Dancing has probably been around since humans have walked upright. Dancing has been important to all human societies throughout history. Read on for some fun and important dance facts.
1) The dance seems to be innate; watch how young children react to music; they begin to move to the beat of the music. However, some societies feature dance more than others, leading to some myths: such that all Hispanics can dance salsa, for example!
2) Dancing is a great exercise for anyone of any age; you can dance at 2 or 102 years old; it is truly an activity for life.
3) The waltz was a shocking dance in its day. It only became acceptable in English society when young Queen Victoria took it with passion. The shocking part was that the man and the woman danced opposite each other, almost in an embrace (at that time the waltz was danced with arms outstretched).
4) Modern ballet dancers have only been able to dance at one point since the development of ballet shoe technology. Highland dancers also dance pointe (mainly men) and they do it with a soft shoe!
5) The development of modern rock and roll in the 1950s was considered by many parents at the time the undoing of modern society. So was the Charleston craze in the 1920s. History repeats itself!
6) The oldest ballroom dance is the Viennese waltz, and yes, it really was developed in Vienna. To this day you can go to Austria and dance in the Viennese dance season. But take classes first, they have standards and you will be asked to leave the floor if your dancing is not good enough.
7) You don’t need to be able to walk to dance: Wheelchair dancing is popular especially in Europe where ballroom and Latin American dance competitions have divisions for wheelchair dancers and couples without disabilities, wheelchair dancers and wheelchair and many other variations. .
8) Same-sex ballroom dancing has become popular in Australia and New Zealand and has regular competitions in those countries.
9) New Vogue is a style of dance sequence that was developed in Australia in the early 1960s. It is based on the technique of ballroom dancing and uses a fast waltz, foxtrot, tango, and marching beats. His English dance Old Tyme largely replaced it in Australasian dance sports competitions.
10) The television show “Dancing with the Stars” has raised the profile of ballroom dancing in every country where it has been shown, and many dance studios report the influx of students to dance classes.
