African-American Roots
Lindy Hop appears to have its roots in the African-American community of the '20s. In 1927, at a dance marathon at the Manhattan Casino in Harlem, Shorty Snowden and his partner were performing the Texas Tommy, also known then as the Hop. As the story goes, Shorty, bored with the steps, threw his partner into a break-away and began improvising. The crowd loved it. As Shorty and partner left the dance floor, people asked "What was that fantastic step?" Being caught off-guard to name his newly devised steps with a particularly descriptive term, Shorty responded with the name of someone on everyone's mind in that year, and called it the Lindy Hop!

Lindy Hop to Jitterbug
Frankie Manning added aerials and the dance became more and more acrobatic. Very soon, Shorty Snowden's Lindy Hop (deriving from Charles Lindbergh's premier trans-Atlantic flight) took off, pun intended, evolving into Jitterbug.

Big Band Music
Big bands are once again making their mark on social dance. Most of the bands' repertoires include Fred & Ginger style foxtrots such as "Dancing Cheek to Cheek" and "Let's Face the Music and Dance." It is indeed unfortunate that the term Foxtrot has gotten a such bad rap, and, that for some reason, the only dance form it seems people do to the big bands today is the Swing.

Foxtrot is different from Swing
Historically and musically, the most popular form of dancing during the 40s was not Swing, but Foxtrot. Indeed, only about 20 percent of those active dancers knew how to swing or were sufficiently avant-garde to try it! Though Swing has its own charm to enjoy, the Fred & Ginger style Foxtrot conveys the romance and invigorating elegance that Swing cannot.

"This is how to dance the Tango! Feel the blood rise to your face with every beat; While an arm winds like a snake around your waist that is about to break. That is how to dance the Tango!"
-Elizardo Martinez Vilas

"The Tango is man and woman in search of each other. It is the search for embrace, a way to be together, when the man feels like a man and the woman feels like a woman, without machismo. The music arouses and torments, the dance is the coupling of two people, defenseless against the world and powerless to change things."
- Juan Carlos Copes

Learning Merengue
First, find the beginning of the measure, the 1st beat. Almost all music has measures, and one must learn to find the 1st beat of the measure. It is difficult to explain in writing how to find the 1st beat, since songs start their measures differently, sometimes even changing from verse to verse. Sometimes it's signaled by the singer, but other times it's the chorus, the clave, the congas or the bass, and it may keep changing.

Finding the "1"
Find someone who knows how to find the 1 in the music, whether it's a teacher, friend, relative, fellow dancer or musician; some people just know the 1 and can show it to you. Put on some merengue and have them show you the 1, and explain how they found it. Then have them help you learn to feel it, count it and tap your feet all the way through entire songs. A good exercise is to stop and then restart the song to see how quickly you can find the 1 and get on the beat again.

Learning Salsa
In the early 90s, salsa was primarily taught in the studios but not in the clubs as is done now. Latin clubs typically offer either free salsa lessons or salsa lessons for a small fee (usually $10.00 for a two hour class) much less than what it cost to take the same class in some private studios.

Getting Fancy
As a rule, beginning salsa students want to learn the fancy combinations and turns before they can properly execute the basics. This can be seen when teaching beginners: they constantly look over at the advanced students. This is where the instructor must control the students' eagerness to jump ahead.

Background
Prior to the 19th century, the form of dance accepted in polite society forbade touching anyone other than hand to hand. Although more aggressive postures were certainly practiced in the more casual environs, the "ballroom" pose was not known in polite society until the turn of the century. Yet, with the rise of the bourgeois, the "characterless tripping" of the English country dances, as described by an observer of the time, began to give way to the more zestful forms of the peasantry. What the age was seeking, it found in the close turning dances such as the Landler, from southern Germany. Character, spirit, expression, and passion -- everything that the new era demanded -- was found in the new waltz.

The Controversial Waltz
As with anything new, the waltz was regarded as controversial. In 1797, Salomo Jakob Wolf wrote a treatise called (English translation) "Proof that the waltz is a main source of the weakness of body and mind or our generation; most urgently recommended to the sons and daughters of Germany." Though the treatise sold out two editions, fortunately, few actually followed Wolf's recommendation.

Contra dancing comes from a long heritage of European dance. Court dances, although not popular with the common folk, were the order of the day at European courts from the graceful court dances of the Middle ages, through the athletic Galliards and Voltas of the Renaissance and into the stately Minuets of the 18th Century. These dances were highly evolved forms requiring considerable teaching and practice. In the court of Queen Elizabeth, if one could not dance to Her Majesty's liking, a rebuke would be forthcoming. Even so, the Queen is said to have enjoyed Country Dances, as well.