The four styles of ballroom dance

You've probably heard of ballroom dancing and you might think that this just refers to one type of dance; ya know, ballroom. In the competitive ballroom world, though, there are four styles (in America; the rest of the world recognizes two styles, but the two uniquely American ones are gaining in popularity).

An image of a man in a tuxedo and a lady in a flowing ball gown dancing to an eighteenth-century string quartet might be what pops into your head when you hear "ballroom dancing." This is somewhat consistent with the style called International Standard or simply Ballroom. In this article, I'll call this style "Standard."

Besides Standard, the entire ballroom recognizes the International Latin style, which I'll refer to as Latin. Standard and Latin are the two styles that make up the majority of the competitions around the world.

In America - because we like to be unique here - two independent styles have developed out of these styles. Out of Standard, we have the American Smooth style, or Smooth for short. Out of Latin, we get the American Rhythm style - Rhythm for short.

So, the four styles we have are: Standard, Latin, Smooth, and Rhythm. Let's explore each of these and find out what makes them unique.

International Standard (Ballroom)

Standard is the style of ballroom that most people think of when they hear the term. The five dances competed in Standard are the Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, and Quickstep. Each has their own feeling, music, look, steps, and character.

A Standard dancer is immediately recognizable on the floor because the costumes are unique. Every man in a professional competition wears a tail suit; Standard is a white-tie affair. For the lady, long, flowing ball gowns are the norm, almost all of which have "floats," or pieces of fabric that usually connect from the body of the dress to the wrists and float along with the movement of the couple.

One thing that separates Standard from the other styles is that both partners must remain in closed hold (as seen in the picture) the entire time. In particular, this is one of the main differences between Standard and Smooth, since they both share basically all of the same dances. However, in Smooth, you are allowed to break hold, which allows for more freedom of movement outside of a strict, rigid structure.

International Latin

Latin is the other major style in the global ballroom community. The five dances of Latin are Cha-Cha-Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, and Jive. The Cha-Cha and Rumba are derived from Cuba, Samba was imported from Brazil, the Paso Doble is a modified military step sequence from Spain and France, and the Jive emerged from the jazz and swing movements of African-American culture in the early twentieth century.

In Latin, there is no strict dance hold that must remain throughout the dance. There are multiple physical connections between the partners, of course, but oftentimes the man and woman dance separated, usually side-by-side or facing each other. The different connections vary across the dances, choreography, and preferences of the dancers.

The thing that characterizes Latin dancing is the movement in the body, primarily in the hips and rib-cage. In Cha-Cha and Rumba, this movement is called Cuban motion and is defined by a rhythmic rotation of the hips that gives each dance a fluid feel. Since Rumba music is slower, there is more time allowed for each movement and so the Cuban motion can be more clearly seen there.

Samba and Jive also feature hip movements, but they each have a slightly different type of movement that is somewhat sharper than the motion seen in Cha-Cha and Rumba.

The fashion for Latin dancing is a lot more.... Well, that's it: It's a lot more. In Standard, every guy is wearing a tail suit and all the ladies are elegantly dressed in their flowing dresses. In Latin, there are a lot more sparkles and crystals to go around, for both the men and women.

Men usually wear either black or white (though black is a lot more common) shirts with varying degrees of rhinestones. Some shirts cover the body completely and are basically turtlenecks, while some are incredibly deep V-necks that expose a lot of chest. It's really up to the man (and, let's be real, the woman too) what kind of shirt he wears and what he wants to highlight.

Women wear dresses that are a lot less voluminous than those worn by their Standard counterparts. The dresses are usually streamlined to allow for faster movement and highlighting of hip movement. Many dresses feature a "bias," where one side of the skirt is longer than the other one, which makes one leg a lot more prominent than the other.

Both the men and women (and this is true of all styles, but mainly Latin and Rhythm) often have very intense tans. Under the bright lights of the competition floor, dancers can look very pale, so tanning is almost always necessary for dancers with a lighter skin tone. It looks kind of weird when the dancers aren't on the floor, but when they are they look much better.

American Smooth

Smooth is basically the Americans' take on Standard. A lot of the dancing in Smooth is inspired by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, but it has obviously evolved quite a bit since then. The four dances in Smooth are Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, and Viennese Waltz, though they are rather different than their Standard equivalents.

The music for the Smooth Waltz, Tango, and Viennese Waltz is slower and that of the Foxtrot is faster than the same dances in Standard. In the first three dances, this is to allow for more extension of lines and more intricate choreography that is a result of the freedom to break hold. For Foxtrot, the faster music gives the dance more of a jazzy feel, which is much of what characterizes this dance.

Having danced both Standard and Smooth, I find that Smooth has a lot more "feelings." The ability to break closed hold and develop more lines and figures permits experimentation, more expression, and greater artistic freedom, which can produce more of a story through the dance. These things can be done to some extent in Standard, but the "story" seems less important than the technique, while in Smooth both hold a central role.

Beyond just freedom in the steps and choreography, Smooth allows more freedom in fashion too. The most typical apparel seen for guys is a black suit with a tie and pocket square that matches the woman's dress, but more and more we are seeing grey suits, blue suits, even red and purple suits. Sometimes, the man doesn't even go for a suit, but instead something more similar to the styles seen in Latin and Rhythm.

The woman usually wears a long dress similar to that in Standard, but with a lot smaller of a skirt and no floats. Since much of the time the man and woman are separated or in some hold that isn't the typical closed hold, the woman needs the freedom to move and can't be hampered by her dress.

American Rhythm

The final style of ballroom dance is the American Rhythm, a variation of Latin. The five dances in Rhythm are the Cha-Cha-Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, and Mambo, all of which - except the Swing, which comes from the U.S. - come from the Caribbean.

The Cha-Cha and Rumba are different than their Latin counterparts, with different technique and music of a different tempo. The Swing is similar to Jive, but a lot more grounded and less bouncy. Bolero is similar to Latin Rumba in terms of the music and the sensuality of the dance, but the technique is radically different. Finally, Mambo is basically Salsa "danced on the 2," meaning steps occur on beats 2, 3, and 4, rather than 1, 2, and 3 as seen in Salsa.

While Latin is very strongly grounded in technique and sharp actions, Rhythm is a bit more relaxed and designed for entertainment. There is still a well-established set of rules and technical grounding, of course, but the general feeling of each dance in Rhythm is calmer, focusing on smooth movements of the hip into the knee and down into the floor.

The fashion of Rhythm is similar to that of Latin, but there are some key differences. For one, there is a lot more color. While most men in Latin tend to wear a black shirt of some style with various rhinestones, men in Rhythm often wear bright colors that match their partner's dress. Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine, American Rhythm champion of 2014 and 2015, often wore bright, showy colors that really caught everyone's attention. Of course, he had the skills to justify his wanting everyone to notice him, which helps, but his dancing always looked so relaxed and cool partially because of his fun outfits.

The dresses for women are similar to those worn in Latin, but oftentimes the skirt is closer to a tutu, being higher and more ruffly. This is to allow greater movement and rotation, of which there is a lot of in Rhythm. Feathers (for whatever reason) are also rather common in Rhythm dresses.

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Well, there ya have it, the four styles of ballroom dance. I could talk about each dance for days, but I wanted to keep this guide short and sweet. If you're curious to see what these dances look like, just do a quick YouTube search or even attend a professional competition being hosted near you. Of the four styles, there's bound to be one you'll enjoy!