The dances that make up the list of DanceSport dances are performed competitively at amateur and professional levels

throughout the world. Ten international styleballroom dancesfive Standard and five Latinare defined by the World Dance Council (WDC), which has world-wide membership of all countries taking part in ballroom competitions. The WDC incorporates various groupings and former titles, such as the World Dance and DanceSport Council (former title). The WDC is the governing body for international professional and amateur DanceSport. The International DanceSport Federation is, to some extent, a rival body which issues rules [1] for amateur competitions. The list is supplemented by nine American style dancesfour Smooth and five Rhythmwhich are defined by United States dance organizations, such as USA Dance, (formerly USABDA, the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association). Besides determining which dances are performed, these organizations specify many other aspects of their competitions, for instance, the tempo of music allowed and the duration of each competition round.
Contents
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1 WDC International style dances

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1.1 Ballroom 1.2 Latin

2 American style

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2.1 Smooth 2.2 Rhythm

3 See also 4 References 5 Notes

WDC International style dances[edit]

Within World Dance Council international competitions are two categories of dances, Ballroom (also [2] called Standard or Modern) andLatin. In England (e.g. at the Blackpool Dance Festival), the categories are traditionally called Ballroom and Latin American dances respectively. In the Ballroom dances, men typically wear evening dress (coattails, waistcoats and white bow ties), while women wear gowns. Partners remain in closed position throughout the dance, and movements tend to be elegant and sweeping. The ballroom dances are progressive, moving anti-clockwise round the floor. The Latin dances are more overtly sensual, with skimpy costumes for women and tight-fitting ones for [3] men. More variation in movement is allowed than in the Standard dances. Close, semi-open and open figures are danced. Choreography is now extremely important. Hip action is common; and athletic and balletic maneuvers are common. Two Latin dances are progressive (samba and paso doble), but there is [4] no obligation to move in any pre-set manner round the floor.

Ballroom[edit]
Name IDSF tempo [5] (MPM) WDC tempo [6] (MPM) IDSF dancing time [5] (seconds) WDC dancing time [6] (seconds)

Waltz

2830

30

90120

90120

Tango

3133

33

90120

90120

Viennese Waltz

5860

5860

90120

90120

Slow Foxtrot

2830

30

90120

90120

Quickstep

5052

50

90120

90120

Latin[edit]
Name IDSF tempo [5] (MPM) WDC tempo [6] (MPM) IDSF dancing time [5] (seconds) WDC dancing time [6] (seconds)

Cha-cha-cha

3032

30

90120

90120

Samba

5052

50

90120

90120

Rumba

2527

27

90120

90120

Paso Doble

6062

62

90120

90120

Jive

4244

44

90120

90120

American style[edit]
The Smooth and Rhythm categories of American style DanceSport roughly correspond to the Standard and Latin categories of International style. In Smooth, dancers wear costumes not greatly dissimilar to those worn by their counterparts in Standard---Standard dresses often have prominent floats embellishing the arms and fuller skirts which are typically absent in Smooth, due to the open movement and changing

arm positions requiring less restriction on the body; however, the dances themselves are significantly different as a result of influence by dancers like Fred Astaire and Arthur Murray in the years following World War II. While elegance and flow remain the goal, as in International Standard, dancers do not remain in closed position exclusively, instead breaking away from each other periodically and experimenting with open footwork. The Rhythm dances were also influenced by American dancers of the post-WWII era, but the differences between it and International Latin are more subtle. Costumes are similar, and while step patterns are not identical, movements are as free and explicitly sensual as in [7] Latin.

Smooth[edit]
Name USABDA USABDA dancing time [8] [9] tempo (MPM) (seconds)

Waltz

2830

90120

Tango

3032

90120

Foxtrot

3032

90120

Viennese Waltz

54

90

Rhythm[edit]
Name USABDA USABDA dancing time [8] [9] tempo (MPM) (seconds)

Cha-cha-cha

30

90120

Rumba

3236

90120

East Coast Swing

3436

90120

Bolero

2426

90120

Mambo

4751

90120

See also[edit]
Soviet Ballroom dances

References[edit]
"IDSF Competition Rules 2005" (Microsoft Word document). International DanceSport Federation. Retrieved October 10, 2006. Picart, Caroline Joan (2006). From Ballroom to Dancesport: Aesthetics, Athletics, and Body Culture . Albany: State University of New York. ISBN 978-0-7914-6629-2. "WD&DSC Competition Rules". World Dance and DanceSport Council. Retrieved October 10, 2006. "2006-2007 USA DanceSport Rulebook" (PDF document). United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association. Retrieved October 10, 2006.

Notes[edit]
Dance portal

1. 2. 3.

Jump up^ See the linked pages for details. Jump up^ This is the present WDC terminology. Jump up^ Originally, 19301960, clothing for latin dance was similar to ballroom, with at least dinner jackets and black tie for men, and simple dress for women, with skirts shorter than the ballroom gowns.

4. 5.

Jump up^ Picart, 89-90, 92-96 ^ Jump up