In the Ballroom dancing world there are so many different Ballroom dances that it’s hard to get an overall picture of all the different types of Ballroom dance styles that are out there.
While there are many Latin dances and Ballroom dances, most of them can fit in to at least one category or style. Depending on which part of the world you live in, the styles and dances may differ slightly, so keep that in mind.
Below we have included the most popular Ballroom dance styles in the following order: American Style, International Style, Latin nightclub style, Swing dances and other popular partner dances. Below you will find the specific dances that fall under each style with a brief description.
American Style
American Rhythm Dances & Characteristics:
Cha Cha
This dance is a fun and cheeky dance with emphasize of quick, concise foot and leg actions. Beginner guide – Cha Cha dance steps
Rumba
This dance has a sensual feeling with lots of hip and body action – referred to as “Cuban motion”. Beginner guide – Rumba dance steps
Swing (East Coast)
This dance has a very energetic feel to it with lots of turns and spins for both partners. Beginner guide – East Coast Swing dance steps
Bolero
The Bolero is the slowest of the Rhythm dances and has a very graceful way of moving with rise and fall and lots of shaping.
Mambo
This dance is fast with lots of body actions and ticks to accentuate the Latin music.
American Smooth Dances & Characteristics:
Waltz
This dance is very slow and elegant. It’s main technique is rise and fall throughout. How to Waltz – Beginner’s guide
Foxtrot
The foxtrot has a smooth gliding feeling across the floor with lots of passing of the feet. How to Foxtrot dance – Beginner’s guide
Tango
This dance is very dramatic dance with lots of sharp movements and mostly danced with bent knees the entire time. Tango Basic steps lesson
Viennese Waltz
A quicker waltz that incorporates continuous turning around the floor. How to Viennese Waltz.
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This is a style that is danced all around the world. This style has very specific syllabus that dancers strive to master. It is danced both socially and competitively. Those that choose to study this style spend a lot of time working on the style and technique which is very strict and somewhat complex. The dances that fall under this style can be broken down into 2 more types: International Latin and International Standard.
International Latin dances & Characteristics:
Cha Cha
The Cha Cha is one of the faster dances with lots of quick foot actions and sharp movements. Learn International Style Cha Cha
Samba
This partner dance mimics the Brazilian “Carnival” feeling and there is lot of “bounce” action created through knees and ankles. Learn International Style Samba
Rumba
This is the slowest dance in the International Latin style and it’s sensual character is meant to emphasize hip and body actions. Learn International Style Rumba
Paso doble
This dance is very dramatic character and shaping – with the man and woman constantly challenging one another. Learn International Style Paso Doble
Jive
This is the quickest dance in this style and has lots of kicks. The idea is to show lots of energy and personality in this dance. Learn International Style Jive
International Standard dances & Characteristics:
Waltz
The Waltz is very graceful in movement and character. There is a strong “rise and fall” (up and down) technique used though out the figures. Learn International Style Waltz
Foxtrot
A very smooth dance with both partners gliding effortlessly across the dance floor as if they have “ice skates” on without them. Learn International Style Foxtrot
Tango
The International Tango has lots of quick, dramatic movements and shapes. The dancers walk with a staccato technique. Learn International Style Tango
Viennese Waltz
This classy dance has fast foot actions to 1,2,3 timing, and is limited in figures to show off the spinning around the room. Learn International Style Viennese Waltz
Quickstep
The quickest dance in this style. It is all about moving energetically across the floor with hops, skips and flicks. Learn International Style Quickstep
As you can see both the American and International styles have very similar dances with just a few differences in the dances used. The main difference between the 2 styles are the syllabus steps and technique.
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Start Your 7-Day Free TrialThese 2 styles are the traditional types of Ballroom dance and now I will share some other styles that fall under the umbrella of Partner dancing and often associated with Ballroom dancing, but they are non-traditional Ballroom dances.
Non traditional Ballroom Dances
Latin Nightclub style
Please note: This style doesn’t belong to “the core” of Ballroom dancing style. This is a style that is mainly danced in Latin nightclubs to Latin music. People love this style because it is very fun and social.
Core Latin Club dances & Characteristics:
Salsa on 1
The Salsa is one of the hottest Latin dances out there with lots of underarm tuns, hip action and styling. Learn the Salsa basic steps
Salsa On 2
This style of Salsa has the same characteristics as the “On 1” style, but the main difference is you step fwd or back on count “2” instead of count “1”.
