Shall We Dance?

Swing Dancing
Contra Dancing
Ballroom Dancing

We all know that a healthy exercise regimen is one of the keys to living longer with stronger bones and increased energy. But for those of us who need incentives to stay on the trail to physical fitness, dancing may provide the perfect combination of music, movement and socialization to get you moving and keep you on the go.

Indeed, it's been said that people do not stop dancing because they get older, but people get older because they stop dancing. For people of all ages, there's nothing better than swaying, shimmying, hopping or dipping to the tunes you love while keeping your heart rate up and those muscles moving.

Should you dance?

• It's a lot of fun. While some people find biking, jogging and weight lifting fun, dancers get quite the "kick" out of moving around the dance floor.
• No boredom. You know how you are able to listen to the music of your favorite musicians over and over again? Well, dancing lets you mix those great sounds with wonderful movement.

• Anyone can do it. Whether you've got a tin ear or two left feet, there's more room for fun than ability on the amateur dance floor. Depending on your physical abilities, you can find many dances to suit your skills. Make new friends. How about meeting new dance partners?
• It's a good form of exercise. (But before you start, check with your doctor to make sure it's okay.)

What is swing dancing?

Big band music provides the backdrop for a collection of swing dances performed by partners. Once known for moving to the beat of the Charleston, lindy hop and jitterbug, today's swing dancers hit the dance floors to the music of the Savoy swing, West Coast swing, and Carolina shag.

Swing music, or swinging jazz as it was known, was all the rage in the greatest dance halls, most notably the Savoy in New York City. The history of swing dates back to the 1920's, where the black community, while dancing to contemporary jazz music, discovered the Charleston and the lindy hop. As the music was evolving with Benny Goodman leading the way, dancers incorporated tap and jazz steps into their swing dancing.

By the 1930s, the dance craze was sweeping the nation thanks to a particular troupe of lindy hop dancers, known as "Whitey's Lindy Hoppers." If you hadn't heard or seen swing dancing, you knew what it was when "Whitey's Lindy Hoppers" brought it to movie houses all over the country.

In the late 1930s and through the 1940s, the terms lindy hop, jitterbug, lindy, and swing were used interchangeably by the news media to describe the same style of dancing taking place on the streets, in the nightclubs, in contests and in the movies. By the 1990s, when the resurgence of swing was in full, well, swing, the popular dances evolved from rhythm and blues music. The jitterbug found its way to the country and western dance barns, as well.

Learning to swing

Here's the best part about swing dancing. If you remember the 1950s television show "American Bandstand," you probably already know how to swing. You may be out of practice, but there are many local dance schools teaching the steps.

Put on those dancing shoes and sign up for a class. In fact, many cities have swing-dance organizations that offer lessons at a low cost, and are sometimes free. You can bring a partner. A class is a great place to start to get into swing dancing because there are so many types of dances. You have the chance to try several and find the ones you love - physically and musically.

What is contra dancing?

Remember your grammar school gym class? If you enjoyed "do-si-doing" and "swinging your partner" on the square dance floor in years gone by, you may be interested in contra dancing, a traditional form of New England social dance, with roots dating back over 200 years.

In contra dance, couples form two lines, partners facing each other. Prompted by the caller, they perform a sequence of figures that causes them to progress up or down the line, meeting other couples with whom they repeat the sequence. Eventually every couple dances with every other couple.

Contra dances consist mainly of Irish, New England and Quebecois jigs and reels. The band's instruments may include fiddle, piano guitar, mandolin, flute, penny whistle, concertina or dulcimer.

There are no special dress requirements. In fact, contra is a very casual dance. Still you'll be working up quite a sweat. Contra dancing is aerobic exercise - wear comfortable clothing and soft-soled shoes. This is not the place for your square dance outfits, hats or high heels. In fact, bring an extra towel and maybe a change of shirts if you plan to dance hard.

Also, you don't need to bring a partner to the dance because the point of contra dancing is to switch partners. Of course, if you bring someone, you can choose to save all your dances for them. But, if you are new to the contra dance scene, changing partners will give you the advantages of having many teachers.

Learning to contra dance

The best part of getting involved in contra dancing is that there is no experience necessary. Even if you've never been on a dance floor, you can contra dance if you know how to walk. In fact, beginners are encouraged to attend because the dances are fun and easy to learn. During contra dances, the caller will often walk everyone through the dance by "calling" out the steps so you can't get lost.

What is ballroom dancing?

There are many standard ballroom dances including the waltz, foxtrot, meringue, rumba and tango. Other dances have evolved from combining steps from these ballroom favorites and even from other dance styles such as swing and jazz. Many dance aficionados say that if you really understand the movements of ballroom dance, you cannot only spot similarities between the dances, but you can easily learn new ones as they come onto the scene.

