The Balboa is a swing dance that originated in Southern California during the 1920s and enjoyed huge popularity during the 1930s and 1940s. The term Balboa originally referred to a dance characterized by its close embrace and full body connection. It emphasizes rhythmic weight shifts and lead-follow partnership. Different dancers in the same region at the same time also danced "swing," a dance characterized by twists, turns, and open-position movement. Over time, these two dances merged and became collectively known as Balboa. The original Balboa dance is now referred to as Pure Balboa, and the original "Swing" dance is now referred to as Bal-Swing or L.A. Swing to differentiate it from other types of swing. Because of its emphasis on subtlety and partnering rather than flashy tricks, Balboa is considered more of a "dancer's dance" than a "spectator's dance."
The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the 1920s in New York City and was first danced by Caribbean and African dancers. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.
Box step is a basic dance step named after the pattern it creates on the floor, which is that of a square or box. It is used in a number of American Style ballroom dances: rumba, waltz, bronze-level foxtrot. While it can be performed individually, it is usually done with a partner. This is the most common dance step in the waltz. In international standard dance competition, there is a similar step called closed change.
The Closed Change is a Pre-Bronze, or newcomer Waltz figure, performed in closed position.
The Walking Boston, sometimes designated the One Step Waltz, is a very simple dance in which many graceful figures may be introduced. It is done to the same music as the Hesitation Waltz and Dream Waltz.
The cha-cha-chá, or simply cha-cha in the U.S., is a dance of Cuban origin. It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early 1950s. This rhythm was developed from the danzón-mambo. The name of the dance is an onomatopoeia derived from the shuffling sound of the dancers' feet.
Samba de Gafieira is a partner dance to various Brazilian samba musical rhythms. Unlike street and club forms of Brazilian samba, it evolved as a ballroom dance.
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. "Tradtitional [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 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.
The Yemenite step is a dance step widely used in Jewish dancing and Israeli folk dancing.
Botafogo, also sometimes spelt as Bota-fogo or Bota Fogo, is a dance step in Samba. Depending on relative positions and handholds, there are several versions of Botafogos while the basic footwork technique is the same. The name comes from Botafogo place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Lock step refers to any of several dance steps that involves the "locking" of the moving foot: the moving foot approaches to the standing foot, crosses in front of or behind it in the direction of the approach, stops close to the standing foot, and the weight is fully transferred to the (previously) moving foot.
V6 is a silver level dance pattern of the quickstep International Standard Ballroom dance syllabus. The couple moves diagonally to the center (DC) and then diagonally to the wall (DW), thus sweeping a V-shape on the floor.
The following is a glossary of figure skating terms, sorted alphabetically.
Contra body movement (CBM) is a term used in ballroom dances, such as Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Quickstep. It describes a specific coordination of the movement of a dancer's body when doing or preparing to do a step which involves rotation.
Crossovers are a basic stroking technique in figure skating for gaining impetus while skating along a curve or circle. They may be performed while skating either forwards or backwards.
Pravo horo is a very popular, simple folk dance from Bulgaria that is done throughout the Balkan countries. In Greece it is called Zonaradiko. It is considered the "national dance" of Bulgaria, Albania, and Macedonia. It is a rustic village line dance with a three-measure pattern, done to 2/4 or 6/8 music, and is a staple of weddings, feast days, and other celebrations. As with other Balkan dances, each country and even local region has its own variation of the dance, often interspersing other steps with the basic pravo step, to the extent that these different versions amount to distinct dances.
British Ice Skating is the 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 whisk is a ballroom dance step used in the waltz or Viennese waltz. It is one of several ways to get into promenade position and is used to turn dancers around corners or change their direction on the dance floor. It is often performed after a complete reverse turn.
Ice dance, a discipline of figure skating, has required elements that make up a well-balanced skating program and must be performed during competitions. They include: the dance lift, the dance spin, the step sequence, twizzles, and choreographic elements. The elements must be performed in specific ways, as described by published communications by the International Skating Union (ISU), unless otherwise specified. Choreographic elements are judged differently; they are considered complete if the minimum requirements defining the element are met.
