Beyond social dance etiquette. Social dancing: why “go down” is gaining more and more fans

Dance is not just a set of movements. This is a kind of game whose rules are dictated by music. The rhythm of the composition creates the mood and tells you how to move. Dancing man truly happy, because he knows how to express his emotions and share them with others.

Perhaps someone now sighed sadly and regretted that he could not dance. No problem! Social dancing will come to the rescue. What is it, where is it taught, and is it possible to start practicing if you have never danced in your life? - “Easy Useful” will tell you.

What dances are called social?

Social dances are pair dances that have main goal communication and interaction with a partner. You probably already guessed that the language of communication here is movement.

This type of dance came to us from America, where social dance, or “descended”, as they are called for short in Russia, became widespread since the 20s-30s of the last century. The emergence of this trend was due to the fact that young people were engaged in ballroom dancing It became boring, because achieving mastery required a lot of time and effort. In addition, young people did not want to limit their freedom to a certain set of movements, so they began to be attracted to ethnic Latin American and African dances, which allow improvisation and do not require precise movements.

Young people gathered at dance parties, where there was a lot of communication and fun. The warm atmosphere was conducive to relaxation; no one monitored the correct movements of neighboring couples, because the main goal was relaxation, making new acquaintances and enjoying the movement.

Social dance is directed not outward, but inward; it is performed not for the audience, but for oneself.

Where to start?

Social dance, as we have already noted, is a pair dance. However, this does not mean that you need to come to class with a partner. The first thing you need to do is gather your thoughts, cast aside all doubts and come to a dance studio class. They definitely won’t leave you there without a partner.
Learning to dance is not difficult. You just need to learn the basic steps and a couple of movements, the rest is a matter of improvisation. The main thing is consistency and regularity of classes. At your first training session, it may seem like nothing is working out, especially if you compare yourself to experienced dancers. However, already the second or third time you will “catch the wave” and be able to relax, enjoying the movement.

4 Interesting Facts About Social Dancing

To better understand the essence of the descendant, it is worth revealing in more detail some of its interesting features.

Where to go to dance

Social dance clubs are opening in all major cities. However, residents of small towns also have the opportunity to try new look rest. You can start dancing came down:

• Group classes in the studio. This is the best option, since lessons with a specialist in a group provide invaluable experience in dancing with new people.
• On individual lessons. Their cost is higher, but this training option is also available and is gaining popularity.
• At home, watching videos on the Internet or on DVD. The advantage of this form of training is that you don’t have to go or travel anywhere. This is also suitable for those who are embarrassed to dance in front of other people. But there are also disadvantages: no one evaluates your progress from the outside and points out possible errors. And most importantly: you are deprived of communication, and this is no less important component came down better than the dance itself.

No matter how you begin to learn social dancing, learning the basic movements will take from a week to a month, depending on your diligence.
And then the fun begins! In a city where there is at least one studio, dance parties of certain types of dance are definitely held. The most common of them are Latin American. At such parties you can relax, dance to your heart's content and relieve stress for the benefit of your body.

Popular social dance styles

The dance styles of the descendants are very diverse, but the most common among them are the following styles:

How social dancing is useful from a psychological point of view

Social dancing The purpose is not just entertainment - they are actively used to solve some psychological problems:

• help to gain self-confidence;
• allow you to establish communication, including with the opposite sex;
• promote personal growth;
• relieve stress;
• develop initiative and creativity.

If you want to relax, meet new people, get in shape or forget about your problems, take up social dancing. Life will definitely begin to play with new colors!

Social dancing- this is the view dance styles, which is focused not on honing skills for participation in competitions, but on a pleasant pastime as leisure. Social dance classes provide an opportunity exchange of emotions between partners, positive communication, in addition, they allow you to support good physical fitness , develop coordination.

Social dancing is paired. The distribution of roles is as follows: the man is the leader, the woman is the follower. Thus, while dancing, partners seem to be working out their life roles: men become proactive, active, and women - listening, creating an atmosphere of harmony and beauty.

Today there is a huge lots of social dances, among them salsa, zouk, bachata, tango, hustle, etc. Therefore, each person can choose from this variety what most suits his character.

Social dances happen simple and more difficult to master. Great value in this type of dance culture has improvisation. The partner must own technique of maintaining a partner, which is quite not an easy task. The partner, for her part, must obey (behave), feel the movements of the partner and decorate the general dance.

From the above it is clear that social dancing gives people the opportunity to communicate, both within regular activities and various dance parties . This is all the more valuable due to the fact that modern society people often withdraws into himself or immerses himself in a virtual environment, experiencing an acute lack of live communication.

