Ballroom Dancing Classes Barry & Cardiff, South Wales
Are you looking for Ballroom dance classes in Barry, Cardiff or surrounding areas of Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales?
Miranda Lee offers both Ballroom dance classes and private tuition.
Ballroom Dancing – A Brief History
WALTZ QUICKSTEP FOXTROT TANGO
The early forms of dance were mainly round dances. Couples started to dance together with body contact during the reign of Elizabeth I. La Volta was Elizabeth’s favourite dance and is probably the first ‘couple’ ballroom dance.
Formal Ballet technique began development in the 17th Century and the turned out foot positions became accepted as an essential foundation for dance and remained so until the years just before and after the First World War. During this time the influx of American soldiers into Europe brought with them new forms of dance which had developed as a response to Jazz music. The turned out feet were no longer regarded as essential.
In 1922 World Championships were organised in the One step, Foxtrot, Waltz and Tango. Victor Silvester and Phyllis Clarke won the championship. They performed a version of the Waltz using parallel feet. Subsequently dancers found it difficult making a full turn on Natural and Reverse turns so it was suggested that only three quarters of a turn be made for each turn resulting in the diagonal patterns danced in the Waltz today.
Dance historians believe that the Foxtrot was named after Harry Trot an American comedian who used his special form of walk in his vaudeville act which came to be known as ‘Fox’s Trot’. Early on the Foxtrot was danced at speeds ranging from 32 to 50 bars per minute. In time both a slow and fast version of the Foxtrot were popular. The Quick Time Foxtrot contained popular figures which we see in today’s Quickstep along with some Charleston. The Charleston content dwindled leaving the basis of our modern Quickstep.
In 1910 the Tango came to us from the Argentine via France where the sharp and staccato moves developed.
If you would like to learn Ballroom dancing in South Wales please contact me for classes or private tuition.