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The Teaching Method in Ballroom Dancing

However, while working on their bid to get into the Olympics, the group was setting up their bylaws and came to the conclusion that there was a definite need for guidelines for the large number of Social Dancers and American Style dancers, as well as the International Style competitors. While working to help the dancers compete nationally and internationally they also helped to set things in motion to insure the availability of floors, music and locations for a group that turned out to be the backbone of the USABDA, the Social Dancers. The other two points of contact are her left elbow resting on his right elbow and the right side of her chest touching the right side of his chest. This dance posture goes all the way back to the ballroom dancing in the European royal courts and makes for a very elegant look as the couples float around the dance floor. This trot actually led to the development of a breed of horse known as the Missouri Fox Trotter. Still a third suggestion is that the dance (in its earlier version) resembled the way a fox walks (with one foot in front of the other leaving a single track). In the early fox trot the feet were placed in a single line one in front of the other. The one thing that does cause beginners some confusion is that with a 3 count each bar is started with the opposite foot as the last bar. The slower version of the dance is known as the English Waltz while the faster version is the Viennese Waltz. . Waltz music is played in 3/4 time with a distinctive 1-2-3 rhythm. For the ballroom competitions the Paso Doble is done with chest high, shoulders wide and down, head back but slightly tipped down. The body leans slightly forward and the majority of the forward steps are done with the heel leading. The dance is further enhanced with strong steps and dramatic poses. The Paso Doble is one of the most dramatic of all the ballroom dances. The Rumba was influenced by the Spanish and Africans with most of the development of the dance taking place in Cuba. The Rumba evolved in 19th century Havana, originating with the African Negro slaves who had been imported. The rural Rumba was originally for exhibition rather than participation. In some reference works the Rumba is said to be a pantomime of the movements of barnyard animals with the steady level shoulders depicting the movements of slaves as they carried heavy burdens. 

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