My Experiences in Modern Partner Dancing

Introduction

By modern partner dances I mean all dances where there is a “leader” (usually but not necessarily a man) and a follower (usually but not necessarily a woman).  These types of dances include Modern Jive (LeRoc, Ceroc, French Jive), Lindy Hop, Salsa, Argentine Tango and of course Ballroom and Latin.

Dances such as Disco Dancing and Line Dancing are quite different because there is no communication aspect between leader and follower.  It is this communication aspect, where the leader communicates his intentions to or “leads” the follower who responds by  doing the appropriate moves or “following” (but many times with embellishments of her own), which makes partner dancing so challenging and enjoyable.

In addition to the sheer enjoyment aspect of partner dancing, there are other benefits such as keeping you fit, keeping (especially for older people) you mentally alert and improving your social life.

 I would say that I have met over 90% of my current circle of friends through dancing (though we are not dancing nerds and have other interests outside dancing!) and I have met over 90% of my girlfriends through dancing.  (They do say that a man who is good on the dance floor is also likely to be good in bed, but it is not for me to say whether that is true or not!)

Argentine Tango

I could write forever about Argentine Tango, so I will have to strictly control myself here.  I first tried Argentine Tango because I had been dancing for some years and I was looking for something completely different to try.  I knew that several of my fellow Modern Jivers were dancing it so I decided to have a go.

First off, Argentine Tango is DIFFERENT.  In its simplest form it can be described as a “walking dance”; walking in time to music.  However, this “walking” can take years to learn.  Also, the term Argentine Tango actually covers three distinct types of dance: the Tango itself (4/4 time, generally quite moody); the Tango Waltz or Vals (3/4 time and generally romantic, but a different sort of 3/4 time to Ballroom Waltz because the emphasis is on the first beat rather than treating all three beats equally {a bit like Viennese waltz but slower}); and the Milonga (2/4 time, and very jolly).  At this point, to avoid possible confusion, I should also point out that the word Milonga is also used to describe an Argentine Tango Dance (location) where all three styles are danced.  Nobody seems to know why.

The moves (Argentine Tango dancers prefer to call them “figures”) are led from the chest (some would say from the heart!) while maintaining a rigid frame with the arms and shoulders.  The partners have no main body contact below the waist, although the legs will come into contact during certain moves (compare this to Ballroom, where there is no main body contact above the waist!).  Surprisingly (unbelievably even, for non Argentine tango dancers) the leader can make the follower move her legs in various ways using this chest contact alone. 

The chest contact (“close hold”) is to me the most logical and satisfactory way of leading in Argentine Tango, and is the style danced in the milongas (the dance locations) of Buenos Aires.  However, many Northern Europeandancers are unhappy with such intimacy, and so the “open hold” was developed.  In this, there is no physical contact between the chests of the two partners and instead the follower has to look at the leader’s chest to see what the lead is supposed to be.  Seems a bit daft to me.

I have to say that I became totally obsessed with learning this dance style, but it is unfortunately not possible to learn it “properly”  outside Buenos Aires, and sooner or later every tanguero (that is what tango dancers like to call themselves – an accomplished tanguero is referred to as a milonguero by other tangueros, but you should not call yourself one) makes the pilgrimage.  In my case visiting Buenos Aireswas a life-changing experience.  First of all I had to unlearn and relearn everything I thought I knew about Argentine Tango.  Then I fell in love with the city and its (female) inhabitants and had to return again and again.  Finally, I was so corrupted by the experience that I couldn’t really enjoy dancing Argentine Tango back at home any more. Sad.

As a final comment, Argentine Tango attracts a lot of mystique around itself – what I call “Zen stuff”.  Admittedly it is a difficult style to dance well but it really only requires musicality, a good sense of balance, and training in the steps – there is nothing mystical about it I at all and it annoys me when people pretend there is.

