Swing
[edit] Movies and television shows about ballroom dancing
[edit] Movies
- Strictly Ballroom
- Shall We Dance?
- Dance With Me
- movies with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (such as Flying Down to Rio, The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, and Carefree)
[edit] Television
- Ballroom Bootcamp (United States)
- Strictly Come Dancing (Britain)
[edit] Other ballroom dances
[edit] Swing
- West Coast Swing
- Lindy Hop
- Balboa
[edit] Latin
- Salsa
- Merengue
- Cumbia
[edit] Other
- Nightclub Waltz
- Nightclub 2-step
- Argentine Tango
- Polka