This follows from a post I made in the "Body Contact in Smooth and Standard" thread and a post in the Standard: Four Schools of Thought Thread.
Here goes:
In the Sept/Oct 2007 issue of Dance Notes Vol X Issue 5, Maja Serve hints that there are 2 schools of thought for Latiin dancing:
1 = ISTD and Nina Hunt, and 2 = IDTA and Walter Laird.
Maja Serve then goes on to say that Carmen and Brian Watson belong to one of the "families" and that she has "no doubt" which family they come from. Well, I don't know (a) which school they belong to, or (b) who their coaches were? Does anyone know? If so, are you willing to post the informaton?
Does anyone know what the differences are between the ISTD/Hunt approach to Latin and the IDTA/Laird approach to Latin? If so, are you willing to post? What current couples belong to each respective school/family?

Perhaps a new thread for each school would be appropriate, but again, I realize that for some reason all of this information falls into the realm of "hide the ball", but I'd appreciate any information that anyone can provide.

Latin, I believe, has a more distinct lineage than standard in some respects.

One has to go back to Pierre ( who formulated the initial format ).. then Laird... Hancox.... and possibly Stylianos.
The evolution of Latin, from the conservative ( by todays standards ) that were in vogue thru Pierre and Wally, I believe were taken on a different path if you will, by Hancox for one e.g.( compare the styles of the 70s dancers, to Sammy Stopford,a Hancox trained dancer ).

The more extreme lines and the beginnings of more " stagey " material crept into the genre with the likes of Donnie and Corkie ( Eftedals, even tho they did win in the 90s )always seemed to me, to present a more classical style .

Now add to this mix the ladies who played a large part in the " styling ",and technical aspects, from Nina, Lorraine, Doris Lavelle and E. Romain.
The gradual blending of ideas, makes it difficult to separate with each generation .

I see this clearly.. Pierre had a picture in his mind from his travels, which he presented with great success.

Wally took it in a new direction.. he started to give it a more " rounded" look, dancing more from his centre .

It then evolved into a more upright " ballroomy " look ,and I would place Hancox at the beginning of that phase .

The contributors from that point onwards, created a much more dynamic even balletic approach.. and thats what we have today .

also to consider, going back to the 40s, Rumba was square and there was no Cha . I also believe , that the musical changes that occured ( 2/4 to 4/4 ) had more than a direct impact on the style changes, particularly with the Cha Cha inclusion .

Changes in music inevitably give change to new directions in dance ( sometimes to its detriment )

I had the pleasure of taking from wally and seeing him dance on many occasions.. I wonder what he would think now, of where we are heading ? .

These are my opinions , and others may see things differently... i have little problem with that .

Thanks, terence2.
I'm certainly no Latin expert, but I'll watch some couples and see if I can spot those using the the Laird/rounded style versus the Hancox/upright style.

I'm simply not able to spot the differences yet. Which "style" do Carmen and Bryan fit into?

I believe the majority of competitors today ,have adopted a much more " upright " style to their performance.. and many now take from more than one coach..

terence. Nothing stands still.I doubt that any of those top couples of yesteryear would be dancing that way today.It can easily be found on youtube going back to Latin's early days. Most today wouldn't be seen dead in the costumes they wore. One of the early World Championships the men wore Tails and the ladies were wearing what was then a comp dress, which made them look like a Bell Tent on legs. You would remember that with the layers of netting as an underskirt. This was how it was told to me by one of my fellow dancers who was their at that time.

Cyd,
I'm interested in what "way" of dancing you're writing about. What IS it in the dancing that makes a Latin dancer a "Laird" descendant, and what couple is a current example? Or what makes a dancer a "Hunt" descendant,and who is a current example of that style?
Thanks.

I was "there" at that time ( and before ! )

No one knows better than I about the directional change Latin has taken.

Consider this.. Rumba was Square, no Cha, and no Jive..The "music ?" for latin was very restricted, and E.Ros was king.Thats what I, and my peers, grew up with.

The style of the day and "dress" was appropriate for those times and music .

What has been almost lost, is the truer " character " of the dances . Today,Its more about an acrobatic and balletic "look ".

And, if one placed those competitors in todays market, with updated apparel, why do you think they would not be able to compete ?.. the soundness of their technique and the adaption to todays " style " would be well within their capability.

I,m sure they would be more than content with the changes in costuming !

Terence. Even after Latin really got going. Do you remember the phrase that the men went through with their costume. Some of them had more glitter on their clothing than the ladies. They looked as if they should be at the races on a horse instead of a dance floor. Then Sammy Stopford revolutionize things and left his mark by wearing solid black head to toes and no sparkle. The only glittery thing was the belt buckle. Everybody followed.

The trouble with that mode of thought, Terence, is that if you seek out video clips of Wally actually dancing, and worse still, the apalling pictures of him illustrating various holds and positions in the current edition of his technique, you just, well, laugh, don't you?

I mean, how COULD he, in that jumper? And as for her leopard-skin print leggings - well, words just fail me. I can't be alone. Just look at page 31 (Advanced Opening Out Movement), and tell me, honestly, that you can keep a straight face - I can't.

It rather colours the judgement?

Hmm - seems like you are too distracted by clothing to be responsive to my questions about the actual dancing.
Clothing styles aside - is there anything in the dancing that I would look for in a "Hunt Ddancer" versus a "Laird Dancer"?
Thanks.