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Cinderella 2015 - The Ball dance

The word "ball", when referring to a social gathering as opposed to a child's toy, comes from the Latin "ballare" meaning to dance. This is the base for ballroom (a room for dancing), ballet (a dance), and ballerina (a dancer). In the late 18th and early 19th centuries ballroom dancing was very popular among the upper classes of England. For example, the paso doble was developed in Spain in the 1700's to demonstrate bullfighter's agility and strength. In Italy, the mambo became a popular dance at weddings and special events, while the quickstep became the trend in America after World War I. By the 1970's, all of these different dances had made their way to America's ballrooms and dance competitions soon became popular. The Rumba is a dance that demonstrates the unique love and attractions between a man and woman. It is based around the concept of a lady's pursuit of the man, with the steps representing the woman's charm. Often, the woman dances around the man and has quick and withdrawn steps, as the man pursues her. Any song that follows this kind of tempo is appropriate for the jive. The quickstep is a combination of the swing and the jive. The steps are very quick and movements must be fast and concise. This dance is usually best performed to instrumental music. A couple of songs most commonly used for the quickstep are "Big Band", "Flash", and "Spoonful of Sugar". Unlike the Waltz, the sway and the rise and fall motions are to be avoided at all costs. The desired movements are very sharp and well defined. The music for this ballroom dance is usually provided by an orchestra that has a piano, guitar, violin, flute and a bandoneon (an offshoot of a koncertina, which looks a little like a small accordion). The last remaining step is for DanceSport to be granted Program Status by the IOC at which time DanceSport would then be added to the Olympic program. With continued hard work and a little luck this will be accomplished in the near future. The USABDA has grown into an organization with thousands of members who volunteer to help promote social and competitive dancing on college campuses and in communities across the country. 

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