The Three Worlds of Ballroom Dance

Social Competitive Exhibition

            Which one is better?

Yes, that question is intentionally provocative, and is easily answered.  All three forms
are valid, each enjoyed by their adherents for good reasons.  But it's helpful to know
how and why they differ from each other.  As you'll see in the third section below, it's
sometimes essential to know the differences.   

First, what is Ballroom Dance?

"Ballroom dance" refers to traditional partnered dance forms that are done by a

couple, often in the embrace of closed dance position ("ballroom dance position"). 
These include waltz, swing, tango, salsa and blues.

"Ballroom dance" is the overall umbrella term, covering all three forms
discussed on this page.

Social dance forms are important.  The earliest historical dance forms ever described
in writing were partnered social dances.  Many of today's performative dance forms,
including ballet and jazz dance, evolved from social dance forms that came first.  And
today, noncompetitive social dance continues to be the most widely done form of
dance in the world.

The three worlds of ballroom dance share the same historical roots, similar step
vocabulary and music, so the three forms are considered siblings, related by birth. 
Yes, siblings are known to fight, but they can also be mutually supportive.

I.

What is the essential difference between the three?

The main distinction is that they have different audiences.   Who are you dancing

for, beyond your own enjoyment?

Social Ballroom Competitive Exhibition

Ballroom Ballroom
Your partner
The judges An Audience

                                                      Then looking closer at the differences...

                          What are your audience's expectations?

• Your partners • Judges want to • Audiences want to

want to interact with see that the steps be entertained,
you spontaneously, and styles are done often with a
for fun, doing steps precisely and preference for
that are also correctly, with great beautiful and
enjoyable for them. flair. impressive moves.

                          What is your focus?

• It's how a • It's how your • It's also how your

dance feels to you dancing looks, for dancing looks, for
and your partner, the judges. The the audience. The
not how it looks. appearance. appearance.
The experience.

                          What is your attitude?

• Sociable, which • Rigorously correct, • Performance

means friendly and expansive. attitude varies
kind. • The many styles widely, depending
• Flexibly adaptive.  outside of the on the dance form.
You value and official syllabus are
accommodate to usually considered
styles that are to be incorrect.
different from your
own.

                          What is the attitude concerning mistakes?

• Mistakes are • Judges deduct •

accepted as points for every For professional perf
inevitable. Social mistake, so ormances,
dancers laugh them competitive dance audiences expect
off and move on. culture is aligned perfection, so dance
• When a Follow against making companies rehearse
does something mistakes from day extensively to avoid
different from what one. any mistakes
the Lead intended, • When a Follow onstage.
he knows it's a valid does something
alternative different from what •
interpretation of his the Lead intended, For amateur perfor
lead. he considers it a mances, audiences
• Social dancers are mistake, which is to mostly want to see
happy if things work be eliminated. that the dancers are
out 80% of the • Competitive enjoying
time. And the other dancers work hard themselves, so
20% is when most to achieve 100%. mistakes are
learning happens. generally accepted.

                          What is your reward?

• The spontaneous • Competing. • Entertaining or
enjoyment of Impressing others. impressing others.
improvising with a Winning. Enthusiastic
partner. • The satisfaction of applause.
• The satisfaction of becoming proficient • The satisfaction of
becoming proficient in a dance form. becoming proficient
in a dance form. • Self confidence. in a dance form.
• Self confidence. • Self confidence.

                          Are there standardized steps and technique?

No, standardization Yes, rigorously Sometimes, but in

doesn't function standardized, today's sampling
because each because competitors culture ("been
partner is different.  need to know there, seen that")
You must modify exactly what audiences prefer
your steps to adapt technical details the something they've
to each partner. judges expect to never seen before.
see.

                          Is there a standardized style?

Absolutely not. You Yes, you are trained Styles may be

develop your to copy the style of unique to the
own personal style, champions before choreographer, thus
different from you, working hard not standardized.
others. Some social to imitate the shape But the performing
forms like swing, of that standardized group usually works
salsa and blues style. Individuality on copying and
especially can be admired, but mastering that one
discourage copying only within strict style, in unison.
other's styles. parameters.