Ballroom and Latin

Coming to Ballroom from Argentine Tango was quite a shock.  The hold is different, the posture is different and the lead is different!  In Ballroom, the left arm (of the man) is held way out from the side of the body, whereas in Argentine Tango the most comfortable position is recommended to be quite close into the body.  In Ballroom, the top half of the body is held away from the partner, as opposed to Argentine Tango where it is pushed in towards the partner.  Sounds a bit boring but wait for the next bit: in Ballroom the lead comes from the lower part of the body and the legs, so the groin is pushed well into the groin of the partner!  They are similar in that in both styles of dancing you do not look at your partner (whereas in all Jive Styles and Salsa it is de rigueur!), but in Argentine Tango you look over her right shoulder, whereas in Ballroom you turn your head to the left as if you are looking over into the corner somewhere, and have to use your peripheral vision to see where you are going.

Ballroom styles include the slow and elegant English Waltz, the madly twirling Viennese Waltz, the Quickstep (does what it says on the tin), the beautiful but extremely difficult to learn Foxtrot, and of course Ballroom Tango.

At this point I want to explain why I have been painstakingly typing the words Argentine or Ballroom in front the word Tango every time I use it.  It is because they are completely different dances!  About the only thing they have in common is the name.  Argentine Tango is smooth, elegant and passionate, whereas Ballroom Tango is staccato, fiery and downright angry looking.  Both are quite sexy though.

For some reason, Ballroom is always linked to Latin, though they are quite different styles requiring different skills.  Latin styles include Cha-Cha (-Cha), Rumba, Samba and Salsa (but not Ballroom Tango which is not considered a Latin dance, even though it came from South America!).  Apart from the Cha-Cha they are all quite sexually explicit dances, and involve the Latin hip movements that I referred to on the Salsa page, so they can be quite challenging for Northern Europeans.  And Samba is quite impossible because additionally you have to get the “party bounce” into your step while at the same time not looking like a giraffe on acid.

The problem I have with Ballroom and Latin is that, at the more advanced levels, they are intricately linked up with either taking medals or doing competitions.  You also tend to have a regular partner, whereas with all the other dance styles I have discussed on this site, the whole idea is to change partners frequently.  This is not to say that Ballroom and Latin cannot be danced socially – they can, and very enjoyably too.

Modern Jive

Modern Jive (specifically LeRoc) was the first dance style that I tried and which actually got me into dancing, at the ripe old age of 45!  I was looking for some way to develop my social life after my divorce, and somebody suggested that I try it.  I was very hesitant at first because I had always had three left feet, and like most British males at the time I believed that dancing was just for girls.  Eventually I did go along, and after the first evening’s lesson I was amazed.  I thought to myself “Hey, I can do this!”

It is probably the simplest, and some would say the most fun, of all forms of modern partner dancing.  It uses a  simple 4/4 rhythm and was developed from 1950’s American style Rock and Roll by the French, who long after the rest of the world had given up on it, kept it alive and adapted it to the modern day (Le Rock and Roll, right?).

It is taught in the form of “moves” (short sequences of steps) which are linked together to form a flowing dance.  The moves range from simple stepping and turning to fairly complex drops and lifts, so it can be danced by people of all skill levels.  One of the attractive things about LeRoc is that it can be danced to practically any sort of music, especially modern disco music, blues, Latin and so on.  Moreover, I have travelled widely with my job, and in social settings all over the world I have usually found someone that is able to do some sort of Modern Jive.

A word about terminology, which people often ask me about: French Jive is the original form as developed and danced in French France.  LeRoc and Ceroc are the Anglicised versions.  They are very similar but whereas LeRoc emphasises the lead by using hand signals, with Ceroc the lead is more natural.  Also Ceroc is a franchise, whereas LeRoc is not. However, the moves are similar; they are like two dialects of the same language – with a little practice LeRocers and Cerocers can easily dance together.

On the social side, both men and women can ask each other to dance (so there are no wallflowers!), and you usually then dance one or at most two tracks with  the same person (though if you like them you can of course go back to them again later).  It is a good way to meet new people, but it is mostly danced on a “friendly” basis without any “predatory” intent.

