DWTS and SYTYCD and all the soon-to-be ballroom reality shows are confusing people. Is Salsa a ballroom dance? What's with Quickstep? What the heck is Dancesport? Why can't I do Lindy Hop at a ballroom dance competition?
Well.
Here:
Okay, so ballroom dancing roughly means any dancing that a couple performs. My favorite definition, while vague: two people moving as one. The general public seems to agree with this version, but if you're talking to a ballroomer or signing up for a competition, you need to be more specific.
When thinking of ballroom dance competitions (what PBS aired as Championship Ballroom Dancing and America's Ballroom Challenge), most people are imagining Dancesport, which was a fancy name the World DanceSport Federation made up to make a run at being recognized as an Olympic sport (done) and eventually be an official event (never!).
Dancesport (AKA competitve ballroom dancing) is broken up into 2 main styles of International and American.
International:
- International, as the name would suggest, is danced internationally.
- International Ballroom (formerly known as Standard or Modern) is danced in hold 100% of the time [no underarm turns, no side-by-each, no shadow… CLOSED HOLD]
- Winning a world championship in an International style is very prestigious since it is from, literally, a worldwide delegation.
- Historically, International is the more strict style with well-defined technical rules and syllabi.
American:
- American style is a melting pot of street dances, desire for less formal and more socially applicable ballroom dancing, Broadway, and Arthur Murray.
- American Rhythm and Smooth are mainly danced in, get this, America, but are gainly popularity in Canada.
- American Smooth is a combination of International Ballroom and Latin and is the only style consisting of only 4 dances, so obviously it is the BEST STYLE.
While American and International dances have dance names in common (Waltz, Cha Cha, Viennese Waltz), they are similar, but NOT THE SAME. In Rumba, the tempo and the basic foot pattern are different from International to American, but the character remains the same (romantic, third date feel, still a bit of "the chase" intact). Yet International and American Waltz share the same tempo and foot patterns, but the American style opens into spins, tricks, and Broadway-esque steps.
[Here is where I was going to have videos comparing the basic steps of International and American Rumba and Waltz, but it's reeeeeeally hard to find a video of anyone doing decent American basics. So… video comparison coming soon.]
Catch Dances:
Partnered dances are numerable. In this really terrible flow chart I made, I included the ones I have encountered in the studio more than 3 times… ever. I'd be amiss in neglecting balboa, New Vogue (hello, Australia!), zydeco, bachata, cumbia, shag, old-time waltz, and lambada, but like most of the "catch dances", their popularity varies from region to region.
The Catch Dances are not specifically Dancesport and are included in competitions due their regional popularity. For example: the MN Star Ball (owned and organized by Costa Rican, Eliecer Ramirez and his lovely wife, Rebecca) has included Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata in their competition, while at the Colorado Star Ball, there's a couple hours of Country Western dances. In other words, competition organizers can include any dances they want, as long as they include the 19 American and International dances that make up Dancesport.
Catch Dances also have their own scene. Minneapolis has a huge circle of salsa dancers, some of whom are ballroom dancers also. Likewise, with Argentine Tango, West Coast Swing, Lindy, and the like. Each genre of partner dances has their own world and some of the worlds overlap. See here:
[Watch out, world, I just discovered "blank document" on my Mac. Graphs and charts shall abound!]
Does this clear things up slightly? I feel like I made it better… or worse. Do you have any questions? I alluded to a couple topics and didn't explain them, so if you're interested, leave me a comment or question below!
One year ago: The Return of the Running Mojo, in which I discover my body needs water.
Two years ago: It's So Fluffy I'm Going to Die, in which I make fluffy things
Riot and Frolic 
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