By Elizabeth Knoll
1991 US National Professional International Standard Champion
Finalist in all major American Style Smooth Championships
So what’s the difference? I am constantly asked this question regarding International and American styles of dancing, with the question coming from beginning dancers, advanced dancers, judges and non-dancers. There are several answers, some easy and some more open to subjective opinion. We’ll start with the easy ones!
First, International Style is the style of dancing that is danced all over the world, with an established syllabus and terminology recognized everywhere, from Sri Lanka to Alaska. American Style is a style invented in and unique to the United States, danced a little bit in Canada, with many syllabi and terminologies.
Second, International Style, particularly Ballroom, has been standardized for nearly one hundred years, with the Ballroom having been written down in nearly its current form for over seventy years. Latin dance has been standardized for nearly sixty years, and with minor updates has been written in its current form for over forty years. The roots of American style are in social dancing and it has only been in existence for about fifty years. The written forms of American style are many; we will discuss the syllabi later!
Third and most obvious, there are different dances in each style. International Style has only ten dances: Standard—Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Quickstep and Latin—Samba, Cha Cha, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive. In the Standard dances the partners stay in closed dance position with body contact 100% of the time. American Style features more dances, but fewer for competition. For American style competition we dance the Smooth dances—Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz and the Rhythm dances—Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero and Mambo. Of the dances that are the same in each style, the speed of music is different, some timings are different, and in the smooth dances we are allowed to separate and dance without hold, a la Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In American Style, we can also add for Pro/am competitions and for social dancing West Coast Swing, Hustle, Samba, Merengue, Night Club Two Step, Salsa and Peabody.
So which is better? That is really a matter of personal preference. Each has its own merits and charms and pitfalls. Because International has been standardized for so long, is danced by many more people, and is the style from which we choose our World Champions, it can be more demanding. Certainly the Standard dances are more exacting and the technique is less forgiving as we have two bodies to deal with. Dance position and body contact are required to be top-notch. Because we have an established syllabus with written technique, everyone at the same level of accomplishment is dancing the same steps, sometimes in the same order. That means that what happens in competitions is that we are judging apples against apples. This is a good thing! Judges are supposed to be looking at the dancing, not at “flash and trash” choreography. If everyone is doing the same thing, then we are really judging the dancing.
Having said all that, I do believe that American Smooth can be more difficult than International Standard. At the levels of silver and above (more on the levels later), when we dance with our partners in dance position, it has to look and be perfect. Then we go twirling off by ourselves, responsible only for ourselves, and then back into perfect dance position! AAUUGGHH!
The mechanics and basic techniques of the dances don’t change. A Waltz is a Waltz. But the characterizations of the dances certainly are affected by the styles. Besides that, the speeds of the music are different. International Waltz is slower than American, Tango is faster, Viennese Waltz is MUCH faster, and Foxtrot is a little slower. International Cha Cha is faster, Rumba is slower, and Jive is much faster than Swing. These differences in the Rhythm/Latin dances come from the difference in producing Cuban motion, or hip action. In International style, we straighten our legs before the weight transfer, allowing for a faster leg and foot action, and in American we SHOULD BE stepping onto a bent leg, allowing more time for a rhythmical body action and musical interpretation.
With both styles, we have three levels of accomplishment: bronze, silver and gold. Above that is the fancy schmancy stuff you see on TV and in professional and top amateur competitions that we term “Open.” When we are learning to dance, it makes sense to start from the beginning. That’s why the syllabi are structured the way they are, to build good fundamental mechanics as a support for the fancy open choreography to which we graduate. Wouldn’t you make sure the foundation of your house was strong and solid before you framed it out and put the roof on and painted it pretty colors? So we think the same about dancing. A good box step, a competent link or feather step, a clean Rumba basic are mandatory for us to understand and try to perfect before we go on to more complicated moves. I have been very happy to see that in recent years competitions are providing “invigilators,” or separate judges to monitor competitors’ choreography. The invigilator will watch the competition, issue warnings and/or disqualifications when necessary. Even at small local competitions (one in Seattle, one in Portland, and one in Vancouver BC) there were disqualifications due to couples not dancing within category. If we continue to stress the importance of good, fundamental dancing then we upgrade the quality of dancing in the long run.
OK, back to the differences between International and American. International Standard and Latin are the top styles right now, with the strongest dancers and deepest competition fields. Are they good for social dancing? Yes. No question. Latin dances stay pretty much on the spot, and the music is very popular. Standard dances stay in closed dance position (much safer in a crowded social situation!) and can maneuver easily through a crowd. Except for Quickstep! In Quickstep we should stay with syllabus level material for competent, confident social dancing. Hoppy, skippy, jumpy stuff belongs in showcases and competitions only.
American style dances were invented for social dancing and popular dance music. The patterns are easy to learn and execute, the dances are fun, and especially American social foxtrot is a VERY useful dance. Competitively, American Smooth is an extremely popular and very beautiful style with flowing movements and attractive arm styling, but is suffering growing pains. This style is undergoing a transformation, but without a tangible goal. What we are seeing right now is great athleticism in some couples and great artistic interpretation from others, but most of the time without a balance of both.
The standard of dancing in these three aforementioned styles is currently very high. American Rhythm, unfortunately, is not enjoying the same level of success. To be competitive lately, it seems that the dancers are trying to do International techniques without the fundamental training, and without the musical REASONS to dance that way. The result is what looks like sloppy International style. It’s a real shame, because I think we have some terrific dancers in the professional Rhythm ranks, but few of them have the guts to return to the roots of the style. I hope both Rhythm and Smooth settle into the great styles I think they can be. International style dances have had the opportunity to develop and mature into the exquisite athletic/art forms they are now. American style deserves the same opportunities.
Oof. Got sidetracked again. Back to International vs. American. This time, the subject is syllabus. Not only does International have a defined syllabus, but within that syllabus the technique is very specific, down to the steps that are allowed to precede or follow a specific step or the position you may dance the step in. For example, although both of these steps are allowed at the Bronze level, in Waltz and Quickstep you may not follow the Back Lock with a Hesitation. And in Rumba, although the handhold is allowed elsewhere, you may not dance cucarachas with a double handhold at the Bronze level. Check the technique books or ask a CERTIFIED instructor for more information. International, because of the strict requirements, can feel a little limiting, but there is much freedom within the structure.
What we have with American style is a looser acceptance of what is allowed at each level. Because there are over 50 published and recognized syllabi, and the invigilators cannot memorize everything (we’re only human—hate to break it to you!), we abide by some general but strict rules: no passing of the feet in Bronze—each pattern MUST finish with the feet together, unless specified, like a chasse; no foot fakes in Bronze—partners must remain on the opposite foot at all times; no release of the handholds for more than 2 measures of music; no extended series of quicks; no double syncopations; little to no foot swivel in Swing; no kicks in any dance. At the Silver level, the rules pretty much go out the window, except we like to see shadow positions kept to a minimum (except for Viennese Waltz), and steps that are at the Gold level in International should also be kept to a minimum. Some people like the general rule of thumb that Silver should still be able to be led and followed, and you save the fancy routines for Gold and/or Open.
There is much more to say on the fascinating topic of International versus American. I hope this article helps clarify the subject a little. This may be more information than you think you need! OR it may raise questions about American and International styles that need a deeper discussion. I encourage anyone who has any questions to contact me at any time. I can be reached through ballroomparkrose.com.
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