| Waltz | From the German word walzen
"to revolve". A graceful dance for couples in 3/4 time, and also the name
of the music for this dance. The first of the three beats of waltz rhythm has a strong, propulsive impulse; it is followed by two lighter beats or steps (ONE...two...three). The dance, which developed in central Europe, shocked polite society when it was first introduced about 1800, because of the tight face-to-face hold. It became the outstanding ballroom dance of the 19th century and is still maintaining a prominent position to this day. |
| Vienese Waltz | Also known as the Quick Waltz. |
| Quickstep | A 'walking' dance, performed to rhythms that were African in origin, probably from the Latin-American tangos and rumbas or from the Afro-American jazz. |
| Foxtrot | A ballroom dance that became popular in both Europe and America following its introduction around 1914. It was allegedly named after the comedian Harry Fox, whose 1913 Ziegfeld Follies act included a trotting step. The fox-trot developed less strenuous walking steps for its ballroom version. The speed of the step varies with the music: half notes require slow steps; and quarter notes fast steps. The fox-trot consists primarily of walking steps, chassés (step side, close step), and quarter turns. Couples hold each other in the traditional ballroom position. |
| Slow (social) Foxtrot | A ballroom dance that has evolved from the Foxtrot. This form of the dance evolved to a slow, syncopated 4/4 rhythm. |
| Tango | A ballroom dance that evolved in about 1880 in the lower class districts of Buenos Aires. It originated from the merging of the Spanish tango with the milonga, which was a fast and sensual Argentine dance. In the early 1900s the tango became socially acceptable and by 1915 it had become a craze in the fashionable European circles. Early tangos were spirited and gay, but by 1920 the music and lyrics had become intensely melancholy. At the same time, the tango dance evolved from early exuberance to a smoother ballroom step. |