DAYTON’S MOST EXCITING BALLROOM DANCE EXPERIENCE

Learn to Swing

Enjoy the lively rhythm of Swing at your Arthur Murray Dayton Dance Studio. The Lindy picked up where the Charleston left off. It had "swing-outs," "break-aways" and "shine steps." With the birth of Swing music in the mid 1930s, the Lindy climbed the social ladder. The dance craze swept the nation, and depending on where you lived, it was known as the Jitterbug, the Lindy or the Swing.

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Learn to Mambo

In the 1940s, Americans became fascinated by Latin American rhythms. The Mambo combined American Jazz with Afro-Cuban beat. For dancers, the Mambo was an exciting challenge. Arthur Murray Studios became famous for turning out the best Mambo dancers of the era.

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Learn to Cha Cha

Probably the most popular Latin dance in the US, the Cha Cha began as part of the Mambo. It was so easy and so much fun, it became the rage of the early 1950s. Its infectious one-two, one-two-three rhythm demands that sitters become dancers.

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Learn to Salsa

Salsa is the Spanish word for "sauce," denoting a spicy or hot flavor. As a dance, it can be danced to a variety of rhythms. There is the "L.A." or "On-1 Style" breaking on the 1 beat. And the "New York" or "On-2 Style" which breaks on the 2 and 6 beats of the music. Generally, salsa music encompasses many Afro-Latin rhythms driven by the clave (two wooden sticks struck together). Many of the Salsa patterns are closely related to those of the Mambo.

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Learn to Rumba

The Rumba began the Cuban and Latin American dance crazes. Danced to music inspired by African rhythms and Spanish melodies, the Americanized Rumba was the basis for the Mambo and Cha Cha in the U.S.

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Learn to Merengue

The exciting rhythms of the Merengue inspire dancers all over the world to move to the intoxicating beat. There are two schools of thought as to how this captivating dance began. One says it started as a peasant dance in the Dominican Republic by African slaves. The dragging of one leg relieved chafing of leg irons. Another says a returning war hero, a General Maringie, danced, dragging an injured leg. However it began, the Merengue is an exciting Latin dance that is fun.

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Learn to Samba

The national dance of Brazil, often called "The South American Waltz," became the rage of Brazilian society in the 1930s but began as an exhibition dance in Paris in 1905.

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Learn to Tango

The Argentine Tango began in the West Indies and found its way to Argentina where it was stylized by the Gauchos to its present form. Today it is considered the "Dancer's Dance" and is a favorite of all who learn it.

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