The name "waltz" comes from the old German word "walzen," which means to roll, turn or to glide. A waltz is a ballroom dance in three-quarter time with strong accent on the first beat and a basic pattern of step-step-close.

During the middle of the eighteenth century, the German form of the waltz was very popular in France. While the dance was originally performed with one's arms intertwined at the shoulder level, the close-hold was soon introduced. This new take on an old dance was soon accepted by high society and three-quarter rhythm was here to stay.

The waltz was not without its critics. While some enjoyed the new, closer adaptation of the dance, many, including religious leaders, called it vulgar and sinful. The closer hold and rapid turning movements were highly criticized as being immoral. But as with everything, "bad" publicity drives popularity. The waltz remained popular throughout the years growing throughout Europe through all the socioeconomic levels.

Of course, each type of dance has its own special music and the waltz is no exception. In fact, the waltz was given a tremendous boost around 1830 by two great Austrian composers Franz Lanner and Johann Strauss. These two composers were by far the most popular during the nineteenth century. They set the standard for the Viennese waltz, (a very fast version of the waltz). By 1900, a typical dance program was three quarter waltzes and one quarter all other dances combined.

Around the close of the nineteenth century, two modifications of the waltz were developed. The first was the Boston, a slower waltz with long gliding steps. Although the Boston disappeared with World War I, it did stimulate development of the English or International style, which continues today. The second was the hesitation, which involves taking one step to three beats of the measure. Hesitation steps are still widely used in today's waltz.

Fox Trot

The fox trot originated in the summer of 1914 by Vaudeville actor Harry Fox. In early 1914, Fox was appearing in various vaudeville shows in the New York area. In April he teamed up with Yansci Dolly of the famous Dolly Sisters in an act of Hammerstein's. At the same time, the New York Theatre, one of the largest in the World, was being converted into a movie house. As an extra attraction, the theater's management decided to try vaudeville acts between the shows. They selected Harry Fox and his company of "American Beauties" to put on a dancing act. At the same time, the roof of the theater was converted to a Jardin de Danse, and the Dolly sisters were featured in a nightly revue.

The fox trot originated in the Jardin de Danse on the roof of the New York Theatre. As part of his act downstairs, Harry Fox was doing trotting steps to ragtime music, and people referred to his dance as "Fox's Trot."

Merengue

The merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic. There are two popular versions of the origin of the Dominican national dance, the merengue. One story says the dance originated with slaves who were chained together and, of necessity, were forced to drag one leg as they cut sugar to the beat of drums. The second story says that a great hero was wounded in the leg during one of the many revolutions in the Dominican Republic. A party of villagers welcomed him home with a victory celebration and, out of sympathy, everyone dancing felt obliged to limp and drag one foot.

By the middle of the nineteenth century, the merengue was popular in the Dominican Republic. Not only is it used on every dancing occasion in the Republic, but it is very popular throughout the Caribbean and South American, and is one of the standard Latin American dances.

There is a lot of variety in merengue music. Tempos vary a great deal, and the Dominicans enjoy a sharp quickening in pace towards the latter part of the dance. The most favored routine at the clubs and restaurants that run a dance floor is a slow bolero, breaking into a merengue, which becomes akin to a bright, fast jive in its closing stages. The ballroom merengue is slower and has a modified hip action.

The merengue was introduced in the United States in the New York area. However, it did not become well known until several years later. Ideally suited to the small, crowded dance floors, it is a dance that is easy to learn and essentially a fun dance.

Rumba

The word rumba is a generic term for a type of West Indian music or dancing. There are two sources of the dances: one Spanish and the other African. Although the main growth was in Cuba, there were similar dance developments that took place in other Caribbean islands and in Latin America generally.

The rumba influence came in the sixteenth century with the black slaves imported from Africa. The native Rumba folk dance is essentially a sex pantomime danced extremely fast with exaggerated hip movements and with a sensually aggressive attitude on the part of the man and a defensive attitude on the part of the woman. The music is played with a staccato beat in keeping with the vigorous expressive movements of the dancers. Accompanying instruments include the maracas, the claves, the marimbola and the drums.

Real interest in Latin music began about 1929. In the late 1920's, Xavier Cugat formed an orchestra that specialized in Latin American music. He opened at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and appeared in early sound movies such as "In Gay Madrid." Rumba is the spirit and soul of Latin American music and dance. The fascinating rhythms and bodily expressions make the rumba one of the most popular ballroom dances.

Related Articles Stretching Swimming Tai Chi Weight Training Walking

External Sources US Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association World Swing Dance Council

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.

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