I noticed a lot of people are filling in the same values for American and International style experience, and I do not quite believe that to be correct. So it is time to add some explaination about the styles. This page is only available in English at this time.

On a personal and disclaimer note: the information on this page is based on some research on the internet and my first personal and astonishing encounter with American style dancing, when I was visiting on the other side of the big pond. During an after fair party, a lady asked me if I could dance, and of course I said yes, since I had been hopping around the dance floor for 10+ years at that time. Well... To say it mildly... It was not considered a success. There was some serious "what in the world are you doing" going on, until we had some moves synchronized. If you feel the information listed on this page is inaccurate, contact me and you can update my knowledge of the styles.

What do you mean 'dance style'?

Contemporary ballroom dancing comes in two major styles, American style and international style. American style was developed by the major U.S. studio chains, Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire, and by the independent U.S. studios. International style was developed by the British, particularly through the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) and the International Dance Teachers' Association (IDTA). While most of the world uses international style exclusively, both styles are popular in North America.

Similarly latin also comes in an international and an American style. American ballroom is also called Smooth or American Smooth, and American Latin is called Rhythm or American Rhythm. International style dancing is also called Modern.

Historically, American style ballroom was developing on the west side of the Atlantic during the same period as English style ballroom was developing near the east side of the Atlantic. There was probably some cross fertilization, but there was also a lot of independent development. Competition seems to have started to dominate the development of English style fairly early (1920s), while American style was more rooted in social dancing as taught by the Murray studios and a desire to emulate the stage and screen dancing as epitomized in the Fred Astaire movies. You can generally trace many open American style foxtrot figures to things that Fred and Ginger did in various choreographic sequences in their movies, for example. In fact, because of those movies, there was probably more influence of American style on English style than vice versa. It wasn't until the 1950s and 1960s that English style really started catching on internationally, and came to be called International style (and later, Standard). Between then and now, there has probably been more influence of International style on American than vice versa, but it's been influence on an established style, not a derivation.

Difference in dances

Although there are style differences between international and American style (which will be discussed a bit further down), the most visible difference is the fact that each style teaches different dances. Below there is a comparison of which dance is taught in which style:

International Style figures are divided into a Syllabus with three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The steps and technique for each figure have been clearly laid out by the ISTD. Since the Smooth has only four dances, one would think that it is slightly easier than international, but there is a reason that they left out the Quickstep. Of all the ballroom dances, the Quickstep is by far the fastest and most dangerous. Not only do the dancers move around the floor at high speeds, but it is also danced with hops and small jumps while the limbs are flying everywhere, like the latin dancers. With the open positions that are common in American style, the couple doesn't have nearly the maneuvering ability that a international dancer has, and so floorcraft is a much bigger challenge.

It is believed that a lot of the Smooth closed figures are just toned-down versions of similar Standard figures. Likewise a lot of the Smooth closed figure timings are simplified from the more varied and complex timings of Standard figures. This was supposedly done to allow social dancers to pick up American Smooth more easily; after all, two people unfamiliar with each other would have a much easier time dancing together if the allowed moves and timings were restricted.

About style

American Style ballroom is what most people in the US mean when they say "Ballroom Dancing." International Style in the United States is considered by some to be mostly for competition, it is often done at parties and in social settings as well. The simple basic figures and flexible choreography of American Style make it easy to dance with different partners, leading to its tremendous popularity. The character of the dances are a cross between the elegance of International Style and the exuberance of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Although many dances have the same names as International Style, they are not the same—the music is a different tempo and many figures are different. For example: in Smooth (American Style Ballroom), partners can release their arm hold, allowing spins, dips, or even break apart altogether and do side-by-side or interactive moves that are not permitted in International Standard. It's similar to International showdancing, but without the lifts. The American Smooth also misses the concept of a "common center" which allows for a three- dimensional body action in unison.

An example. The rise used in American style Waltz must remain mostly vertical in order to allow for open work, under-arm turns, etc. It is felt mostly through the legs and ankles and a vertical "lifting" of the body, and thus could be considered two-dimensional rise (i.e. mostly up). International style Waltz uses a different rise for most of its basic figures called pendulum swing. It is created almost entirely by a body line that is flighted forward and upward, and the rise is a natural consequence of this action. Such rise requires a closed body position.

