The Waltz itself is Viennese, and it evolved in Austria and Bavaria under such names as the Dreher, the Laendler and the Deutscher. The close contact with one's partners body contrasted sharply with the stately dances of the aristocracy - the minuets, polonaises, and quadrilles - in which one kept one's distance.
When it moved into Viennese dance halls, partners were allowed to touch! This was unheard of, and led to the dance being slandered by many officials of the church and leaders of the Austrian state, as it was in the rest of the European community. Because it was a favored dance of the young, however, it continued to be danced. Because of its transition to dance halls and city gatherings, it evolved into a light dance for polished floors and parties. Its music also changed, becoming more refined and orchestrated.
Mozart was a huge fan of the waltz, and in one of his operas, Don Giovanni, three waltzes are played at once in one scene! Clearly, the dance could not be stopped. Today the Waltz is a very popular and stylish dance allowing one to dance with a variety of partners. The waltz is for experienced dancers as well as novices.
The Tango originated in Argentina in the latter part of the 19th century. The horsemen and cowboys (called Gauchos) that rode the Argentine plains sought relaxation in the evening after a hard day's labor in the lower end brothels of Buenos Aires. There developed both a style of music, that was haunting and suggestive, and a style of dance, a reflection of the interaction of the Gauchos and the prostitutes that sought their favor. Both the musical style and the dance were known as Tango. This early music and dance were highly sexual and therefore regarded as obscene. As the Tango was absorbed into broader society, it had to, of necessity, lose some of it's original offensiveness, but not it's basic sultry style.
Tango spread to Europe and America, became fashionable, and enjoyed great popularity in the theatres and cabarets of the well to do, particularly because of it's risqué nature and origins. Tango music and musicians enjoyed great favor. Ballroom Tango has descended from the tango styles that resulted when Tango came to Europe and America. The dance was simplified, lost it's original abrasiveness and was adapted to the preferences of conventional ballroom dancers. These preferences included that Tango be danced to more "modern" music in 4/4 measure. In addition to using different music than the original Argentine tangos, modern Ballroom Tango has different steps and styling, with more grounded steps, dramatic staccato movements and the characteristic "head snaps." Nonetheless, the sexy flavor and flair of the original dance remains.
Of all the Latin dances, the Cha Cha is the newest. A spin off of the Mambo, Cha Cha made its appearance in the early 1950's in American dance clubs. Enrique Joren, a Cuban musician, who credited with inventing the Cha Cha. He wanted to create music that a wider range of people could dance to than could handle the very fast Mambo , popular at the time. He developed music with a slower, medium rhythm Mambo beat. When slowed down his musical version revealed a 3 count beat that people then began to put steps to.
The resulting dance, was first called "the triple Mambo", because of the added three quick steps, and later called the Cha Cha Cha. The name was then shortened to Cha Cha and the dance consists of 2 slower steps followed by 3 quick steps.
Vaudeville actor Harry Fox originated the Foxtrot in the summer of 1914. As part of his act, Harry Fox was doing "trotting" steps to the very popular ragtime music, and people referred to his dance jokingly as "Fox's Trot." But the name caught on. Shortly thereafter exhibition dancers, the Vernon Castles, popularized the Foxtrot in their performances and the elite of the dancing world were soon trying to capture the unusual style of movement of the Foxtrot. Another performer, G.K. Andersn danced his way from London to the U.S. and with Josephine Bradley won many American competitions. And the Foxtrot spread.
The Foxtrot was the most significant development in all of ballroom dancing. The combination of quick and slow steps period more flexibility and gave much greater dancing pleasure than the one-step and two-step which it replaced. There is more variety in the Foxtrot than in any other dance, and in some ways it is the most challenging dance to learn! Variations of the Foxtrot include the Peabody, the Quickstep and Roseland Foxtrot. Even dances such as the Lindy and the Hustle are derived to some extent from the Foxtrot.
It was 1926, and the Savoy Ballroom in New York City's Harlem was the place to be. With its block long dance floor, the Savoy attracted the city's best dancers and the best black bands playing an upbeat swinging jazz style of music. George "Shorty" Snowden was watching the bouncy dancing and glanced down to see a newspaper headline of the day which read, "Lindy Hops The Atlantic," a reference to the flight of Charles Lindberg. George dubbed what he was watching the "Lindy Hop" and the name stuck.
With the advent of the Lindy Hop and a dance called the Jitterbug, people began dancing to the swing and jazz music they were hearing from big band greats like Calloway and Benny Goodman. Through the 1930's and 40's these dances became popularized through countless Hollywood movies and dance competitions and this style of dancing swept the U.S. being danced everywhere from night clubs to the streets.
The reaction of most traditional dance instructors and studios was less than enthusiastic, with their spokespeople predicting the quick demise of the unruly style of dancing. By the 1940's, however, the popularity of the Swing style dances couldn't be ignored and dance studios began refining the style to suit their clientele and a crowded dance floor. Music, of course, was changing all the time from the 1920's to the 1990's, and the original Lindy Hop, Jitterbug and Swing evolved across the county into a wide variety of regional styles of dance.
As the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug and various Swing styles were adapted by dance studios for the general public there developed a ballroom East Coast Swing and a ballroom West Coast Swing. TC Dance Club provides instruction in both East and West Coast Swing. Both dances are not only very popular with our students, but just a tremendous amount of fun.
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