Ballroom Dance: From Social to Competitive Performance

Categories: Dance

As what I have observed, Ballroom Dance is a famous kind of dance done usually with a partner and is being enjoyed socially and competitively all over the world. I can say that partners of these dances both enjoyed it being accompanied by different kinds of music and dances each of it as one. Because of the kind of performance in doing this dance, it is widely performed on stage, film, and television. Because of its popularity, several types of it, was created.

The following types of ballroom dances are: Waltz, Jazz, Jive, Cha-Cha, Rumba, Tango, Foxtrot and Quick Step.

The first one; Waltz is called to be one of the smoothest type of ballroom dance, for it should be danced gracefully and is characterized with “rise and fall” movements. The second one; Jazz is a type of ballroom dance which uses movements such as; Jazz Hands, Kicks, Leaps, Sideways Shuffling, Rolled Shoulders, and Turned Knees. The third one; Jive is type of ballroom dance which is usually danced in a lively form of Swing Dance and a variation of the Jitterbug, The fourth one; Cha-Cha is a type of ballroom dance usually danced with passion and energy and danced by partners in a synchronize form of movement in a perfect alignment.

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The fifth one; Rumba is the most romantic and sensual type of ballroom dance and often referred to as the “Grandfather of Latin dances. ” The sixth one; Tango is said to be the most fascinating of all ballroom dances.

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The seventh one; Foxtrot is said to be the funniest and the simplest dance to be learned especially for beginners which is usually done with long, flowing movements across the floor. And the last one, Quick Step is said to be the quick version of the ballroom dance; Foxtrot and the most difficult type of ballroom dance which is comprised of extremely quick stepping, syncopated feet rhythms, and runs of quick steps.

As what I’ve watch, the performer number forty (40) is dominant to the dance. They perform well and they made me impressed in the way they dance. They are a perfect partner because both of them really love what they are doing. When I saw them performing especially when they are in front of us, my eyes didn’t take away from them even if there’s other pair performing. There are two kinds of ballroom dance I loved the most, the Jive and the Quick Step. It makes me sway and dance with the beat. There’s also a kind of ballroom dance i loved, the Rumba and Samba which made me say “WOW!

”. This dance is cool because they can express the viewers what they what to show in there dance steps. Those kinds ballroom dance made me encourage and go back to dancing. That was my first time that I watched that ballroom competition. It’s nice and awesome. All of the dancers are energetic and graceful. It’s obvious that all of the contestant in the ballroom competition are enjoying and having fun. It helps the ballroom dancers improve the way they dance. That competition is a good example of expressing ones talent in dancing.

As a viewer, I think I can dance like them and I can be better than them. Just like the performers, I also love dancing but not the way they dance. Maybe I can be better them if I practiced that kind of ballroom dance and if I really love what I am dancing. If I would be given a chance to become a ballroom dancer, I would be seriously focused on dancing. I’ll keep my passion on it and practice the right posture of the ballroom dance so I can be a good dancer. I can prove everyone that I can be better than them.

The Benefits of Trying Ballroom Dance as A Hobby

I wasn’t really familiar with the dance, I was always heard about it but never took any interest in it. According to dictionary.com Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances by men and women, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment characteristics, ballroom dance is also enjoyed on stage, film, and television. The dance originated in England in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It is once known as the waltz which was soon introduced to the European that was combined with polka and tango. Ballroom dance has gotten so popular when it started to spread to America, the foxtrot, swing, rumba, mambo, and the cha-cha were dance moves that were added to it as well. You may find ballroom dancing at competitions, social gatherings, and especially at weddings.