                          Is there a fixed choreography?

No. You make it up Yes. Competitors Yes. Exhibitions are
as you go, often usually perform usually
based on what the choreographed choreographed and
Follow is doing at routines that they rehearsed. 
the moment, and have rehearsed. Furthermore group
what spontaneously routines often have
occurs to the Lead. An exception is Jack everyone dancing in
and Jill unison.
Both Lead and competitions,
Follow engage in a especially in WCS But improvised
highly active and Lindy hop, with exhibitions
attention to a partner that one occasionally exist in
possibilities. has not danced with swing, tango and
before. blues.

                          Do you make your own decisions?

Yes, both Lead and Usually not. Most Not often. Most
Follow roles are decisions have been decisions have
continually engaged made by others, usually been made
in split-second first in the syllabus by the
decision-making. of acceptable steps, choreographers, and
then in the you work mostly on
choreographed style.
routine. You work
mostly on style.

                        Difficulty of technique

To state the obvious, competitive ballroom technique is designed for competitions.  If

dance technique is easy, judges won't be able to separate the good dancers from the
very best.  Therefore competitive ballroom technique is intentionally difficult,
so that only the very best dancers can master it.  It requires many years, and
extreme focus, to master this technique.  U.S. Ballroom Dance Champion Stephen
Hannah said, "You must want to go to the very top and be the very best dancer. You
must be able to use your time seven days a week without allowing any other
influences to interfere."  This is not a problem.  Competition ballroom dance is also
known as dancesport, and competitors in every sport train hard to win.  It's work,
and competitions are usually stressful.
 Conversely, social ballroom technique is intentionally easy.  Dance partnering is
challenging enough as it is, to coordinate one's movements with another person.  And
most people want to dance with their friends as soon as possible.  Therefore social
dance technique is intentionally expedient, so that dancers can focus on
the connection to their partners instead of intricate footwork technique and a highly
specified style.  It's play, and well known to be effective stress relief.

                        Repertoire of dances

The repertoire of International Style ballroom dance (the dominant competition form)
was last revised around 1960.  The ten International Style ballroom dances are:

        Slow Waltz              Viennese Waltz        Slow Foxtrot           Quickstep              

Jive
        Paso Doble              Tango                     Samba                   Cha-Cha                
Rumba

        Sixty years later, almost half of those have disappeared from social dancing.

Noncompetitive social dances are constantly updated.  These include:

        Lindy Hop               West Coast Swing     East Coast Swing    Hustle                  
Nightclub Two-Step
        Cross-Step Waltz     Rotary Waltz            Country Waltz         Viennese Waltz     
Polka
        Salsa                      Cha Cha                  Bachata                  Merengue             
Kizomba
        Social Tango           Tango Argentino       Blues                      Fusion                 
and many more.

        The number of social dances increases each decade.

                        Other social dances

Not all social dances are social ballroom.  Other social dance forms include hip-hop,
breaking, line dances, international folk dance, contradancing, square dancing,
grinding (yes, we need to include that), and informal permutations that defy
categorization.  This page focuses on the three worlds of ballroom dance, but
acknowledges the many facets of social dance.

II.  A brief history of the three forms

For the first century of closed-couple dancing, only the first category of
ballroom dance existed: noncompetitive social ballroom dance.  This was
the 19th century, the age of the waltz and polka, when "ballroom dance"
meant precisely that – dancing in a ballroom.

