Dance with me, Make me sway ....

When marimba rhythms start to play,
Dance with me, make me sway,
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore,
Hold me close, sway me more…                             

                            -Michael Bublé

Wow..!!! What beautiful lines by Michael Bublé and sung by pussycat dolls in the movie 'Shall We Dance!!' Have you watched it? Or Dirty dancing, Strictly ballroom? If you haven't, you must watch 'em all, especially if you want to learn ballroom dancing. Well, at least that’s how it all started with me. 

To begin with, honestly, I had no idea about ballroom dancing when I joined "India's one of the finest Ballroom Studio" approximately 5 years back, to learn 'this style.' I made a blunder by enrolling myself for 'Salsa', not knowing that it isn’t a ballroom dance style. On the first day of the course, we were given brief information of the partner dancing patterns, styles, origins, social dancing, etc. Though a blunder, I continued learning salsa (club dance) for a while as I was enjoying it, but my aim was to learn ballroom dancing, and hence, I started the beginners' course of ballroom, simultaneously. 

Oh, ballroom is totally a different world. Be it peppy music of quickstep, cha cha and  jive, or smooth graceful movements in waltz and rumba, or the strong gestures of paso doble and tango, once you get the hang of it, it becomes your addiction, passion. Unlike individual or group dancing, ballroom dancing is more exciting because you have only one partner, you always need to maintain rapport, the intimacy, the passion, the pace between the two of you, and  yours should  be the most handsome dancing couple on the dance floor … or at least you have to pretend so. ;-) It’s a romantic love affaire after all, most of the times!! A man and a lady dancing together… wow… but each dance style has a different mood. ;-)

Before I proceed further, one should go through following information, so that there won't be any scope for blunder. ;-) International ballroom dancing (competitive ballroom dancing) is mainly divided into two parts with 5 dance styles each, in it:

a) Standard Ballroom Dancing	b) Latin American Ballroom Dancing
- Waltz	- Rumba
- Viennese Waltz	- Samba
- Foxtrot	- Cha cha cha
- Quickstep	- Jive
- Tango	- Paso Doble

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First rule of ballroom dancing is that the man leads and his partner (the lady) follows. Though the connection is made with the close or open holds of hands with upper body, it has to be like the tension of a spring which can be attained with the centre of the body / pelvis. The word ballroom has been derived from the Latin word ballare which denotes dancing and ballroom is a specious room designed for such type of dances. Dancesport is another name for ballroom dancing in competitions. While the Quickstep and Jive are known for being energizing yet exhausting dance styles, Rumba and Waltz are the slowest yet graceful ones. In 'standard ballroom dances' the lady wears long flowing gowns and man wears coattails, waistcoats and white bow ties while in 'Latin-American ballroom dances' women wear kind of skimpy glittering costumes (short skirts) and men wear tight fitting ones, (ahhem..) as the goal is to emphasise on dancer's leg movements. But of course the beauty of it is in its footwear. "Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels." -Faith Whittlesey.

Ballroom dancing helps us connect with our partner. It is simple to understand but a little tough to execute the trick of 'lead and follow.'  One must learn some or all styles of ballroom dancing as it not only makes you a disciplined dancer but also helps you to understand the music, counting the beats and the technique.

But again, why am I sharing all this? Dance is not something just to talk about. Dance is to dance. So get up and dance and you'll know the reason behind my smile: D (haha...) Trust me, dancing will surely make you happier.

Keep smiling and keep dancing