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American Style Vs International Style |
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| In
North America there are two major ballroom dance styles that
are taught and danced. So what is the difference between the
two styles? Actually there are more similarities than
differences. But the few differences are major and could
determine your choice and enjoyment of dancing |
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American Style: |
| Also
known as Social Dance, is, Ballroom, Country, Latin, Swing
and Nightclub dances where the dancing is more relaxed and
meant for the enjoyment of the dancers |
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American Style Ballroom evolved
from social dancing in North America and is a fully
recognized competitive style of dance. It was taught and
popularized by North American dance schools such as Fred
Astaire and Arthur Murray. It came about because the North
American dancers were not responsive to the rigid and strict
foot placement required in the European style of ballroom
dancing. North Americans were more interested in having fun
while dancing than the strict and ridged ballet discipline
taught by the European dance schools. They wanted more
freedom of movement, more freedom to be expressive in their
dancing, and more freedom to interpret the music the way
they felt it. The popularity of Swing dancing and Country
dancing in North America would suggest that most North
Americans still feel the same way about their dancing. |
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The biggest difference in the two styles is in the
“Smooth”
Dances. The American “Smooth”
style allows the dancers to be in open or closed positions
allowing for a very “Fred and Ginger” style. In
International “Standard”,
dancers dance in closed position and maintain body contact.
American Style “Smooth”
has a greater variety of patterns and is easier to learn at
the beginner and intermediate levels. At the advanced and
competition level, American
Style is as difficult to master
as the International Style.
In “American Style”
the box step is the basic element for all the dances and is
used in some form as a transition into more complicated
steps and patterns. |
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In the
“Latin”
or
“Rhythm”
Dances the difference is in the
way the Cuban or Latin motion is executed. American Style
uses a natural foot and soft knee movement to achieve the
hip drop associated with Cuban motion. In the international
style, the hips are forced up and out by stepping on to a
straight knee resulting in a “Marilyn Monroe” Style of hip
movement |
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Additionally, American Style is, at its core, social dancing
that requires dance partners to focus primarily on each
other rather than on a formulaic series of dance figures |
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There are
11 dances divided into two groups |
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Smooth dances
consisting of: |
Rhythm
dances consisting of |
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Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango and |
Cha-cha, Rumba, Bolero, East Coast Swing,
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Viennese Waltz
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Samba, Mambo and Merengue |
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I
International (DanceSport) Style
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Traditionally, American Style ballroom
dancing has been confined to North America.
Professional
American Style ballroom
dancers have raised the
standards of American Style dancing to unprecedented levels.
But for the rest of the world, ballroom dancing has a
European face: it is the formal, rigid elegance of the
International (DanceSport)
Style |
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| After
WW II it nearly disappeared because of its ridged and strict
approach to dancing and, what dances were deemed eligible to
be a “Ballroom Dance”. Were it not for some progressive
European dance teachers, who recognized the appeal of some
of the “made in North America” dances, such as Foxtrot,
Cha-cha, and the swing dances, introduced to Europe by the
North Americans during the war, the European style of
dancing would probably not have survived. These teachers
brought these dances back to Europe smoothed them out,
applied Ballet technique, structure, and strict foot
placement to them, and the
International Style
of dancing as we see it today came about. Some of these made
in North America dances, changed by the International Dance
Federation include.
Foxtrot, Quickstep
(A fusion of
Foxtrot Charleston and Swing),
Jive, Cha-cha and Rumba.
International dancers rightly claim that
Slow Foxtrot
is one of the hardest dances to master |
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The two International dances,
Quickstep
and
Paso Doble,
are better suited as
“Show Dances”
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| The
International
Style of
dancing, beautiful to watch in competitions, is not ideal
for social dancing. It requires a lot of open floor space to
execute the patterns. The style is difficult to learn for
the beginner and difficult to master with its strict foot
placements. |
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There are
10 dances divided into two categories |
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Standard,
consisting of |
Latin,
consisting of |
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Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz |
Cha-cha, Samba, Rumba |
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Slow Foxtrot and Quickstep |
Paso Doble and Jive |
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Your choice will depend on where you
want to go with your dancing. If you want to compete in
“world competitions” than, your choice, should be the
“International Style”
or as it is called today
“DanceSport”.
Keep in mind when choosing this
dance style, only a very tiny percentage of students who
enroll in ballroom dance lessons go on to compete and only a
tiny percentage of those who compete continue to dance after
their competition days are over. At
Dance Discovery
we encourage students to start with
the easier American
Style
of dancing and then if they choose to
compete, switch to
International Style |
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| If
you, like most people who enroll in dance lessons, only want
to be comfortable on the dance floor, be a good social
dancer and are not interested in competition, than the
easier and more Social
American Style
might be a better choice for you. |
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