An important part of the 19th century ballroom mindset, in both Europe and
America, was selfless generosity, with an emphasis on enhancing the
pleasure of your dance partners and the assembled company.
"In general manners, both ladies and gentlemen should act as though the
other person's happiness was of as much importance as their own."   — Prof.
Maas, American dance master, 1871

"True, genuine politeness has its foundation deeper than in the mere conformation to
certain rules, for it is the spontaneous and natural effect of an intelligent mind and kindly
heart which overlooks annoyances in consideration for the happiness of others." — Edward
Ferrero, American dance master, 1859

                         

       

Another important part of the original ballroom attitude was a flexible mindset

and adapting to your partner.  The American dance master William DeGarmo wrote in
1875,
"Gentlemen who acquire a diversified style easily accommodate themselves to different
partners.  No two persons dance alike.  When their movements harmonize, this individuality
is not only natural and necessary, but it pleasingly diversifies the whole."
Fred Astaire wrote, "Cultivate flexibility.  Be able to adapt your style to that of your
partner.  In doing so, you are not surrendering your individuality, but blending it with that
of your partner."

For noncompetitive social dancers, this original attitude of generosity, kindness and
flexibility has never ceased, and has continued for two centuries.

Exhibition ballroom dance came next.  Performative social

dance forms were occasionally staged in cabarets and
Vaudeville at the end of the 19th century, but the
performance of social dances for an audience mostly took off
in the 20th century.  Vernon and Irene Castle (pictured right)
were foremost among professional dancers who started to
perform social dances onstage, from 1912 to 1915.  Fred
Astaire and Ginger Rogers surpassed the Castle's fame and
influence two decades later, through the medium of film.  The
tradition of performed ballroom dance continues today in
many films, such as "La La Land" and Broadway shows like
"Burn the Floor."

Competitive ballroom dance came last, growing out of the

Sequence Dancing movement in the working-class suburbs of
London, where hundreds of dancers would memorize choreographed
waltzes like Arthur Morris' Veleta (1900).  These expanded to
include sequenced one-steps, two-steps, tangos and foxtrots.

Different populations of dancers in London had different

preferences, and by 1914 there was a class division between those
who preferred freestyle vs. choreographed dance.  The upper
classes in London preferred freestyle dancing, while the working
class in the outskirts preferred sequence dancing, and would hold
weekly balls where dancers would gather to learn, memorize and
perform a rapidly growing number of sequence dances.

The next step was standardization.  The creation and standardization of these sequence
dances was controlled by several organizations which appeared at this time, most notably
the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.  Today's "International Style" (i.e. British style)
ballroom dancing is overseen by the Imperial Society, which was founded in London in July
1904 for "The fraternal co-operation of properly qualified teachers of dancing in the British
Empire for the safeguarding of our mutual interests" (quoted from their Charter).  The
original focus of these organizations was the standardization of steps, technique and style
into only one "correct" version.  Competitions didn't arise for another two decades.

A primary motivation of the middle class is upward mobility.  You can raise your position in
life through the mastery of skills.  The working class embraced the mastery of sequence
dances, which led the Frolics Club in London to create the first judged competitions of
ballroom dance in 1922, as a way to elevate one's social position through perseverance
and hard work.  This work ethic is still visible in competitive ballroom dance today.

        Competition ballroom dance style

In the early years of competitive ballroom dance, the

preferred English style was natural and understated.  To
quote the 1923 London dance manual, The Modern
Ballroom Dance Instructor, "All movement is easy,
unaffected, which can be so easily ruined by
exaggeration. The best dancers are the quietest; they do
not flourish their prowess."  In other words, early
competitions were simply exhibitions of the dance
sequences, evaluated by judges, based on the values of
polite social dancing.

See a more complete page on the evolution of English

ballroom style here.

Then competitions
introduced the format
of the elimination
round, where the
competition began with
a fairly crowded floor,
filled with all of the
competitors dancing at
once.  The judges
thinned the crowd
down to a few finalists
– those to be
individually evaluated. 
This change in
competition format
resulted in a dramatic
change in the look of
competitive ballroom
dance.  The dancers
had to perform far
more expansive
movements, to stand
out from the crowd. 
Extreme, exaggerated
movements and
costuming were a
matter of survival,
either outshining the
others or being quickly
eliminated.
To this day, these extremely expansive movements remains a distinctive stylistic difference
between social and competitive ballroom dance.
 III.

