Round dance

Not to be confused withCircle dance.

For the communicative movement of bees used to indicate food sources close to the hive, seeRound dance (honey bee).

Ballroom dancing inSiena,Italy,15th century painting

Modern socialround dance,orround dancing,is achoreographedand cuedballroom dancethat progresses in a circular counter-clockwise pattern around the dance floor. The two major categories of ballroom dances found in round dancing are the smooth and international ballroom styles (such asfoxtrotandwaltz) and theLatin dances(such ascha-cha-chá,salsa,andrhumba). It is not to be confused withcircle dancing,which is a type offolk dancein which dancers are connected in a circular chain.

Description

Round dancing differs from free-style ballroom dancing in that each round dance has been fullychoreographedahead of time, and a "cuer"or leader at the front of the ballroom tells the dancers, as they dance, what steps to do. As themusicplays, and just ahead of thebeat,so the dancers have time to respond, the cuer names each dance figure in the choreography. As a consequence, all the dancers on the floor are dancing the same steps at the same time.

To create a round dance, a piece of music is selected by the choreographer, and the different steps or figures are chosen to fit the music. If the music swells and pauses briefly, then a dance step that rises and stretches is put into that place. If there is a littlesyncopationin another part of the music, then a quick step is inserted. The creation of a piece of choreography is like engineering a machine, with every gear and lever in just the right place to give smooth and flowing motion. The step-by-step instructions on how to dance this choreography are written out in what is called a cue sheet.

Types

Examples ofsocial dancesthat may be danced in "round" fashion arebolero,cha-cha-cha,foxtrot,hustle,jive,mambo,merengue,paso doble,quickstep,rhumba,salsa,samba,single swing,slow two step,tango,two step,waltz,Viennese waltzandWest Coast swing.

Roundalab,the International Association of Round Dance Teachers, Inc., has established a "Phase Rating System" of round dancing, in order to rate round dance figures according to difficulty and complexity.

Salsa rueda,also referred to as casino de rueda, is a kind of round dance in which there is no complete pre-choreographed sequence, and the dance patterns are called out in a random order.

See also

• La Ronde (play)
• Rondeau (dance)
• Line dancing
• Romvong,a popularCambodianround dance

External links

• Round dance instruction
• Round dance server
• Cue sheets from All Over
• Roundalab
• Square and Round Dancing Australia/NZ- square and round dancing in Australia and NZ - Australian products and area information for square dancing, round dancing and clogging
• Queensland Round Dance Association (Australia)
• International Choreographed Ballroom Dance Association- formerly known as URDC]
• Square and Round Dancing United Kingdom- square and round dancing in Great Britain and associated Commonwealth Territories]