In slotted dances, the dance slot is an imaginary narrow rectangle within which the follower moves back and forth in relation to the leader, who is comparatively stationary.
Slotted dances include: West Coast Swing, [1] Dallas Push, Houston Whip, Supreme Swing in Tulsa, Imperial Swing in St. Louis, Alcatraz in New Orleans, Carolina Shag, DC Swing, [2] as well as variants of other dances, such as Salsa or Hustle, that may be performed in a slotted style as well.
As a rule, the leader mostly stays in the slot, leaving it only to make room for the follower to pass by. The leader almost never makes the follower circle around when passing by; they may go into a common rotational figure when the follower happens to come close, but such figures are usually in a tight position and do not change the overall "slotted" appearance.
Factors that have often been looked upon as contributing to the development of slotted dance style include:
Although most of the above-mentioned dances belong to the "West Coast Swing family" of dances, they may have developed independently. The differences have been both acknowledged and listed; Swing Dance Encyclopedia by CoupleDanceWorld lists the differences among the dances. [3]
The most typical slotted dance is West Coast Swing. The origin of this style is uncertain. By one theory, the slotted style was born in Hollywood: film directors supposedly wanted to keep the performers in a straight line to keep the profiles of both dancers in sight, which also helps the camera to catch the most action, as opposed to rotational styles, in which much of the time one sees only the back of one dancer with the other dancer hidden completely. Another story is that during jazz concerts the fans were dancing in the aisles (which are essentially slots) and the style stuck. Still another is that this style emerged in densely packed nightclubs. None of the stories has a solid confirmation.
Ballroom dance is a set of European 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.
In partner dancing, connection is physical, non-verbal communication between dancers to facilitate synchronized or coordinated dance movements. Some forms of connection involve "lead/follow" in which one dancer directs the movements of the other dancer by means of non-verbal directions conveyed through a physical connection between the dancers. In other forms, connection involves multiple dancers without a distinct leader or follower. Connection refers to a host of different techniques in many types of partner dancing, especially those that feature significant physical contact between the dancers, including the Argentine Tango, Lindy Hop, Balboa, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Salsa, and other ballroom dances.
In some types of partner dance, lead and follow are designations for the two dancers' roles in a dance pairing. The leader is responsible for guiding the couple and initiating transitions to different dance steps and, in improvised dances, for choosing the dance steps to perform. The leader communicates choices to the follower, and directs the follower by means of subtle physical and visual signals, thereby allowing the pair to be smoothly coordinated.
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 Charleston dance's peak popularity occurred from mid-1926 to 1927.
West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in Lindy Hop, 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 Charleston, Balboa, Lindy Hop, and Collegiate Shag. 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.
Salsa is a Latin American dance, associated with salsa music. It originated in Eastern Cuba in the late 1940s and gained popularity in New York in 1960.
Modern Jive is a dance style derived from swing, Lindy Hop, rock and roll, salsa and various other dance styles, the main difference being the simplification of footwork by removing syncopation such as chasse. The term "French Jive" is occasionally used instead, reflecting the origins of the style, as is the term "Smooth Jive". The word "modern" distinguishes it from ballroom Jive.
Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners. As such it occupies a middle ground between individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner.
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.
In ballroom dancing, directions of progressive movement, in particular directions of steps, can be indicated either in relation to the room or in relation to the body position. Directions of turns, although there are only two of them, may also be indicated in several ways.
Dips are common to many partner dance styles, as well as couple's Disco.
Jack and Jill is a format of competition in partner dancing, where the competing couples are the result of random matching of leaders and followers. Rules of matching vary.
A Coaster Step is a term used in swing dancing which originated in Lindy swing. During the last two beats of a rhythm pattern, the follower rotated 90° to be perpendicular to the leader, then stepped back, together, and forward in triple-rhythm, then rotated back to face the leader and to be ready to step forward as the leader led the follower in to begin the next pattern.
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.
The anchor step, or anchor, is a dance step at the end of a pattern in West Coast Swing dance that is used while maintaining a connection.
Rock step may refer to one of several similar dance moves. The name refers to the rocking action during the move: the weight is transferred from one foot to another and then back. It is used in a number of dances, such as East Coast Swing, Zydeco, Lindy Hop, Tango.
Chicago-Style Stepping is an urban dance that originated in Chicago and continues to evolve nationwide and overseas, while defining its unique style and culture. within urban community. "Chicago-Style Stepping" makes reference to other urban styles of dance found throughout the United States in urban enclaves such as Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Bachata is a style of social dance from the Dominican Republic which is now danced all over the world. It is connected with bachata music.