The History of Ballroom Dancing

All of the history was found in various books and sites which you should be able to find through google using key words such as “the history of dance, ballroom dance or change the word dance for a specific dance, ex. Salsa”

The word ‘ballroom’ denotes a room where balls may be held: that is: formal social dances. Balls were important social events in the days before radio and television (as in ‘having a ball’). The word ‘ball’ derives from

the Latin ‘ballare’ meaning ‘to dance’. This is also the origin of the related words : ballet, ballerina, ballad, etc. Note that this origin is quite different from that of a ‘ball’: a round object used for games. This derives from the Old Norse : ‘bollr’, meaning ‘to inflate’.

Throughout the Renaissance and the 16th century, social dance became more firmly ensconced in the courts, whose members systematically dressed up and formalized the lusty folk dances to suit their elaborate codes of manners and attire. Styles emanated particularly for France, where the royal court dictated etiquette and moral behavior for all European gentry. The 17th century Minuet was nothing but manners, the final flourish of aristocratic elegance before national and then industrial revolutions returned social to the masses.

The figures in the modern ballroom dances have now been standardised and categorised into various levels for teaching, with internationally agreed vocabularies, techniques, rhythms and tempos. These ‘Standard Ballroom’ dances have diverse origins. rhythms, tempos, and aesthetics, but have one thing in common: they are all danced by a couple (usually a man and a lady) in ‘Closed Hold’, maintaining five areas of contact between the partners while performing all the figures of the dances.