Today, the described type of dance continues to remain fashion trend - dance clubs in many countries of the world, including Russia, are visited by both young people who want to meet and have fun with the opposite sex, and adults and elderly. For last dance is an opportunity feel younger, get rid of loneliness.

So, if you are interested in social dancing, the question before you is: which dance to choose? Below we will talk about several popular dance styles.

Tango. This dance originated in Argentina, but today he has conquered the whole world. It shows very clearly improvisation and drama. Tango can be compared to a little performance, in which two actors play - a man and a woman. It's like life in miniature, filled hot, but controlled on the edge, South American passion. By choosing tango for yourself, you will discover in your soul new facets, feel the strongest emotional outburst, the possibility of which had never been suspected before.

Salsa - Cuban dance freedom and love. It is characterized by liberated and passionate movements. Salsa is filled with fun, flirting and making fun of each other. Unlike many other social dances, salsa no permanent couples: partners constantly change during the process. Thus, by practicing salsa, you can learn to interact with strangers, relax and open up to fun, casual communication. From a technical point of view, salsa is characterized by numerous intricacies of the hands, endless turns and virtuoso lifts.

Hustle is a dance that is fundamentally very simple and therefore accessible to everyone.. It is usually danced to music in the style of " disco", the peak of popularity of which occurred in the 80s of the last century. There are several versions of the origin of hustle. According to one of them, it originated in New York as a result of mixing a variety of disco dances.

Bachata- widespread in countries Caribbean. This dance originated in The Dominican Republic is like a poor man's dance, who in him tried to escape from the suffering and sorrows of their hard life. This dance expresses emotions such as nostalgia, melancholy and longing. Thus, by dancing bachata you can experience these negative feelings, and, thus, get rid of them. A peculiar thing is happening emotional release.

Another social dance that is worth mentioning separately is called - zouk. Today it is popular in France, Canada, and zouk originated in the 80s of the 20th century on the French-speaking islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti, and Saint Lucia. The Caribbean species of zouka is characterized by closeness of partners. They literally press their hips and waists tightly against each other, and the dance looks incredible intimate and sensual. And the Brazilian zouk makes demands on his partner special requirements for flexibility, it is desirable that she have long hair, since during the dance the girl often has to throw her head back and bend both sideways and backwards. Long hair at the same time greatly enhance the effect.

Social dancing today is a unique opportunity for those involved to make up for the lack of live communication, maintain their physical fitness, and get to know themselves and other people through the universal language of dance.

The phrase " social dancing“came into the Russian language from English (“social dance”), it means all types of dances that are not a sports discipline and are available to everyone, but still have certain rules and accepted movements, unlike, for example, club dances .

Social dances, as a rule, are paired and are based on the concept of “leading”, where the main one - the leader in the pair is the partner, and the partner is the follower and complements the dance with her movements. The main feature of all social dances is their accessibility. Most types of social dances began to actively develop in the 1980s and 1990s. With the advent of club music and active development discos, social dance trends began to develop. Many species of which originate from Latin American destinations.

Nowadays social dancing is more popular than ever, many dancers of other styles are happy to study hustle, salsa, bachata, zouk and bring their choreographic skills to them, which gives street directions some sophistication and grace.

Modern directions of social dances

The most popular areas of modern social dances include:

• Swing or WCS originated in the 1920s in America. Fast and dynamic, it quickly gained its popularity and subsequently such trends as Lindy Hop, Bilboa, Boogie-Woogie and Rock and Roll appeared. Swing dancing is fast and active and is great for young people who want to keep fit through dancing.
• Argentine tango originated in Argentina and Uruguay in the late 19th century. It owes its spread to the brothels that were so popular in this region. Passionate and emotional dance characterizes quite slow pace with characteristic accelerations and decelerations. The main role is played in this dance a partner who makes complex steps, turns and various leg swings.
• Zouk originated in the Caribbean in the 1980s. The word “zouk” from the language of French immigrants is translated as “party” - initially zouk was danced at parties and discos. Unlike most Latin American dances it is not characterized by overt eroticism and is preferably danced to slow and smooth music. A very flexible and graceful dance, where interaction between partners plays a key role.
• Hustle dance has gained particular popularity in Russia. His distinctive feature is complete freedom of action. Hustle is danced to any music, mainly modern music, which you can easily hear on the radio. It originated in America in the 80s, since then it has been actively developing and has become not only a social, but also a competitive area. Now the Hustle and Discofox championships recruit up to several thousand participants.
• Latin American dances: salsa, bachata, merengue, reggaeton. Each of these dances has its own characteristic features, however, they can be divided into one category of social Latin American dances. They got their origins from the national rhythms of Cuba and the Caribbean countries. Their distinguishing feature is fairly close contact between partners, passion and rhythm. They are common in special Latin American discos and are very popular among young people.

