Private Dance Lessons
There is no better way to learn ballroom dancing than through private instruction taught by a certified, knowledgable, and patient instructor. As certified ballroom dance instructors who are passionate about teaching and helping students reach their dance goals, we are dedicated to giving every student the quality of instruction that he or she deserves. All instructors and trainers who represent The Ballroom Way are of the highest quality.
Currently, The Ballroom Way provides quality ballroom dance instruction to the Orange and Los Angeles counties in California. Call us today to start dancing this week. 949-235-0743
Learn any of the following dances!
Click on the dance you want to see a brief description of it. Please let us know if you any questions. For pricing on private lessons you can visit our E-Store. To watch videos of some of these dances, visit our Video Library.
Salsa is a fusion of many different dance styles that are rooted in the Caribbean, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the us US and Latin America. Salsa music is fast paced and has strong African influences.
Salsa in it's most evolved form has been influenced by Swing and West Coast Swing. It is fast, sassy, and sexy, and it incorporates many fun turns and twirls. You may even see elaborate (and at time dangerous looking) dips, lifts, and tricks encorporated into competitive and show routines by professionals.
Salsa is so popular that there are literally hundreds of clubs, organizations, and websites dedicated to the dance. Click here! to visit one of these Salsa sites.
What does Salsa Music sound like? Take a listen...
Mambo is Cuban in origin and is rhythmically similar to the much slower Bolero, but it has more complex patterns and combinations. It is important to note that Mambo is an important ancestor of Salsa and Cha Cha.
Mambo music is a bit slower and perhaps, a bit more playful and sometimes even "more reserved" than its energetic grandchild, Salsa.
What does Mambo Music sound like? Take a listen...
Cha Cha is Cuban in origin. At it's root, Cha Cha is simply Mambo that is danced with a tripple step instead of a slow. Over the last 50 years, Cha Cha has become a beautiful and upbeat addition to the world of competitive dance. It is danced to latin music that has a slower tempo than Salsa or Mambo music. Now-a-days, the Cha Cha beat can be heard in many pop songs. Some examples are:
- Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha
- Justin Timberlake - Sexy Back
- Britney Spears - Almost every song on her Blackout album
Because of the syncopation and the tripple step in Cha Cha, it is a dance that takes a bit time and patience to learn and fine-tune. Cha Cha is a very playful and sensual dance.
What does Cha Cha Music sound like? Take a listen...
Rumba, with its relatively slow rhythm and alluring hip movements, is often considered to be one of the most erotic and sensual latin dances.
Rumba music is a tad slower than Cha Cha and has a more seductive feel to it. Examples of the Rumba beat are readily available in popular music.
What does Rumba Music sound like? Take a listen...
When a song is too slow for a Rumba and has a very sensual intimate feeling, chances are it's perfect for the Bolero. Bolero combines patterns found in Rumba with the elegant rise and fall of Waltz and the sway in Foxtrot to create beatiful extended lines in the dancers' bodies.
What does Bolero Music sound like? Take a listen...
Samba is one of the most popular dances in Brazil. Samba music has been danced to since the 19th century and is considered to be Brazil's national music. It's quick tempo and Anfro-Brazilian influences give it a unique and highly energized sound.
There are many differences between the various styles of Samba danced in its native land, but perhaps the most significant difference lies in the way Brazillian Samba differs from Ballroom Samba.
What does Samba Music sound like? Take a listen...
Merengue, which originated in the Dominican Republic and has become the official dance of that country, is perhaps one of the easiest and most fun ways for newcomers to dance to immediately start having fun on the dance floor. Because the steps are so simple (simply march-left, right, left, right, etc.), Merengue is the ideal dance to practice leading and following as well as hip movements without having to worry about the footwork.
Merengue music is faster than Salsa or Samba which makes it easy to "march" to it.
What does Merengue Music sound like? Take a listen...
