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Those who think they need a partner to learn this delicious activity are wrong. In fact, it may be an advantage to go on your own to a class where you can practice with many different partners. The gutsy show up at a dance and hope they’ll find a kind person who’ll show them a thing or two on the dance floor. The smart start with a series of ballroom classes.

Ballroom comes from the Latin word ballare, meaning “to dance”. Partner dancing became popular in the 18th century with the minuet, advanced through the 19th century polka and waltz and burst into glorious diversity with the 20th century foxtrot, jive, swing and popular Latin dances.

In the mid-1960s, it all came to a screeching halt with the advent of the Twist. Like African dancing, people danced individually. There was no touching. It may have had something to do with the alienation detailed in psychiatric literature of the period.

It took John Travolta to bring us together again when the Hustle, a partner dance based on the mambo which originated in Hispanic communities, was popularized in his 1977 film, “Saturday Night Fever.” The diversity and delights of ballroom have been growing ever since.

The five most popular American ballroom dances are the foxtrot, waltz, rhumba, cha-cha and swing. They will take you anywhere. The Foxtrot is the step used when “dancing cheek to cheek”. The beautiful Waltz, a particular favorite at weddings, sweeps and circles around the floor. The sensuous Rhumba, danced in one spot, expresses its rhythms through body movement. The playful Cha-Cha-Cha, which originated in the Cuban mambo, is a syncopated dance. Who doesn’t know our own American swing, born in the 1920s when African-Americans danced the Charleston and Lindy Hop to jazz music?

Also wildly popular today is the Salsa. Similar to the mambo, it was born from French folk-dancing which crossed the Atlantic and was fertilized by African and Cuban rhythms.

The unique and beautiful Tango is taught in two styles, American and Argentine. It’s the subject of a separate article.

Dance Vision International Dance Association is an organization of professional teachers who pass standard tests to qualify. Their syllabus breaks down each level of study into specific movements. Beginning at the Bronze level, students move as far up as they wish, culminating in the Silver and Gold levels.

$ Financial Values:
Group classes are the best bargain. Scout the internet or yellow pages, visit a few, pick the teacher you want to dance like.

O Personal Values:
Grace, exercise, balance and a whole new network of friends.