History of the Ballroom Dance
Picture this: Tuxedoed men twirling bedazzled, long-gowned women around a large floor. Or, 18th century European royalty dancing the latest minuet with Bach or Strauss playing in the background. Or better yet, imagine dancing the jitterbug in ’40s America or the rumba in Havana. Are these things that come to mind when someone mentions ballroom dancing?
These are all considered ballroom dances and are still taught around the country. Dancers even compete in international ballroom competitions for top prizes and titles. Today, more and more people are becoming overweight and continue to spend tons of money for gyms so that they can drag themselves to the elliptical every week. But many people are also turning to a more fun, traditional way to exercise: dance! One can meet people of the opposite sex, improve coordination (especially when working together with a partner) and improve your overall health. There should be dance studios in your area and are usually cheaper than a night out on town or even a night at the movies where you would probably pay for food at the concession stand.
Meeting a lot of people is one great benefit to dancing. Because there are usually more men than women during these events, men will have to exchange partners frequently during the evening. For men, this is a plus since you can expect to meet many women. As for women, you can learn both the female and male parts (and hopefully teach it to a future boyfriend or husband) as you probably occasionally partner with another woman. Sometimes dance groups even schedule local dance outings so that students can meet more people and practice what they’ve learned.
You can learn many different styles of dancing. Tap dancing can be impressive and a great workout, but you probably won’t be performing this on a night out on the town. Ballet will increase your flexibility, but you probably wont be grand jet-ing across a dance floor at a club. But you can get all dressed up in vintage clothes (which is half the fun) and swing and jitterbug all night. And you can sure to wow any crowd by learning to Cha-Cha or Samba like a pro.
You will begin to experiment after learning the basic steps which just adds to the fun. If you have a regular dance partner, you can create you own moves and develop a style all on your own. Who knows, all dances are variations from some previous form of dance so the next dance craze could be named after you!