How many figures do you need?

[Angel HI]

But what I do see a lot (both here and out of here) is many non-Argentines holding up anybody born in the BA that happen to dance AT to be right up there.

Stupid, isn't it?

Argentine Tango is Not Ballroom.
What defines a ballroom dance is the syllabus.

Newsflash! Ballroom dance is an umbrella term for all of the dances which are a) done in partnership, and b) danced in a ballroom. AT is both. And, what defines BR is not the syllabus. this is the gross misconception that has cost nations the pleasure of some beautiful dances. The syllabus describes BR, not defines it.

AT, Salsa, West Coast Swing and many others are not considered ballroom, no syllabus. The reason for the Syllabus is for teaching and judging.

They are all ballroom dances as they are all partnership dances. Jitterbugs, Lindys, etc were all developed in ballrooms like the Savoy. Syllabi were created for teaching, yes. Yet, they were to teach elements of movement that would compose dances. It is unfortunate that marketing destroyed that concept, and turned the syllabus into a step-list of robotic demands of prescribed patterns. However, even the Electric Slide is a ballroom dance in that it was created by ballroom dancers in the 14th Street Bllroom in NYC.

You are correct about the judging however, and yet, there have been AT competitions in argentina for as long as persons can remember. Hmmm, not a BR dance.

 

[Angel HI]

Reminds me of the T-shirt from Alaska Rep Theater Co. some years ago...

"We don't care how they do it in NY"

WARNING ! I lived there for 15 yrs, ran a studio, and choreo'ed for those guys. I have the shirt (was just coming out of NY, and thought it was funny as heck). How do you them?

 

[hbboogie1]

Angel Hi If you had ever been exposed to the ballroom world you would understand my statement. Hop on a bus and go to Blackpool, UK and ask any of the thousands in attendance what dances are "ballroom" and you'll get the same answer. Like it or not that's how the ballroom world defines what's ballroom.
Why is it that Argentine tango dancers can spot a "Ballroom dancer" a mile away and make reference to the posture or the ballroom frame? Some of the dances you mentioned are danced quite often but are not "ballroom". And if what you say is true when they play a Latin set at a milonga do you consider that Tango?

 

[Dave Bailey]

Angel Hi If you had ever been exposed to the ballroom world you would understand my statement. Hop on a bus and go to Blackpool, UK and ask any of the thousands in attendance what dances are "ballroom" and you'll get the same answer. Like it or not that's how the ballroom world defines what's ballroom.

Yeah - I don't think "ballroom dancing" is the same as "dancing done in a ballroom".

From here:

While historically ballroom dance may refer to any form of formal social dancing as recreation, with the emergence of dancesport in modern times the term has become much narrower in scope, usually referring specifically to the International Standard and International Latin style dances (see dance categories below). In the United States, two additional variations—"American Smooth" and "American Rhythm"—have also been popularized and are commonly recognized as styles of "ballroom dance".

 

[larrynla]

stupid quibbling, shape of figures

What a lot of quibbling over terminology.

Could we talk about the subject of this thread? Or has it been exhausted?


Laer Carroll

 

[Angel HI]

Thanks DB for this....
From here:

Quote:
While historically ballroom dance may refer to any form of formal social dancing as recreation, with the emergence of dancesport in modern times the term has become much narrower in scope, usually referring specifically to the International Standard and International Latin style dances (see dance categories below). In the United States, two additional variations—"American Smooth" and "American Rhythm"—have also been popularized and are commonly recognized as styles of "ballroom dance".


...it is exactly what I was referring to. And, I agree w/ Larry...no intention of quibbling...hbb, clarification PM coming.

 

[Dave Bailey]

What a lot of quibbling over terminology.

Words are important. As is terminology. It's the way we communicate. And I'm not impressed with anyone trying to trivialise their impact.

Could we talk about the subject of this thread? Or has it been exhausted?

Obviously, the latter.

 

[Peaches]

AT threads stay on topic?!?! Shirley, you jest! Ha, I kill me!

(*groan* I know. I'm tired as nuts, though, and about damn ready to go home for the day. I get loopy.)

 

[Ampster]

AT threads stay on topic?!?! Shirley, you jest! Ha, I kill me!

(*groan* I know. I'm tired as nuts, though, and about damn ready to go home for the day. I get loopy.)

:cheers: :uplaugh: :lol:

 

[Gssh]

[detour] But that is what the internet is for

Words are important.

Words are especially important here - we don't have any context, and the backgrounds are so varied, we almost certainly have vastly different images in our heads when using words like "ballroom" (dancesport?).

It gets a bit easier with people that have been around for a while. E.g. in this thread:

(this is a experiment incommunication over the internet, so i apologize in advance for any mischaracterizations - i intentionally am not going back to old posts)

Dave Baily: First dance: ceroc, does mostly social dances AT,salsa, swing? would do dancesport only at gunpoint. Might have tried ballroom, but probably hated it.

Angel HI: Frist dance: Old school ballroom, does a lot of different dances quite ecumenically, dislikes dancesport because it has distorted ballroom dances, likes AT because it is danced more like ballroom dances should be danced.

So it is not surprising that to make a discussion more meaningful it is advisable to clarify the words, first. (it would be even more interesting if in this particular context we also had Peaches (outspoken refuge from the ballroom world) and Albainach (sp?) (who just went back to ballroom from AT and now thinks ballroom makes much more sense and is actually enjoyable))


Gssh

 

[Dave Bailey]

Dave Baily: First dance: ceroc, does mostly social dances AT,salsa, swing? would do dancesport only at gunpoint. Might have tried ballroom, but probably hated it.

Pretty much. I've tried a few ballroom lessons - I didn't hate it, but I'm too lazy to try to learn 10 dances at once. My faves were rumba, cha-cha, and waltz.

I'm a social dancer, not a competitor - if you can't dance it socially, I don't see the point of learning it.

 

[Angel HI]

Angel HI: Frist dance: Old school ballroom, does a lot of different dances quite ecumenically, dislikes dancesport because it has distorted ballroom dances, likes AT because it is danced more like ballroom dances should be danced. Gssh

You know that I have always been a fan, so add this to the list of whys. You should have my degree (counseling). Nice job having not met me other then here.



Or have you...............?

 

[Ampster]

Angel,

(OT) Just noticed your signature. Fan of the Phantom are we?

 

[Angel HI]

Yes. Immensely. But the person who presented that to me as my sig on pretty much everything knew that about me (and is a huge fan herself).

 

[Peaches]

Peaches (outspoken refuge from the ballroom world)

Heeheehee!!! I love that characterization. Can I use that as my sig line?