What is Ballroom? (part 1)- The Two Major Styles

internet source: Blackpool Dance Festival

This simple question has quite a complicated answer. When people say 'Ballroom', they may mean to say 'Ballroom the standard dances', or 'Ballroom with Latin included', they may mean 'International Standard only' or 'American Smooth' or they may mean anything which is related to the International Standard, International Latin, American Smooth and American Rhythm.

In Hong Kong, we do not have too much confusion about International Style or American Style since most licensed studios are teaching International Style, but still, we do feel confused when people say Ballroom, as 90% of us refer Ballroom to only the five Standard dances, and the older prefer to name these five 'Modern'.

Then, what is Ballroom actually?
First of all, we all know that we have two major styles: International Style and American Style.
International Style= International Standard Dances + Latin American Dances
                             = (Waltz + Slow Foxtrot + Tango + Quickstep + Vienne Waltz) + (Rumba + Cha Cha Cha+ Samba + Jive + Paso Doble)
                             = 5 dances + 5 dances
                             = ten dances
                             *teaching qualifications issuing body : the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) and the International Dance Teachers' Association (IDTA)
American Style= American Smooth Dances + American Rhythm Dances
                        = (Waltz + Foxtrot + Tango + Vienne Waltz) + (Rumba + Bolero + Cha Cha Cha + Samba + Swing)
                        = 4 dances + 5 dances
                        = nine dances
                        *teaching qualifications issuing body : individual dance academy

Ballroom in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, any studio that calls itself Ballroom studio, 99% that it is the International Style one. Hong Kong people like to know that their instructors are qualified, and the available exams we can take in HK are from the ISTD or the IDTA. These two are also the only qualifications recognized by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), which means if one wants to seek a dance teaching post in any of the public sport centers will need to be qualificed through either one of these organizations; moreover other community centres, youth centres, schools or other organizations would also like to see the qualification recognized by the governemnt. Thus we have all decent teachers of International Style.

However, it doesn't mean that American Style does not exist in Hong Kong, they still present but just rare.

part 1- the two major styles
part 2- the difference between these two styles.

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