Merengue
One of the easiest and funnest dances to learn. The Merengue music has very strong beats that tells the dancers to switch weight from foot to foot to that beat.
Learn how to Merengue
Bachata
The Bachata has lots hip action and body movement that emphasizes the sensual Latin dance music.Learn how to dance Bachata basics
Cha Cha (Club style)
The dancers keep the step, step, cha, cha, cha rhythm as they lead and follow into different moves and turns.
Kizomba
This dance gained popularity recently and now danced all over the world. It’s character is somewhat of a mix between Argentine Tango and Salsa.
To get more details on these dances check out the complete list of Latin dances here.
The Swing Dances
The Swing dances originated from 1920’s and 1930’s and are usually filled with energetic turns, lifts, footwork flares and musical interpretations.
Swing dances & Characteristics:
West Coast Swing
This Swing dance is derived from Lindy Hop and has a sleek style that is achieved by “elastic connection” between the partners, allowing them to work off one another and improvise.
East Coast Swing
This Swing dance is also influenced by Lindy Hop and it is known for its underarm turns. There is a “triple time” swing and a “single time” Swing.
Lindy Hop
This is the dance that inspired many of the Swing dances out there. It is a partner dance that became popular during the 1930’s Swing era. It has a combination of rock steps, walks and triple steps.
Not so popular now-days swing dances:
Charlston
Balboa
Shag
Jitterbug
Boogie-woogie
Other Popular Partner dances:
Hustle
Nightclub 2 step
Country 2 step
Polka
Argentine Tango
Peabody
While there are literally tens more dances out there, I focused on the most popular ones.
Watch a Video Summary of this article:
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Claudio C says
Another very informative article. Thanks for posting it.
I have a question wich I hope is related to this article.
I recently watched a movie with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder called ”The Age of Innocence” in the movie they were dancing what some type of Waltz, the strange part of it is that they were dancing in a Clockwise Direction.
I know that the Waltz is a very old dance , but I have always been told to dance it in a Counter Clockwise direction.
Did at some point people danced the waltz in a Clockwise direction?
Leon says
Hey Claudio,
Mhhh. I don’t know if they used to dance clockwise …. I think they probably did it for the movie because well…. it’s a movie so they didn’t care for it to be perfectly “The Ballroom way”. By the way, is that a good movie?
Claudio C says
Thanks for the reply. Leon
Here is a youtube clip of the dance in the movie .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zPgnTlsXco&feature=relmfu
They keep doing the same clockwise turn over and over. If you have a minute please watch it and let me know what you think.
The Age of Innocence. Is a great movie and great music if you got a good pair of speakers.
Tony Warnock says
From the clip, it looks like the LOD is counter-clockwise, just as now. (And just as in the old dance manuals at the Library of Congress.)
The couples are also spinning around their own axes.
Claudio C says
You are right Tony. the couples may be spinning in a clockwise direction, I guess that it what confused me. But as you said the LOD is counter clockwise. All is well
Leon says
Yes it looks counter clockwise to me…
Karen Martin says
Hmm, you’ve forgotten to mention Australian New Vogue! These are sequence dances of 16 or 32 bars and many of them are based on specific dance styles such as waltz, foxtrot, rumba, tango, swing. Some of them are danced competitively in Australia and they are also popular as social dances as the simplified steps and repetition enable beginners to pick them up easily. Lots of fun!
Robert C. Quinn says
Leon,
The article on dance style causes two reactions. One how edifying to learn the great variety of dances. Two the number tends to overwhelm me. Thank you this has been a great dance site.
Robert
Bob Lucian says
A bit disappointed that the Peabody was not mentioned on your list….
Leon Turetsky says
Hi Bob,
Thanks, I have included it in the “Other popular dances” at the end.
pankssaxena says
can anyone tell me which dance style most couples do in movie and serials
Leon Turetsky says
Some of the poplar dances in movies would include: Waltz, Rumba, Foxtrot and Swing.
roger says
We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.
roger says
Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.
patricia says
Good post I’ve learned a lot here in this post thank you very much.
Christian Casino says
How cha cha compared to boogie- woogie dance?
Richie says
may I join without a females partner
Leon Turetsky says
Of course, you can work on your own steps!
Bernard Pistilli says
Your advice : Man leads – Ladies follow – is some of the best advice I’e seen and I suggest it to all of my partners.