If you love the sound of big band music, you'll love knowing how to dance Foxtrot. The elegance of Foxtrot is truly timeless as is the music that it is danced to.
The Foxtrot takes its name from its inventor, the vaudeville actor Harry Fox. According to legend, Fox was unable to find female dancers capable of performing the more difficult two-step. As a result, he added stagger steps (two trots), creating the basic Foxtrot rhythm of slow-slow-quick-quick.
Over time, Foxtrot split into slow (Foxtrot) and quick (Quickstep) versions.
What does Foxtrot Music sound like? Take a listen...
Tango originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay and spread to the rest of the world soon after that. Tango is often noted for its sensuality, sharp and emotion-filled movement, and the passion that comes with the music as well as the dance.
In modern films, Tango is often danced to conjure up passion, signify strong attraction, demonstrate control and virtuasity, and evoke awe.
Some movies of the recent past that have showcased Tango routines are:
- Scent of a Woman (1992) - with Al Pacino
- True Lies (1994) - with Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Moulin Rouge! (2001) - with Ewan McGregor
- Chicago (2002) - with Renee Zellweger
- Shall We Dance (2004) - with Richard Gere
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) - with Brad Pitt
- Take the Lead (2006) - with Antonio Banderas
What does Tango Music sound like? Take a listen...
The Waltz, is danced to a distincts ¾ rhythms with a strong accent on the first beat. It was born in the suburbs of Vienna and when it was first introduced in the early 19th century, people were shocked since it was the first ballroom dance where the man put his hand on a woman's waist! But the Waltz gained in popularity and quickly became one of the most popular of all dances.
This easy and elegant dance is still commonly seen at weddings and other social events.
What does Waltz Music sound like? Take a listen...
East Coast Swing was evolved from Foxtrot or more specifically its leaping version known as Shag. Many aspects of East Coast Swing were, and still are, influenced by Charleston and Lindy Hop. In many dance studios and classes, East Coast Swing is taught as one of the first forms of swing dance because of its forgiving nature when a mistake is made.
Swing music is very upbeat and energized. The dance too incorporates fast turns, twists, dips and even lifts!
What does Swing Music sound like? Take a listen...
West Coast Swing has its roots in Lindy Hop, a styling of single time swing. It is characterised by a distinctive elastic look that results from its basic 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 making it lots of fun dance and to experiment.
West Coast Swing music is slower in tempo than the music of any other swing-based style of dance. This dance has the potential to be very fun, upbeat, or even provocative and sexy.
What does West Coast Swing Music sound like? Take a listen...
Hip hop is both a cultural movement and a genre of music developed in New York City in the 1970s. Since first emerging in the Bronx, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has today spread around the world.
Now Hip Hop music is enjoyed and danced to by people of all generations across the globe. Hip Hop dance and movements are also influencing and modernizing older traditions of dance such as Ballet, Jazz, and Tap.
What does Hip Hop Music sound like? Take a listen...
Belly dance is a Western name for an Arabic style of dance developed in the Middle East.
The Middle East has a rich and varied tradition of dance, spanning all of the Arab world, Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Balkans, and also much of Central Asia and South Asia. "Belly dance," a term coined in Orientalism, is sometimes used as a cover term for oriental dance in general, but it includes variants that do not emphasize belly movement at all, let alone stereotypical crop top costume.
What does Belly Dance Music sound like? Take a listen...
Belly Dance Music - Example#1(Arabic)
Belly Dance Music - Example#2(Persian)
The "first dance" of a bride and groom is an important component of the wedding ceremony in modern European and American traditions.
Traditionally, the first wedding dance has been Waltz. Today there are a number of songs in a variety of dances that put into words the deep-rooted affections that the bride and groom want to express to one another. It has also become popular to start with a slow dance and the to speed it up with a more upbeat song and dance such as a Swing, Merengue, Hip Hop or even Salsa.
What does Wedding Dance Music sound like? Take a listen...
Wedding Dance Music - Slow Dance / Foxxy