Hey,
I have been dancing for fun ever since I could walk. I am now becoming more serious and studying. I am confused between the difference of International vs. American style. Such as the waltz They look pretty similar to me and I am not understanding the differences...Can anyone help me out here??

There are similarities and large differences really in terms of technical expertise and hold.

There are many on this site who could school you more thoroughly than I, but since you are a beginner I can't imagine you're looking for more than a basic answer, so here goes.

In American Style everything can be danced in and out of hold. The footwork isn't as strict and so you get more variations and patterns. In dances like the Tango they are more different than alike.

You really basically only see American Style in America.

In addition not even all the dances are the same. You only see Paso Doble in Latin (International) or Quickstep in Standard (International), but you don't really see it danced as part of the American syllabus.

This site explores the dances. You should look at the links. It's very helpful, and by the way you probably don't need to worry about International if you are American. Very few people teach the International Style of Dance in this country.

Sorry Belle, but you are wrong in several instances...

P.D. IS in the Amer. syl. ( at Gold level, has been for 60 yrs )... as to footwork and technique in general, it is as demanding as the Intern. style if taught correctly ( I,m a former examiner in all styles with an amer. soc. ) because many teachers ignore the basic principles, that does not mean that is does not exist.

As to variety, yes, the Intern style at Medal test levels are more confined to core movements.. beyond that, the Amer. style is not even close ( at last count, in QS alone , there were over 90 variations.... NOT including Br, Silv and Gold syl.)

"P.D. IS in the Amer. syl."

Essentially, paso doble along with other dances such as Peabody can be considered to be available as part of an expanded american style family where it's useful to have them. Practically speaking, that means socially in the studios and as an optional offering at pro/am competitions.

It is not ordinarily competed as part of the official american style program in the professional or amateur division.

Why does the American Style exists at all? Were American competitive dancers doing badly, competing internationally on equal terms with the whole of the rest of the world?

He he. No. You should be grateful for American style, for if there were no American style, there might not be an Int'l style either. Most of the Int'l dances are derivatives of dances popularized and developed first in the U.S.A. (many of which were, in turn, born somewhere else). Quickstep is the only dance invented by the English.

The competitive versions of American and Int'l style developed more or less concurrently, but in very different ways. The English ultimately did a better job exporting their version to countries around the world, due in part to their geographical advantage.

I actually think in terms of marketability, American style has a clear advantage. To the average non-dancer, smooth is more interesting to watch. And as a form of social dancing, both smooth and rhythm are much more accessible to beginners. However, Americans have historically not been very eager to market this style to the rest of the world. This is starting to change now, but since the English style has long ago become the de facto standard, time will only tell whether American style will ever really catch on worldwide. If it does, it probably won't be called American style anymore.

Thanks Terence,

There are many experts on this site. You offer great information and advice

Actually shocked about the Paso. Thought it was International. I actually even know better, I learned it when I was working on American Style long before I began working on International. Oh well, can't sound smart every day of the week.

Thank you!!

I again agree with Terence on this topic. The original poster is a beginner, but will know a lot more now.
Also, I think Americans see more International style than they think. Much of what is on Dancing with Stars, and most certainly on the PBS stations showing the ballroom championships, there is a great amount of International on display in the show routines. On a dance DVD, can't remember which one, the instructor tried to explain it as simply as possible in one sentence by saying International style tends to be slower in almost all instances. When I heard that, I wasn't positive that it was entirely accurate, but I think in general, it is a simple way to state it. The other thing I would say, over time, is that some dance studios have muddled the lines between the two by introducing moves and steps from both styles in certain dances, and never telling the student which is which. And the student, for the most part, doesn't mind.

I agree with all of the above postings. Someone once put it to me this way - whereas American style is based on authentic latin street dancing (and U.S. nightclub swing) , International was created in the studios.
One well-known former U.S. standard and smooth champion (who shall remain nameless, but lets, say he's Aussie) told me a story about how, in the 1950's the Brit's sent a bunch of guys to the Caribbean to study firsthand the dances that had exploded into such popularity in the U.S. Trouble was, most of them were raging party alcoholics, and when they tried in the morning to remember what they had seen, the memory was, of course, a little foggy. They went back to England and wrote it down as best as they could, and so International Latin style was born! Don't know if its true, but he swears he knew a couple of those original guys. Sure makes a fun yarn to spin though!

You,re way off the mark on this...

Intern,style Latin was developed by a Frenchman ( Pierre ) who had travelled extensively in S.Amer... he, along with his partner, Doris Lavelle, were 2 of the pioneers of the style.

What they had taught in the late 40s,is far removed from what we see today ( Rumba was Sq and there was no Cha ).

There are several others who made lasting impacts on the style , notably Wally Laird . BUt... the biggest change of all ? ,,, the music.

Going farther back, Rumba was being exhibited in a " show " style,as early as the late 20s .



This is in response to the " Amer. style " comments...

The amer. social system , is without question , the best thing in the market place .
It was developed ( at the lower levels ) to create expediency and it succeded like nothing before or since. Yes, it was devoid of good techn. at one time, but the aver. public ( as many still are ) are not interested in detail .

The sysytem was " anglicised " by one Archie Dixon,a Scot, who was brought over to the States and Canada by Mr Murray , to develop and incorporate the then called " English Style ( very early 50s )and put in place the new Medal system.

The current advanced levels ( gold etc ) are strongly influenced by the Intern. standard using many of the variations .

The Latin , much to its credit, kept Bolero as its form of Rumba .

I actually trained in the Amer. style in the toronto school, which at that time was staffed by 90% ex pats.... They NEVER got beat in comps.. On the staff was,, the former Canadian champ...S.of Eng. Amat. champ. ..Austrian Champ.. Irish champ. and the list goes on..