Why Wait To Start Dancing!

The Waltz is one of the smoothest ballroom dances. It is a progressive dance marked by long, flowing movements, continuous turns, and "rise and fall". The dance is so graceful and elegant, Waltz dancers appear to glide around the floor with almost no effort. [from dance.about.com]

The Tango is one of the most fascinating of all ballroom dances. This sensual ballroom dance originated in South America in the early twentieth century. [from dance.about.com]

The Foxtrot is a ballroom dance that is lots of fun and simple to learn... an excellent dance for beginners. The Foxtrot is a smooth dance in which dancers make long, flowing movements across the floor. [from dance.about.com]

The Viennese Waltz is a quick rotating ballroom dance with a subtle rise and fall. It is considered by most to be one of the most difficult dances to learn. The simple and elegant rotational movement characterizes the Viennese Waltz. [from dance.about.com]

The Quickstep is a quick version of the Foxtrot. It is a ballroom dance comprised of extremely quick stepping, syncopated feet rhythms, and runs of quick steps. The Quickstep is exciting to watch, but among the most difficult of all the ballroom dances. [from dance.about.com]

The Cha Cha is a lively, flirtatious ballroom dance full of passion and energy. The classic "Cuban motion" gives the Cha Cha its unique style. Partners work together to synchronize each movement in perfect alignment. [from dance.about.com]

The Rumba is considered by many to be the most romantic and sensual of all Latin ballroom dances. It is often referred to as the "Grandfather of the Latin dances." [from dance.about.com]

East Coast Swing (sometimes called the Jitterbug) is a fast, exuberant, non-progressive dance which works well on any crowded floor. Swing is carefree, relaxed, and fun with spins and intricate patterns. It works equally well with Big Band, Motown, and Rock & Roll, over a wide range of tempos from moderately slow to very fast. [from dancelovers.com]

Bolero is one of the most beautiful, graceful, romantic dances ever created, danced to very slow Rumba music and counted Slow Quick Quick. The idea of Bolero is a little like a game of yes, no. come here, go away. I love you, I love you not. The music is frequently arranged with Spanish vocals and subtle percussion effect, usually implemented with Conga or Bongos. [from dancelovers.com]

The Mambo is one of the most sensual and emotional Latin American ballroom dances. Swaying hip movements, facial expressions, arm movements and holds all add to the sensuality of the dance. [from dance.about.com]

The Brazilian dance Samba was first introduced in 1917 but was finally adopted by Brazilian society in 1930 as a ballroom dance. It was and is danced as a festival dance during the street festivals and celebrations. The style is to bounce steadily and smoothly in 2/4 meter. They say that the late Carmen Miranda introduced the Samba to the United States in 1939. [from dancelovers.com]

Salsa is a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances. Each played a large part in its evolution. Salsa is similar to Mambo in that both have a pattern of six steps danced over eight counts of music. The dances share many of the same moves. In Salsa, turns have become an important feature, so the overall look and feel are quite different form those of Mambo. Mambo moves generally forward and backward, whereas, Salsa has more of a side to side feel. [from centralhome.com]

Merengue is a very easy dance for beginners, probably the easiest dance you will ever learn. The Merengue basic is danced as a walking step with a step taken on every beat of music. While hip movement is a must for Merengue, the amount of hip movement varies with personal preference.Sometimes called the sister dance to Salsa, Merengue originated in the Caribbean around the 1850's and has grown in popularity as a worldwide dance due in part to the simplicity of the dance. [from dancelovers.com]

The Hustle is believed to have originated in New York in 1970. It went through many incarnations in the seventies, with line dances for groups of people, solo movements that came and went, and partnership dances. The most popular Street, Three-Count or Swing Hustle originated in California as the street Hustle by skaters in Venice and Malibu. John Travolta and "Saturday Night Fever" gave Hustle its place in American pop culture. Hustle is danced to the contemporary pop, Hip Hop, or "House" dance music of the last 20 years. Most People dance New York style or Swing Hustle. It is a fast, smooth dance where partners travel back and forth in a "slotted" linear formation. [modified from dancelovers.com]

In the late 1940s too many injuries from kicks and jumps got the jitterbug banned from dance halls all across the country. West Coast Swing grew out of limiting the dancer's floor space to a "slot." (There's a rumor that this version became popular in Hollywood because the wide angle lens hadn't been invented, yet). West Coast Swing is an interpretive and fun dance characterized by flashy spins, taps and shuffles, and the push and pull compression technique of partner connection. From warm and slinky to funky with abandon, West Coast Swing is one of the most improvisational dances. It can be danced with music ranging from jazz, to rhythm and blues, to top 40, country, or even disco. [from dancelovers.com]

Nite-Club Two Step is a social dance done to slow, romantic music. When the music slows down, everybody can tell the phony posers from the real dancers. You'll want to have some good moves for the slow songs and the Nite-Club Two Step is the perfect dance. It's a smooth, flowing dance similar in appearance to American style Samba and Rumba that became a hit in the 70's and continues to be extremely popular to this day. It can be danced to a variety of music, including Top 40 and Country Western music such as 'Lady in Red', 'On the Wings of Love', 'You Send Me', 'Fallin' and 'Breathe'. It's the most popular dance for those romantic ballads. It combines the characteristics of several dances and is one of the few dances for those slower songs 60-80 beats per minute. [modified from dancelovers.com]

Argentine tango dancing consists of a variety of styles that developed in different regions and eras, and in response to the crowding of the venue and even the fashions in clothing. Argentine tango is danced in an embrace that can vary from very open, in which leader and follower connect at arms length, to very closed, in which the connection is chest-to-chest, or anywhere in between. Argentine tango dancing relies heavily on improvisation; although certain patterns of movement have been codified by instructors over the years as a device to instruct dancers. [modified from en.wikipedia.org]

Known as "kicker dancing" by Texans, country dancing refers to a variety of dance styles, techniques and moves, usually danced to country-western music. Country and western dancers practice in country western dance bars, clubs and ballrooms. If you enjoy listening to country-western music and wearing cowboy boots, you may get a kick out of country and western dancing. [from dance.about.com]