The different ballroom dances can be characterized as follows:

• Slow Waltz is counted in ¾ time, and has a classic swooping rise and fall. This is the Standard dance usually learned first.
• Tango is known for quick, sharp snaps and dramatic pauses. It is much more stylized than Argentine Tango, from which it was derived, although it is still passionate. It alternates between slow, stalking motion and explosive speed. The American style has a more Paso-Dobleish or Argentine Tangoish interpretation.
• Slow Foxtrot is the Standard dance many find the most challenging, and most rewarding. It is smooth, playful, and very slow. Like American Foxtrot, it is done to Big Band music in 4/4 time, but its basic timing is slow-quick-quick and the speed is much slower.
• Quickstep is a high-speed version of the Slow Foxtrot. It's done to Swing-type music and is very energetic and vivacious. Advanced figures include hops, skips, and jumps—even incorporating Jitterbug variations!
• Viennese Waltz is about twice the speed of Waltz. The international style is faster than the American style, and very simple. There are only a few figures in the dance, since partners never release their arm hold. Although the speed can make the dance challenging. The American style is very different, but mostly because of the fact that it is not limited to 5 figures and allow open moves.
• Foxtrot is a great social dance: it’s fun, not hard to learn, and easy to lead and follow. Traditionally danced to Big Band music, it is smooth and sexy. Its basic timing is slow-slow-quick-quick. The American Foxtrot is upbeat and sprightly, more like the Quickstep than the Slow Foxtrot, looking like an old Fred and Ginger movie. Some jazziness and showdancy quality is added that is not appropriate (or even possible) in international style.

The different latin dances can be characterized as follows:

• Cha-Cha is a fast and flirtatious dance that was created by replacing the "slow" in Rumba with a quick "side-close-side" (cha-cha-cha).
• Samba is super sexy with a pulsing "1 a-2" beat and fluid hip action. American Samba features simpler figures than International Samba, but the same music and technique.
• Rumba is the only slow International Latin dance, and is slower than American Rumba, but faster than Bolero. It is sensual and passionate. Its basic timing is slow-quick-quick, like American Style, but nearly all of the figures are different and the "slow" comes on beat 2 of the music instead of beat 1.
• Paso Doble portrays a bullfight. The man depicts the matador, while the female portrays the flowing and snapping cape. There are only a few songs to which Paso Doble is danced, and they all have the musical highlights in the same place. Thus this dance is usually completely choreographed from start to finish, and designed so that each musical highlight corresponds to a dramatic pose or drop.
• Jive is a tight, precise, extremely fast version of East Coast Swing. Its basic timing is rock step, triple-step, triple-step, and it features swift flicks and kicks and lots of spins.
• Bolero is a very slow dance compared to the Rumba. It is swooping and graceful, making it a bit reminiscent of Smooth dances.
• East Coast Swing is the basis of many of the other Swings. Its basic timing is "triple-step, triple-step, rock-step.". Despite its name, it is the most common Swing and is danced all over the country. Swing does appear more "grounded" than Jive.
• Mambo is similar to Salsa (very fast!). The basic timing is quick-quick-slow.
• Salsa has recently grown to be one of most popular club dances. It is fast, sexy, and features a lot of improvisation. It is extremely popular in clubs around the world.
• Merengue is a Club dance that is done to really fast Latin music. It consists of very simple steps organized into sets of 8, and features a characteristic hip swing and graceful arm flourishes.

Up to 5 years ago the American style had a tendency to grow closer to the international style up until the point where the Smooth dancers started to wonder why they were doing things differently in the first place. Thanks to the contributions of the likes of David Hamilton, Olga Foropanova, Toni Redpath, and Nicholas Kasovich (to name a few), American Smooth is much has regained it's typical style and is now more than just International Standard with occasional open moves, even if its roots and basic technique are International. American Rhythm, on the other hand, seems to still be moving in a direction closer to its International counterpart.

Teling the difference

If you're watching ballroom dancing and wondering how to distinguish between International and American styles, here are two points to look out for that may help. What dance positions are used is probably the easiest way to tell apart the Standard and Smooth dances. International Standard is danced almost exclusively in closed dance positions while American Smooth allows more open work where the partners can separate from each other and dance in open positions.

The Latin and Rhythm dances tend to be a bit harder to tell apart. The dancers' leg action is probably the best clue as to which style they're dancing here. In American Rhythm, the dancers will use a bent leg action allowing them to delay their change of weight on the step, so you will frequently see them with bent legs. However, in International Latin, the dancers usually have the look of two straight legs which comes from the faster change of weight on the step.