Social dancing: how to choose?

1. Level of physical fitness and desire to dance more athletically or plastically
2. Music you like to dance to
3. Prevalence of this social direction in your city or region
4. Closeness of contact with dance partner

Dance is a little life, which we live many times - each time different, not similar to the previous ones. Music dictates the rules of this life, creates a mood, flows, taking us beyond worries and routine.

What is “social dance”?

The word “social” in the minds of Russian people is often associated with the idea of ​​something low-grade, cheap, intended for the lower stratum of society. We hasten to dissuade you.

Social dancing is a term that combines two quite broad concepts: socium (society) and dance. At its core, these are dances that anyone can do, not for achievements or titles, but for themselves, for communication, for pleasure. Descended is a category of dance that is intended solely for the pleasure of the dancers. Distinctive feature Social dancing is the ability to dance with different partners.

If you want to relax after a hard day at work, forget about problems and worries, get to know interesting people, try something new, and just be in good shape, then dancing is undoubtedly one of great ways realize these many other goals!

The main social dances are hustle and swing.

The features are gone.

Social dancing is accessible to the masses of people. It doesn't matter your height, weight, age, build, sports training, all that matters is your desire and perseverance. You understand that if you have never practiced, perhaps not everything will work out the first time?

It is undeniable that in any dance (as in any other business, profession, hobby) there are certain rules - the foundations on which all subsequent skills and abilities are strung, as if on a core. The main feature of the descent is improvisation. There is no rigidly structured sequence of movements. Movements come from music, the harmony of the use of a particular movement at a certain point in time. An important point is to play with music, allowing you to make dance and music into one whole.

Since there is no memorized sequence of movements in descending, such important things as leading and following come to the fore. In a dance, the partner is always the leader; he must think through the movements, give impulses that the partner understands, do not forget to dance himself, and also look around in order to prevent a collision.
The role of the partner is to lead (follow the partner’s impulses) and decorate the dance. At first glance, the role is very easy, but not everything is so simple! It is quite difficult to learn to do not what you want, but to “listen” to the guidance and follow it.

In almost every city in the world where there is at least one social dance studio, there are discos, themed a certain type dance. If you spend most of your time studying at school, then at the disco you can relax and dance! Also, various congresses and festivals are held around the world, with colorful shows, master classes, and dancers different nations and countries. After all, to dance, you do not need knowledge of languages: there is only one language - rhythm, music and dance.

Social dancing is an excellent alternative to “jumping” discos and clubs where incomprehensible music is blaring. Of course, everyone is free to choose. But for fans of improvisation and democracy, social dancing is exactly what you need. These are “street” dances that have migrated to the floor. It's pretty popular view healthy pastime. Such classes do not require special training. People of any age can practice dancing. There would be desire and enthusiasm.

Social dances include:

• Sultry salsa;
• Sensual Argentine tango;
• Stylish swing;
• Bachata;
• Irish dancing;
• Hustle.

What is it?

Each of these styles unites the traditions of the countries in which they were invented and successfully took root. As a rule, social dances do not have clearly defined and memorized movements. Partners demonstrate some skills that cause admiring glances and shock from those watching. At social dance “parties” you quite often meet successful, wealthy people. They are attracted by powerful psychological release after a hard day at work.

The joy of activity

Scientists say that in dance a person produces huge amount hormones of joy - endorphins. It is believed that the feeling of flight and lightness makes people dance for many years and attend classes regularly. Regular visitors to clubs where social dance classes are held note that bright and intense styles do not take away strength at all, on the contrary, they give vigor and help to rise to unrealistic heights.

What attracts people to social dancing?

During dance lessons, it is customary to change partners more than once during the evening. This allows people who regularly attend such events to get to know each other better and find common ground. Of course, whether to continue the relationship outside dance hall Everyone decides for themselves. Quite often, durable and happy marriages between partners engaged in social dancing. Don’t think that clubs are some kind of nest of debauchery. This is a misconception. They do dancing married couples, people of science and religion. Of course, everything depends on internal upbringing. But this applies to any area of ​​life.

The most important thing that attracts people who are interested in social dancing is a healthy pastime and the opportunity to break away from their usual circle. In such clubs it is not customary to ask each other about the type of activity. Here everyone is on an equal footing. Therefore, it is completely normal when the janitor and financial director, salsa movements are repeated by the student and teacher. This is a place where the status of an individual is determined only by the ability to dance. Any busy person wants to see the world from a different perspective. Social dancing provides such a chance. Catch him!