The Elegant History of Ballroom Dancing

As a dance enthusiast who is learning to dance, you should also know the origin of the dance form. As different dance forms are like a mirror to a certain culture and tradition. Dance Studio Dubai, one of the best ballroom dance classes in Dubai, brings forward the elegant and marvelous history of ballroom dancing.

Back in the days, dancing was the most preferred and loved recreational activity, which noblemen and commoners all enjoyed in their respective styles. Throughout history, different civilizations and societies have enjoyed and prospered around dancing. Dancing was one element that helped bind people together and socialize with each other.

Every culture and every civilization has its unique style of dancing. One such popular dance form is Ballroom dancing. Ballroom dancing originated as a couple dance form and allowed couples to get closer to each other. In the olden days, ballroom dancing was essentially held as a social event that helped young people to find their life partners.

These days’ people socialize on different things but when it comes to their first dance and wedding dance they prefer ballroom style dancing. So if you are getting married and looking for wedding dance lessons in Dubai, the Dance Studio is the perfect solution for you. With many people settling in Dubai and the Middle East, Ballroom dancing has become popular in Middle Eastern countries too. Dance Studio Dubai is a pioneer institute in Dubai that has been teaching ballroom dancing in Dubai for over a decade now.

The elegant ballroom dancing style widely popular today as the most sophisticated dance form has a fascinating origin story.

The Early History

Although ballroom dancing is being performed and practiced for centuries, its known documentary records and mentions are available since the early 16th century in Europe. French philosopher, Michel de Montaigne, first wrote about a dance form that he observed in Augsburg, Germany in the 1580s. He wrote that people danced so closely that their faces touched each other. Although many historians have different theories and stories about the origin of ballroom-style dancing. But all the different stories have one thing in common, that says ballroom dancing originated somewhere between the early and late 16th century.

Different Forms Of Ballroom Dancing

Ballroom dancing has today evolved into various forms such as Waltz, Vietnamese Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Quickstep, etc., amongst these dance forms Waltz is the oldest known ballroom dance style. Waltz basically originated as a dance style enjoyed and performed by the lower classes. Around the middle 18the century, a couples dance style known as “Walzer” was popularized by the peasants of Bavaria, Tyrol, and Styria. It slowly spread from the suburbs to European cities and came to be known as “Waltz”. Today, dance studio Dubai is teaching Waltz to couples and groups.

As the dance form spread from the countryside to the cities, it no longer was limited to a recreational dance form for the lower class. It in fact became a sophisticated dance form being performed by the noblemen and the rich upper-class society. However, as the dance form reached England by the late 18th century, Waltz became again popular amongst the commoners through the soldiers. From here, the dancing style of waltz became so popular that in modern-day context we can say that it became viral. Dance Studio Dubai, one of the best dance studios in Dubai, has over ten years of experience in teaching all forms of Ballroom Dancing styles.

The 19th Century Evolution Of Ballroom Dancing

Though both world wars 1 and 2 have brought a lot of catastrophe and damage to the world, they simultaneously helped spread different dance forms across the globe. While different dances were introduced to new regions, this helped many new dance forms to evolve in different countries. In the early 19th century on the streets of Argentina a dance form known as Tango started becoming popular, the dance form also helped evolve tango music together with it.

The trendy beat and steps of Tango became so popular that it spread like a wildfire across North America and Europe. In America, it reached New York and was danced by both the lower class people and rich upper-class people. Today in Dubai, when you search for the best dance classes in Dubai to learn the Tango, you can learn it at Dance Studio Dubai.

The Evolution Of Foxtrot

The name Foxtrot may fascinate many people, as to how an animal noun ended up in dance form. As much as the fascinating the name Foxtrot is, equally fascinating is the story of the origin of the Foxtrot.

The beats of tango were so catchy and captivating that they were soon caught up by the entertainment industry and performers of North America, this further helped in popularizing Ballroom Dancing across various parts of the world.

North American actor and entertainer Harry Fox started performing ragtime dance steps in his performances. His steps were so much loved by the people that his unique trotting steps were named by the public “Fox’s Trot” and thus the dance form popularized and evolved by him came to be known after his name as “Foxtrot”.

Similarly, different types of dance forms such as tango, Swing tango, and Mambo Rumba evolved during the 19th century in different parts of Europe and America.

In the modern-day, many people choose one of these popular ballroom styles as their first dance performance on their wedding day. Dance Studio Dubai is the oldest dance studio in Dubai that teaches wedding dance classes in Dubai.

Ballroom Dance Today

By the 20th and 21st centuries, the ballroom dancing style slowly became less popular as a social activity, but it has transformed into a competitive event. Fast dance forms like tango and others are being used as sports dance forms and have various competitions organized around the world for them. In the early years of the 20th century, that is, around the 1920s and 1930s different governing bodies of dance were formed in Europe and USA. These bodies started organizing various dancing competitions. Earlier competitions were informal events, but as the years passed these dance forms became highly organized and took the form of athletic events. Dancing shows like dancing with the superstars have brought huge fame to ballroom dancing and have made it widely popular today in Asia as well as other parts of the world.