Salsa Salsa music is a style of Caribbean music, combining elements of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and American influences. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin.

The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. The danced in a 4 4 time signature. Developed in the 1910s, the foxtrot reached its height of popularity in the 1930s and remains practiced today.

Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement.

The waltz, meaning “to roll or revolve” is a ballroom and folk dance, in triple, performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the generic term German Dance in publications during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The cha-cha-cha is a dance of Cuban origin. It is danced to cha-cha-cha music introduced by the Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early 1950s. This rhythm was developed from the danzón-mambo.

Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also conga and rumba.

Samba is a name or prefix used for several rhythmic variants, such as samba urbano carioca, samba de roda, amongst many other forms of samba, mostly originated in the Rio de Janeiro and Bahia states.

A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. Akin to social foxtrot.

Tango originated in working-class districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The dance originated in working-class districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The music derived from the fusion of various forms of music from Europe. There a various styles of Tang, including American, Argentine and International Tango.

West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in Lindy Hop, characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. The dance allows for both partners to improvise steps while dancing together.

In the United States, “swing” became the most common word for the dance, and the term “jive” was adopted in the UK. Variations in technique led to styles such as boogie-woogie and swing boogie, with “jive” gradually emerging as the generic term in the UK.

Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic. It is a type of danced walk and is accessible to a large variety of people with or without dance experience. The music of merengue draws influence from European and Afro-Cuban styles. The dance originated as a rural dance and later became a ballroom dance.

What is now called the Viennese waltz is the original form of the waltz. It was the first ballroom dance performed in the closed hold or “waltz” position. The dance that is popularly known as the waltz is actually the English or slow waltz, danced at approximately 28 bpm with 3 beats to the bar, Viennese waltz is faster at 58-60 beats per minute.

Bachata is a social couple dance with a lead and follow that can be performed in open, semi-closed or closed position. The basic step involves an eight-count side-to-side. On counts 4 and 8, bachata includes an exaggerated hip check that gives it a characteristic look and differentiates it from bolero or son dancing

The Texas two-step is the same step known to ballroom dancers as the international fox-trot. Except for the one-step, which is just that, most Texas dances are variations of a two-step, also called a half-step, which is simply a step-close-step. The Texas two-step is generally done with two long steps and a step-close-step to two-four time.