Ballroom dance refers to a wide variety of partner dances that are danced throughout the world.

Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner.  Square dancing anyone?

Think of social dancing as a partner dance that is done for fun, social purposes, as opposed to performance or competition. Social dances can be danced with a variety of partners and still be lead and followed in a relaxed, easy atmosphere.  The moves and patterns are lead, not choreographed in advance.

Different dance styles of ballroom dancing.

In the next article we’ll talk about why we dance. In the meantime, get out and dance!