With the sweeping differences in tempo among Slow Waltz, Medium Waltz and Viennese Waltz, there is an inevitable wide variation in movement style for each speed. Originally a turning, traveling dance for couples in 3/4 time popularized in Vienna in the mid-nineteenth century, the Waltz remains as “Queen of the Ballroom." People were shocked when the Waltz was first introduced. A man dancing with his hand upon a lady’s waist? No proper lady would permit it and society matrons declared it wicked and compromising. Yet in the United States, where there was no blue-blood caste, it proved an immediate success and was danced by the citizenry as early as 1840. Young people, when requesting a dance once shouted 'a waltz and a waltz again.'

In the early days of Waltz history Strauss, Waldteufel and Chopin wrote their exquisite melodies to be played at the exciting tempo of fifty-eight to sixty-six bars per minute. Then in the closing decades of the last century American composers began to write waltzes to be played at a tempo ranging from forty-four to forty-eight measures per minute. These were compositions like "After the Ball" and "A Bird in a Gilded Cage." At that time the dance form was modified to accord with this new music. Later, after the Ragtime Revolution of 1910, an even slower tempo waltz, typified by "My Wonderful One" claimed the talents of American composers, and again the waltz form was modified to fit the new music.

The Waltz proved its mettle by being the only classical dance to survive the "ragtime revolution," albeit with diminished popularity. With the introduction of ragtime in 1910, the Waltz slipped into second place in the public’s fancy, being supplanted by the many walking, strutting dances of the era. People who had not mastered the techniques and whirling patterns of the Waltz quickly learned the simple walking patterns, paving the way for the great ragtime rage and the birth of the Foxtrot.

American Waltz: Box Step.
Count 1 2 3, 4 5 6. Six steps to six beats.
Time signature: 3/4.
Speed: 31 - 36 measures per minute.

The Rumba’s origins date back more than 400 years to the cultures African slaves brought with them to Cuba. In its most basic form, it was an expressive pantomime danced by the Africans to hypnotic rhythms. A variation on this ritual pantomime is still performed today in Cuba’s countryside.

A stationary or spot dance internationalized in the 1930s, the Rumba combines undulating African isolations of the hip and rib-cage, the syncopated rhythms of many of the African musical traditions and the embrace position first seen in the waltz. It was an instantaneous success, for Americans were completely beguiled by the exciting Cuban Music – a fusion of Spanish melody and African rhythm, and by the movement style of this importation from the Caribbean. The body rhythm was an expression new to the American ballroom. The upper body remained quiet, while the shift of weight was manifested through the hips.

But the dance we’ve come to call the Rumba is to a certain extent an American fabrication. Since the diamond-shaped step of the Cuban “son”, (the most popular Cuban social dance) was alien to us, and since the body shift on count “One” – instead of our customary stepping on count “One” was alien also, - we made the Rumba basic into a form of the box, and also interpreted the music by making a foot placement on count 1. Despite these changes from the original, the Rumba’s popularity rivaled that of the Foxtrot for many years. Then the dance called the Mambo took its place in popularity in some sections of the country. However, in many other sections and in many segments of society the American styled Rumba continues with its popularity unabated.

Rumba: Box Step starting to the side.
Count quick, quick, slow. Quick, quick, slow.
Time signature: 4/4.
Speed:32 measures per minute.

The Argentine Tango which came to being in Buenos Aries, refers not only to dance steps, but music, song and poetry. Like other dances influenced by African traditions, its rhythms are punctuated and complicated. Unlike many other forms, there are none of the common percussion instruments in a Tango orchestra. Rather, accordion and guitar are used to provide the percussion.

The Tango has no clearly defined origin: it may have originated in Argentina, Brazil, Spain or Mexico. Descended from an early Spanish folk dance, the Milonga, and bearing traces of Moorish and Arabic ancestry, the Tango acquired its name in the early 20th century in Argentina, although it was being danced under various other names throughout South America. As the Tango developed, it is believed that many Argentine immigrants of Italian descent mixed dance and musical styles with the Spanish and African populations of Argentina. Many male workers, finding themselves without their families, frequented Tango halls where they danced to songs of longing, despair and bad luck. With its intriguing, asymmetrical style, the image of the Tango is one of dancers who thrust their legs between one another with quick, sharp moves, then pause and unexpectedly change directions.