Of the three forms, which one is best?  It depends on you.  Dancers usually have a
preference for the one that especially suits their personality.

It's important to know the differences, for the following three reasons:

 To recognize which form(s) best match your personality.

Dean Paton points out the differences in this page.  (Click on the first article, "Before You
Sign Up.")  Dean believes there's an essential difference between social and competitive
ballroom dance, and that different personalities are naturally drawn to one or the other.  It
essentially comes down to knowing yourself, and finding the right match for you.  Quoting
Dean, "We call your attention to these two kinds of dancing because, unless you understand
something of their differences, you could land on the wrong dance planet and end up
miserable."

 To avoid the unfortunate mistake of applying the rules and attitudes of one form to
another.  This isn't just an abstract differentiation — the repercussions can be serious.

For instance, occasionally a ballroom dancer will pedantically insist that his partner conform
to competitive stylistic details at an informal social dance, "You're doing it wrong. You have
to do it my way," resulting in the contradiction of antisocial behavior at a social event.  (See
more on the "Sketchy Guys" page.)  Conversely, socially adapting to your partner's mis-
step at a competition may eliminate you from that round.  Both forms are equally valid,
within their own arena, but they have almost opposite attitudes.

Some dancers do both social and competitive dancing, or all three forms, and some of them
are wonderfully adept at knowing which attitudes are appropriate for each.  At a social
dance, they're friendly, spontaneously adaptive, and warmly supportive of their partner's
differing style.  Then they are rigorously correct and expansive when competing.  They
understand and respect the differences.

 To sharpen your ability to spot deceptive marketing practices.

As the competition ballroom dancer Juliet McMains points out in her eloquent book Glamour
Addiction, some (not all) ballroom studios attempt to change the minds of students who
arrive wishing to learn social ballroom dance. She wrote:
Primarily because teaching competitive ballroom dance has proved to be so much more
profitable than teaching social dance, the industry rhetoric implies that social ballroom
dancing is merely poorly executed DanceSport.  Students usually embark on a social dance
program with the expectation that they will take a few lessons, learn how to dance, then
leave the studio in a month or two.  From a business perspective, studios and teachers are
deeply invested in altering this plan.  If a teacher can sell a student on competition dancing,
their student will have to spend years taking dance lessons to master the difficult
competition technique.

Very few students enter the studio as aspiring competitors.  It is only through calculated
encouragement by their personal dance teacher that new students are persuaded to enter
categories of competition, initiating them into the DanceSport lifestyle.
Dance studios know that most of their customers arrive seeking easygoing social dancing
for pleasure, not the daily hard work to master competitive styling, so some (not all) studios
attempt to give the misimpression that competitive ballroom dance and social dance are the
same thing.  Quoting McMains again, "Such attempts to emphasize continuity between
these two groups, and downplay the chasm between social and competitive ballroom dance,
represents a crucial apparatus of the Glamour Machine."

Competitive ballroom dance is a perfect fit for those drawn to competing, so neither
we nor Juliet McMains (who is a professional competitor) are criticizing competition ballroom
dance, nor the honest studios that give their students what they're looking for.

The point is that it's smart to be aware of the many differences between the three worlds of
ballroom dancing:

          Technique

             Styling

                 Standardization

                    Difficulty of technique

                       Choreography vs. improvisation

                          The response to mistakes

                             Repertoire of dances

                                Adaptability

                                   Motivation

                                      Attitude

          Romance

Have you noticed that this page hasn't stated the obvious yet?  From the beginning of social
ballroom dance, one of the primary motivations was the romantic pleasure of dancing. 
Today, seeking a mate tends to be de-emphasized, and partner roles aren't necessarily
gender normative, but social dancing played a key role in courtship for the past six
centuries.  To quote Jane Austen, "To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling
in love." (Pride & Prejudice).  Most films that feature social dancing have been romances,
from the Astaire/Rogers films to Dirty Dancing and La La Land.

There are many other reasons to enjoy partnered dancing, but this page would have been
incomplete without a brief mention of romance.