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American Rhythm is comprised of five dances: Cha Cha, American Rumba, Swing, Bolero, and Mambo. If you like to dance Salsa and Bachata, knowing Mambo and American Rumba can be very useful.

American Rhythm is comprised of five dances: Cha Cha, American Rumba, Swing, Bolero, and Mambo. It is often difficult to differentiate between American Rhythm, often abbreviated “Rhythm”, and International Latin.

American Rhythm is comprised of five dances: Cha Cha, American Rumba, Swing, Bolero, and Mambo. Rhythm is a fun style which, when combined with Latin, can give dancers of all levels a large vocabulary of steps from which to choose.

American Rhythm is comprised of five dances: Cha Cha, American Rumba, Swing, Bolero, and Mambo. If you like to dance Salsa and Bachata, knowing Mambo and American Rumba can be very useful.

American Rhythm is comprised of five dances: Cha Cha, American Rumba, Swing, Bolero, and Mambo. It is often difficult to differentiate between American Rhythm, often abbreviated “Rhythm”, and International Latin.

The Quickstep, with its roots in Ragtime, was developed in the 1920’s in New York from a combination of Foxtrot, Charleston, Peabody and the One-Step. Originally it was danced solo – away from the partner, but later became a partner dance. It was originally given the name “Quick Time Fox Trot” but eventually that name was changed to Quickstep. The dance traveled to England and was developed into the dance that we know today, and was standardized in 1927. In a basic form Quickstep is a combination of walks and chasses but in an advanced stage hops jumps & many syncopations are utilized. It is an elegant and glamorous dance and body contact is maintained throughout the dance.

The Waltz is a progressive and turning dance with figures designed for both a larger ballroom floor and the average dance floor. The use of sway, rise and fall highlight the smooth, lilting style of the Waltz. Being a very traditional style of dance, the Waltz makes one feel like a princess or a prince at the ball!

The Tango made its first appearance during the greatest period of dance evolution in American history (1910-1914). It was instantly a hit with the dance-conscious public for its intriguing, asymmetrical, and sophisticated patterns which added a touch of romance to the country’s dance consciousness. The Tango is a progressive dance where the staccato movement of the feet and flexed knees highlight the dramatic style of the dance.

Jive evolved from the popular American dances of the 1930’s such as Jitterbug, Boogie-Woogie, Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, Shag, Rock “n” Roll etc. Eventually all of these styles of dance would be coupled under the Hat of “Jive”, but in the 1940’s a combination of these styles was given the name “Jive” and the dance was born. During World War II American G.I’s took the dance to Europe where it soon became very popular, especially among the young. It was new, fresh, and exciting. It was adapted by the French and became very popular in Britain and eventually in 1968 it was adopted as the fifth Latin dance in International competitions. The modern form of ballroom jive is a very happy and boppy dance, with many flicks & kicks. The Jive music is written in 4/4 time and should be played at a tempo of about 38 – 44 bars per minute. A spot dance not moving along the Line of Dance. Relaxed, springy action is the basic characteristic of the International Style Jive with lots of flicks and kicks in the advanced style.

Cha Cha is a dance of Cuban origin, and derives its name from the rhythm developed by a syncopation of the fourth beat. Cha Cha gathers its flavor, rhythm and charm from a derivation of three primary sources: the Mambo, Rumba, and indirectly, the Lindy (with each being danced to the same one-two-three triple step).

Mambo was introduced to Americans in the late 1940s and was more exciting than the Guaracha-Rumba, causing the latter to fade in popularity.

Guaracha-Rumba quickly faded in popularity when the more exciting Mambo was introduced to Americans in the late 1940s. It was one of the three styles of Rumba introduced to the United States.

Son-Rumba, shortened to Rumba, is one of the three styles of Rumba that were introduced to the United States and has survived the test of time.

Bolero-Rumba, shortened to Bolero, is one of the three styles of Rumba that were introduced to the United States and has survived the test of time.

Rumba, or “ballroom-rumba,” is one of the ballroom dances which occurs in social dance and in international competitions. It is the slowest of the five competitive International Latin dances. This ballroom Rumba was derived from a Cuban rhythm and dance called the Bolero-Son.

American Rhythm along with American Smooth are the two categories of Ballroom Dance that constitute what is known as the American Style. The dance technique used for both International and American styles is similar, but have some distinctions of course. The Rhythm dances were also influenced by American dancers of the post-WWII era, but the differences between this style and International Latin are more subtle.