The Argentine Tango was introduced in Paris and the Riviera by the Argentines early in the 1920’s. This version was widely accepted almost immediately, and in many countries became equally popular with the Foxtrot and Waltz. In the United States in order to simplify the rhythm and leading, a form of the Tango evolved in the late 1920’s which employed four beats or two measures for the basic figures. This style came to be known as American Style Tango and is a practical way to enjoy the Argentine rhythm. It does not, however, have the maneuverability of the true Argentine Tango and therefore requires more room for its execution.

American Tango: Three walks, side, close with no weight. T-A-N-G-O.
Time signature: 4/4.
Speed: 30 measures per minute.

The Merengue, originally a folk dance of the Dominican Republic, is a stationary or spot dance with a vigorous feel. A dance in 2/4, it is certainly a combination of African and Spanish culture. It has been linked both to the word merenguearse, which means to dance with real abandon, and also to an African dance in duple time called the Meringha. After reaching stature as a dance of the salon in the Dominican Republic, it made its formal entry into the dance scene in this country in 1955. Along with other Latin dances such as the Mambo, Cha-cha, and Bossa Nova, the Merengue possessed the requisite elements for a lasting social dance – and now seems to be a permanent part of our dance repertory.

Merengue: Marching dance on the beat, moving the hips.
Count side together side together.
Time signature: 4/4.
Speed: 56 measures per minute.

Before 1910 and the startling emergence of Ragtime music, ballroom dancing existed mostly in the hot-house atmosphere of private balls and parties. Dancing was based on a modified ballet technique. The Schottische, the Polka, the Two-Step and the Waltz were the fashion. Feet were daintily turned out, partners held each other at arm’s length, and dance steps followed set sequences. Cuts, slides and points were the dancer’s equipment. Then suddenly the patterned elegance of pre-modern ballroom dancing disappeared with amazing finality.

The intoxicating Ragtime music touched off a dance craze that circled the globe. Newly opened public dance spots were crowded with couples who lurched around the floor, holding each other closely, just happy to keep time to the wonderful, pulsing music. But – as it inevitably had to be – a measure of order began to develop from the chaos of Turkey Trot, Bunny Hug and Grizzly Bear. By 1914 the rage for fast tempo Ragtime dances had died down. A sweet, lilting kind of music began to pour out of Tin Pan Alley. The old Two-Step and the new One-Step, producer of Ragtime, were blended, and the Foxtrot in common four-four time, danced to this smooth, sweet music, became an international dance favorite.

Webster’s NEW WORLD DICTIONARY defines Foxtrot as “1. A slow, mixed gait of a horse in which it trots with the forelegs and paces with the hind legs; hence, 2. A dance in 4/4 time with a variety of steps, both fast and slow”. This manner of derivation is in line with the tendency prevalent from 1910 to 1914 to introduce dances characterized as “walks” “canters” and “trots” and to give them animal names.

Dance lore suggests that a vaudeville performer named Harry Fox choreographed the original Fox Trot in 1912-1914. As danced by Fred Astaire in the 1930’s, the Foxtrot is a joyful, creative dance, emphasizing improvisation within the overall tempo of the music. In the past, over 75% of all popular songs were written in Foxtrot tempo.

Foxtrot: Two walking steps and a side together.
Count slow, slow, quick, quick
Time signature: 2/4.
Speed: 34 measures per minute.

SWING at the present time, is a name given to an American jazz dance typified by subtle movements and syncopated timing. Related to such memorable dances as the Black Bottom and Shag, it traces its origins to the Lindy Hop of 1927 and American jazz sounds and rhythms. Early twentieth century Rag Dances and the Charleston in the 1920’s led directly into Lindy Hop, which is said to have been named after Charles A. Lindbergh and his epochal flight across the Atlantic. In its original form, the Lindy Hop was noted for its spectacular muscular contortions and the acrobatic feats of both partners.

In the 1930’s young people in Harlem danced a complicated air born version at the Savoy Ballroom, often performing in ad hoc competitions and creating more and more aerial movements. Initially, the Lindy was performed as a modified box step (a basic took 8 counts) with a distinct shuffling movement. This shuffle is what makes the faster tempo of the Lindy into a single time Lindy. The more popular Triple Lindy is danced to slower tempi.

In order to survive, all dances must have a firmly established basic pattern from which to improvise. The Swing has this attribute, (it has a 6 count rhythm) and furthermore, can be danced expertly in a relatively small area. American GIs can be seen in many Hollywood movies dancing to the sounds of big bands such as Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

Single time Swing: Side, side (replace weight on the spot), back rock.
Count slow, slow, quick, quick.
Time signature: 4/4.
Speed: 42 measures per minute.