Many people wants to learn ballroom dancing because it is a nice social activity which is perfectly fine, learner you should know that if they are looking into ballroom dancing as a competitive sport, it will cost more to get going. This is because in addition to learning ballroom dancing, you will have to pay contest-entrance fees, purchase costumes, and pay for your travel. A great place to begin with your new burgeoning ballroom-dancing career is online browsing through how-to videos. You may also want to check out your community colleges, local community centers, and parks and recreation organizations. Often these organizations will offer free or low-cost ballroom classes to city residents.

Ballroom dance has its origin from the Latin word ‘ball’ which means ‘to dance’. Earlier, this dance form was a privilege of the crème de la crème of the society and was performed amidst grand celebrations like social banquets, competitions and auspicious occasions. This form of dance has to be performed by a couple in a beautiful closed hold position.
This dance embraces a history that goes back to the renaissance era which brought to knowledge the different forms of dances, one of which was the well known dance form cinq-pace as referred by Shakespeare himself for this dance is made of five steps.

Later on, in the 17th century this form of dancing was performed by King Louis XIV, which was known as the Minuet and originated from a peasant dance in Poitou. Even today, Minuet is a very popular technique of dancing and prevalent in many countries across the world.

King Louis XIV also established an academy to promote this dance form, specifically the rule of five positions of feet. This era even witnessed the integration ofballet dancing with this dance & was practiced since then, till the end of the Victorian era.

Accompanying the Victorian era was a contemporary form of ballroom dancing that is popularly known as Waltz even today. England was the land where this form of pure music became very well known. It was this same period when numerous other ballroom dance kinds came into existence. This dance forms include the Mazurka, Schottische and Polka. As the 20th Century begun, Jazz and the Jive rocked the dance floors.

It also saw a reformation in the dance forms like waltz etc. This reformation was done to allow the couples to move independently. Salsa is the most popular style of dance, which has captured the hearts of the masses and the classes all over the world.

The other ballroom dance forms which are all over the places are the Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Swing and the Viennese. The international Latin dances include the Samba, the ChaChaCha, the Jive, Passo Doble etc.

In the year 1924, ballroom dancing was in full swing and various different competitions started off. A Branch was also formed by the Imperial society of Dance Teachers. This initiative was implemented with the sole objective of standardizing the techniques of dancing.

There are a variety of ballroom dance forms, and every form has its own beauty, charm, technique, style and distinctiveness. At the same time, these forms even have special rhythms, tempos and techniques with similar qualities.
Some of the night club dances like the Nightclub Two Step, West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, and Merengue are also placed in the ballroom category at times. In Brazil, Forro, Lambada, Pagoda etc are the most loved dance forms.

The attire for this dance type is usually a bow tie and tailcoats for males, while full gowns for females. This day the tail suit trend has been replace by shorter tuxedos, vests and other fashioned outfits for men. The Latin dances have different attire, as in women wear the short-skirted Latin apparels while men go for tight fitting trousers and shirts for the clarity and finesse of the body and leg movements.

At present, ballroom is not just a form of dance but is a way of life for numerous couples across the globe.