Rock and Roll

Rock and Roll (or as its proponents would call it “Rock ‘n’ Roll, often prefaced by the words Good ol’) is actually two distinct styles of dance, danced to the same music (you can also dance Modern Jive to Rock and Roll music, but like dancing it to Swing music, it has to be very fast).  Ballroom Jive (more on the Ballroom and Latin page) is usually danced to Rock and Roll music.

By Rock and Roll music I mean the classic “devil’s music” that the United Statesgot so upset about in the 1950’s – Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry (Johnny B. Goode – wow! Best dance track ever!). 

The two distinct styles are called American Style Rock and Roll, which is fast and furious and involves lots of jumps, lifts and other air steps (an air step when is both of the follower’s feet leave the ground – often by a considerable distance!); and British Style Rock and Roll, which is a much more relaxed, energy efficient way of dancing to the same music and involves no air steps whatsoever.  British Style Rock and Roll is also confusingly called Jive (but not Modern Jive).

I started learning American Style Rock and Roll quite soon after I started learning LeRoc, and I LOVED it.  My LeRoc teacher was not impressed and said it would interfere with my learning LeRoc, but it didn’t; I actually managed to incorporate some of the Rock and Roll moves into my LeRoc repertoire.  It is quite easy t learn, also 4/4 rhythm, but the spectacular lifts and throws have to be taught to you by a professional, because done incorrectly they can be quite dangerous and both the leader and follower can get badly hurt.  What many people don’t realise when watching the dance is that the follower plays an active part in the lifts and throws, and is not simply a dead weight.  So, lot of skill involved.

In fact I eventually teamed up with my female Rock and Roll teacher to do demonstrations, perform on local TV and teach beginners, so this dance style has a lot of good memories for me.  Eventually we got too old to do the lifts and throws and had to give it up.  However, we can still do LeRoc without any problem!

Salsa

I tried Salsa because I knew that so many other people (including fellow Modern Jivers) were dancing it.  After putting in some considerable effort, to learn it, I decided it was not for me.

Salsa moves are very similar to Modern Jive moves from the waist up, but of course the rhythm is different (I won’t attempt to describe it).  I had problems with the Latin hip-movements, and also had problems maintaining the rhythm.  I would start off each track with good intentions, but after a few minutes dancing my teacher would call out “You’ve slipped back into LeRoc again!” 

I also found the music tracks boring and interminable, and I felt out of place because the age group that this dance attracts (at least where I live) is very young.

So Salsa is not for me.  However, that doesn’t stop me from dancing to salsa tracks, because it is perfectly possible to dance LeRoc or Ceroc to the music.

Swing Dance

Lindy Hop, which appeared out of Harlem in the 1930s and was popularised by American servicemen in Europein the 1940s was the first type of Swing Dance to be widely performed and led to the development of many other Jive-type dances.

Lindy Hop is still danced today, along with variations of it such as East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing (the coasts referred to here being the coasts of North America).  American style Rock and Roll and 1950’s British Jive (also confusingly called Rock and Roll but quite a different style of dance) were direct descendents of it, and many Lindy Hop moves found their way into Modern Jive as danced today.

I tried Lindy Hop quite soon after I started leaning Modern Jive.  It uses a syncopated rhythm (unlike Modern Jive or Rock and Roll) and requires you to be very light on your feet, which I am not!  I eventually dropped it for that reason, and also due to the lack of local teachers. 

By the way, one problem with all these related dance styles (Swing, Modern Jive, Rock and Roll and also Salsa) is that if you try to learn several of them your feet become confused and you tend to unconsciously revert to the style you are most familiar with.

It is perfectly possible to dance Modern Jive to Swing Dance music (such as Big Band Glenn Miller type music) and these days, that is what I do when it is played.  As I said on the Modern Jive page, you can dance LeRoc/Ceroc to almost any kind of music.   However, order to accommodate the Swing rhythm, you have to dance very quickly so it is quite exhausting!

Summing Up

Well, that’s it – a whirlwind tour of my experiences with modern partner dancing (and my life).  I hope you enjoyed reading it, and if it encourages you to take up dancing as a hobby, both you and I will be happier people!

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