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Cajun Jitterbug is a style of Cajun dancing with two variations. The main style is a classic two-step form of a six-count East Coast Swing, which is differentiated from the one-step Cajun Jig. The other is considered a cowboy-style of Jitterbug or swing dance, also referred to as the Lake Charles Slide, the Cowboy Jitterbug and the Whiskey River Jitterbug.
Cajun Two Step is a style of Cajun dancing, also with two variations, and is arguably the most traditional. It is very similar to the country western two-step. The traditional Cajun two-step doesn't have as many fancy turns and spins as their country western cousin.
Some Cajun dance moves are initiated from one of two basic positions: the open-handed position and the cross-handed position. In the open-handed position, the partners face each other and join right hand to left (and left to right) slightly below waist level. The cross-handed position is identical, except the hands are crossed (right hands joined on top, left hands below).
Traditional Cajun Jig, the newest form of Cajun dance features a “hobble step” alternating feet like you are stepping on and off a curb, and many underarm turns popular with country and western dance.
One form of the Cajun dance features stepping or walking, in time to the music, with alternating feet. In an exaggerated form, most often seen in newer dancers, this resembles a “hobble step”, as if stepping on and off a curb. In reality, it is a subtle weighting down of one foot/leg (right for lead, left for follower) which allows the opposite leg to move about. The effect is to facilitate turns and swings reminiscent of jitterbug and swing dancing, or versions of Country Western dancing.
One usage of the term, "Cajun Jitterbug", alludes to the style of Cajun dancing which contains more turns and spins, regardless of the basic step pattern.
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Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television.
An alphabetic list of modern country dance terminology:
The waltz, meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple, performed primarily in closed position.
A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances are part of a broad spectrum of dances known by various names: country dances, traditional dances, folk dances, barn dances, ceilidh dances, contra dances, Playford dances, etc. These dances appear in over 100 different formations, of which the Square and the Longways Set are by far the most popular formations.
The Charleston is a dance named after the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson, which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one of the most popular hits of the decade. Runnin' Wild ran from 28 October 1923, through 28 June 1924. The peak year for the Charleston as a dance by the public was mid-1926 to 1927.
West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in the Lindy Hop. It is characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. The dance allows for both partners to improvise steps while dancing together, putting West Coast Swing in a short list of dances that emphasize improvisation.
Swing dance is a group of social dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s–1940s, with the origins of each dance predating the popular "swing era". Hundreds of styles of swing dancing were developed; those that have survived beyond that era include Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, and Charleston. Today, the best-known of these dances is the Lindy Hop, which originated in Harlem in the early 1930s. While the majority of swing dances began in African-American communities as vernacular African-American dances, some influenced swing-era dances, like Balboa, developed outside of these communities.
Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based zydeco music. Both are from southwest Louisiana and share French and African origins. These French Louisiana sounds have influenced American popular music for many decades, especially country music, and have influenced pop culture through mass media, such as television commercials.
The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina, Finland ("jenkka"), France, Italy, Norway ("reinlender"), Portugal and Brazil, Spain (chotis), Sweden, Denmark ("schottis"), Mexico, and the United States, among other nations. The schottische is considered by The Oxford Companion to Music to be a kind of slower polka, with continental-European origin.
Country–western dance encompasses any of the dance forms or styles which are typically danced to country-western music, and which are stylistically associated with American country and/or western traditions. Many are descended from dances brought to the United States by immigrants from the United Kingdom and Europe as early as the 1700s, which became integrated into American popular culture. Country dancing is also known as "kicker dancing" in Texas.
This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those.
Cajun jig or Cajun one-step is among the simplest of Cajun dance forms. It has only one basic step. The Cajun jig was popular in Louisiana in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but remains a mainstay of dancers. Often, this step pattern is alternated with other styles, during a single song, particularly among those who are regular dancers, in urban and non-traditional settings, or those who are also Zydeco dancers.
The term forró refers to a musical genre, a rhythm, a dance and the event itself where forró music is played and danced. Forró is an important part of the culture of the Northeastern Region of Brazil. It encompasses various dance types as well as a number of different musical genres. Their music genres and dances have gained widespread popularity in all regions of Brazil, especially during the Brazilian June Festivals. Forró has also become increasingly popular all over the world, with a well-established forró scene in Europe.
The country/western two-step, often called the Texas two-step or simply the two-step, is a country/western dance usually danced to country music in common time. "Traditional [Texas] two-step developed, my theory goes, because it is suited to fiddle and guitar music played two-four time with a firm beat [found in country music]. One-two, one-two, slide-shuffle. The two-step is related to the polka, the Texas waltz, and the jitterbug.
The Texas two-step is the same step known to ballroom dancers as the international fox-trot. Except for the one-step, which is just that, most Texas dances are variations of a two-step, also called a half-step, which is simply a step-close-step. The Texas two-step is generally done with two long steps and a step-close-step to two-four time. Speeded up, it's a shuffle or double shuffle, but still a two-step.
Contra dance choreography specifies the dance formation, the figures, and the sequence of those figures in a contra dance. The figures repeat, ideally, in a graceful flowing pattern, aligned with the phrasing of the music. Contra dance figures do not have defined footwork; within the limits of the music and the comfort of their fellow dancers, individuals move to the beat and embellish according to their own taste. Much of the dance is done as a walking movement, one step for each count of the music, while the arms and hands do most of the changing, most of these involving connecting with others' hands.
British Ice Skating is the national governing body of ice skating within the United Kingdom. Formed in 1879, it is responsible for overseeing all disciplines of ice skating: figure skating ; synchronised skating; and speed skating.
The Collegiate Shag is a partner dance done primarily to uptempo swing and pre-swing jazz music. It belongs to the swing family of American vernacular dances that arose in the 1920s and 30s. It is believed that the dance originated within the African American community of the Carolinas in the 1920s, later spreading across the United States during the 1930s. The shag is still danced today by swing dance enthusiasts worldwide.