An interesting fact about ballroom dance is it was one of the best indoor sports the world has ever known about. The book Ballroom Dancing published by Alex Moore, states “As a competitive sport it has aroused the interest of practically of every country in the world and the standard of dancing is sufficiently high to challenge our best English dancers.” Ballroom competition was also a way for dancers to show off their skills and be judged among their dancing. It gives men and women the exercise that they need and it will give the mental relaxation that everybody needs. The beauty of ballroom dancing is the ability of the dancing couple to make a unique and unforgettable experience to a selection of music and together they can participate in an artistic process while still keeping a certain rhythm. It got involved with the transformation of relationships and increased the feelings between men and women with their romantic partners and it kept the intimacy alive. Some people even use ballroom dance as a wedding tradition. There has been plenty of weddings I’ve been to and seen on TV where the bride and groom are centered in the middle of the dance floor and they utilize their space by doing the waltz box step, the right turn, and left under turn and many more dance moves. Ballroom dance brings out people’s inner personality that they never thought they had. They’re people that are shy around the opposite sex, and ballroom dance is one of the dances that lets them act confident and relaxed. People do this dance because it's up close and personal, you get to dress up, its competitive, and challenging.

Ballroom dance has been around for years and as it was spreading throughout the it started to change as well. There are two types of ballroom dance, international and American ballroom dance, as it became a part of American dance it was divided up into two types of settings was Smooth and Rhythm. Smooth dances include the dance moves as the Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, and Viennese Waltz. As for the Rhythm, dance movements include Rumba, Swing, Cha-Cha, and Mambo. For the international ballroom dance it is also split into two categories which are Standard and Latin and they include almost the same dance moves as Smooth and Rhythm but it is slower.

Ballroom dance is typically not a controversial dance. It was perceived to be one of the unproblematic dances because it is just a man and his significant other dancing with interest. It is a very fascinating dance to watch, you see more of a ballroom dancing in more of romantic movies with an ancient setting. A good movie example of ballroom dance is Cinderella, as we all know in the movie the prince dances with different women to find his perfect princess and when he comes across Cinderella they are dancing beautifully in a circle doing the waltz box step as everyone in the crowd watches.

I didn’t know much about Ballroom dance, my perspective on it was just woman and men dressing in nice attire and spinning around in circles based on all the weddings I attended to. After I went to my first ballroom class, it changed my whole perspective on it, I learned that it was more to it. The dance was more of a calm and relaxing rhythm from the dance class that I went to, because Ballroom dance is known to have different types of tempos of dancing. The movements were more of a slow pace and It was a lot of swaying back and forth and the foot movements were an iterate. I had to be in sync with my partner and it was harder than I thought it was. Watching other people do it, they made it seem like it was so easy to do. I learned a lot from the class, but there was something I found to be very interesting to me that the instructor Maks who is an International Latin and a Standard and American Smooth Instructor said was it’s a trusting process, you have to make sure each other are in perfect sync if one of us messes up we both mess up. I could barely keep up with my partner and he was more experienced in the dance than I was, but he was real patient with me and I had to really step out of my comfort zone with this dance. Other than that I really enjoyed my time there , it was very much worth going to. I met a lot of new people who happened to be from a different country and heard a lot of their dance experiences with Ballroom dance. All of their stories were very interesting to listen to.

In conclusion, ballroom dance is a dance that has spread all across the world which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. It is known to be a competitive sport, but it is also a beautiful dance because it kept the chemistry alive with women and men. I didn’t have much of an idea about ballroom dance or even knew how to do it until I went to my first dance class which happened to be one of the best dance experiences i ever had. Ballroom dance was one of the most interesting dance I have ever did my research on and I think I may start going to ballroom classes more often.

Refences

  1. Ballroom Dancing, Alex Moore (August 28, 2002) https://cpp-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplaydocid=TN_oxford_music10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2218578&context=PC&vid=01CALS_PUP&search_scope=EVERYTHING&tab=everything&lang=en_US
  2. Becoming Beautiful: Ballroom Dance In The American Heartland, Joanna Bosse (2015) https://cpp-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_pq_ebook_centralEBC3414427&context=PC&vid=01CALS_PUP&search_scope=EVERYTHING&tab=everything&lang=en_US

References

Updated: Dec 12, 2023
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Ballroom Dance: From Social to Competitive Performance. (2017, Feb 21). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/ballroom-dance-essay

Ballroom Dance: From Social to Competitive Performance essay
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