Learn to Dance Wales

A Learn to Dance 'Did-you-know?' - Viennese Waltz – this is almost the same as the Waltz but this waltz is more rapid with continuous circling around the room.  The Viennese Waltz is the classic, old, original waltz. A waltzing couple rotate around each other as they fly gracefully around the room. This article discusses the origin and nature of the Viennese Waltz, also known as the Vienna Waltz, the rotary waltz, and in Vienna as the Wiener Walzer. Some people mistakenly call it the Vietnamese waltz, which does not exist. This article lists formal balls around the United States. There are appendices on options for learning to dance, how to do the Viennese Waltz including step diagrams, clothes, etiquette, what makes a good ball, recorded music, dance floor friction and debutante functions.

A Learn to Dance 'Did-you-know?' - Merengue – this is national dance in the Dominican Republic and it is widely popular in the United States as well.   It is performed to merengue music, the official music of the Dominican Republic. While ballroom merengue dancing is the official dance of the country, less formal club and folk versions of the dance also exist. Merengue was controversial because it was popular among the rural poor, used African rhythms, and often had racy lyrics. Throughout the first few decades of the 20th century, merengue became increasingly respectable and accepted by the upper classes of the Dominican Republic, with the help of professional ballroom musicians and innocuous lyrics.

A Learn to Dance 'Did-you-know?' -  Mambo – this is the Latin equivalent of the swing dance. There are a lot of Mambo enthusiasts in the country ever since it was included in 1943.  Mambo is actually a name for a bantu drum. The word "mambo" means "conversation with the Gods," and these drums were used for sacred and ritual purposes. The mambo is a spinoff of the English country dance, which made its way to Cuba through immigrants. It was named the danza, or the dance of Cuba, and gradually its beat and movement became saturated with African and Cuban rhythms, creating an entirely new beat and style.