Since we are about to have party, I feel like there is an urge to talk about the basic dance floor rules. It will be easier to attend parties held by local (I mean Hong Kongers) organizers. Usually they not only accommodate ballroom dances and Latin dances, but also make sure line dancers have enough room. Therefore, we usually find that a floor is divided clearly into different sections with the corners being dominated by group's of people. Even though the organizers expect to have groups, it is still very rude for a group of line dancers to occupy a corner of a floor. According to our manual, dancers who are doing line dances and take certain formation should stay at the center, while people who are doing shuffle dances should stay in the inner circle, and the outer circle should be left for the progressive dances. The floor should be managed like mentioned because it avoids 'traffic jams'.
Since the floor is managed as mentioned, people are expected to dance different dances to the same song but still can be able to move across the floor smoothly. There is another very important note that I need to point out: it is absolutely possible to dance several dance styles to one song. Often there are discussions and arguments about other couples' choice of dances. Before we give our own opinion about the choice of dances, please remember how the floor is crafted- progressive dances at the outer circle, shuffle dances at the inner circle, and stationary dances at centre. The craft itself already suggests that different dances may be danced at the same time.
Okay, we know that we can dance different dance styles to one same song, but how do we differentiate which style to which song? To answer that, let's get back to the basic musicality (check dance musicality articles here). When the song matches several criterion, we can easily tell which style it should be, that's why we often see people pick the same style. However, we can't say that it is the one and only one choice. For instance, a 4-beat track played at a tempo of approximately 240 beats per minute, most local people will say it is Samba, but it also fits for Salsa or Merengue. Another example is a 4-beat track played at 180 beats per minute, could be a Samba (who say Samba needs to be exceptionally fast? Eso Beso is slow but it is a Samba classic), or a Bachata or a Kizomba. If you are a local social dancer, you may not understand this, but think about this, for a typical Jive song, half of the people dance it the 8 steps Jive (counting 12 QaQ QaQ), a quarter dance it 6 steps (counting 12 step tap step tap), and the last quarter dance it a mix of 8 and 6 steps. Other Latin dancers (those not included in the 5 International dances are grouped as Other) do not form a major population in Hong Kong but that doesn't mean that their choice should not be respected. I hope to see all dances flowering on our floors.
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