Amer. style Bronze ( W-- F.T.-- Tango and VW. ) have many similarities in content, and many that are identical.

W. uses Nat and rev turns, -- closed changes and even a spin turn .

In some cases, the names are changed . left and right are mostly used for direction.

In FT ," think " 1/4 turns as a basic concept and from that, develop prom. figures and nat. and rev. turns .The speed of the music can also vary greatly .

Primarily, the beginners level ( prel. br. ) is kept quite simple. The objective is to get people up dancing as soon as poss. techn. is kept to a minimum in class work, but can be as complex as Intern. style as one goes on .

Tango, is unlike anything that we teach here ( altho, I use the american system in my classes ).It is much closer to the original form, than the far more rigid approach we use .

I did a lecture and brief class at a national congress here 2 yrs ago, on the Amer. style Silver W and FT..( 4 basic variations in each )

it was met with very good response-- in fact its now being taught in several areas of the country .

As to your ref. on techn. books, there was a manual put out by the old US ballroom council which had the 13 dances in BR- Silv and Gold written in techn. form .

there are now several different ones available .

Terence. That doesn't tell us who put the bounce in this American Foxtrot.Is it in any manuals. Did someone carry this on from a Bounce Fallaway and got their facts muddled.

Serendipidy, I don't think anyone put "bounce" in American Fox Trot on purpose, per se. I asked the original question because my "bounce" tends to be just a bad habit that kind of hurts the look of the dance.
Terence always makes great points about not fretting over the little stuff with beginners and a little bounce in the step is probably common, depending on what kind of music is being played. Irving Berling -- smooth and elegant; Sinatra or Darin -- a little swagger and bounce. At least that's the way I see it play out most of the time. I think the tendency to bounce a little bit is similar to another odd habit that really looks bad -- when the male, most often a beginner, tends to raise clasped hands up and down with each step, sometimes called the "pump handle" problem.
We're doing a Fox Trot routine to "New York, New York" in the next show we are dancing in, and the instructor/choreographer keeps reminding me to watch the bouncing... so he doesn't want it, even to a "bouncy" tune like "New York, New York."

It was intended to be a Niteclub dance.

Funny, whenever the ballroom world gets hold of a dance ( and I,m a BIG part of that world ), they seem to ALWAYS want it to conform to a set look !.
Dance is NOT about competition-- it was always supposed to be social,-- but-- human beings, being what they are, have to turn everything in life into a contest .

I have taught literally thousands of people to dance over the last 60 yrs-- wanna guess how many wanted to compete ?.

The reason the American system became so popular ?-- it thrived on teaching " fun " .

And yes, I went the comp route in the UK ( and numerous times in Pro/am )but I never lost sight of dances original purpose-- wanna bounce ?-- have at it !!

Terence2, I couldn't agree more about the fun part of dancing. But wouldn't you agree that someone putting together a show routine would want everyone looking similar, so you'd point out a "bouncer" and try to correct him/her?
Is there a difference, in your mind, between competitive dancing and dancing in a show?
There is no doubt, however, that social dancing and the fun it brings is what really makes it worth the time it takes to learn the vast field of technique that ballroom offers.

Put in context--- yes .

but i thought your reference was towards social dancing in general .

Again, it much depends on the individual. If they are enjoying what they do, I NEVER demand that they must conform to the stricter code of medal test style.
Ive been teaching a group of 5 couples for the past yr. The reason they keep coming back ?-- I seldom teach strict techn.

Social dance was supposed to be a way of learning enough to go out and have a good time, and that always my goal .