Standard Vs. Smooth Ballroom Dance

When someone mentions ballroom dancing, they typically mean international standard ballroom dancing. However, in the United States, American smooth ballroom dance offers a popular alternative to the better known standard. While these two styles of ballroom dance are very similar, there are notable differences that influence competition categories, performance and style.

  1. Positioning

    • In international standard, ballroom dancers follow very stringent positioning requirements. Standard dancers must remain in closed hold. In contrast, American smooth dancers can break that hold and face away from each other, which allows the woman to move independently of her partner. As a result, American smooth female dancers enjoy greater autonomy to decide dance steps than international standard dancers.

    Costume

    • The positioning differences that distinguish standard from smooth have an impact on the styling of the dancers. In both smooth and standard, men wear formal dress attire, including tuxedos with tails, and women wear formal gowns with ornamental arms and backs. However, the gowns worn by smooth dancers tend to be more embellished in front. Breaking the closed hold allows the audience and judges to see the front of the smooth female dancer, which justifies the different costume styling.

    Dances

    • Both international standard and American smooth require dancers to display mastery of the waltz, the foxtrot, the Viennese waltz and the tango. In addition, dancers participating in an international standard competition must dance the quickstep. Some American smooth instructors teach the quickstep but the dance is not required in formal competition.

    Tempo

    • While the standard and smooth styles share four dances, the tempos of the dances differ. The American smooth foxtrot and Viennese waltz are danced faster than the international standard versions. On the other hand, the American smooth waltz and tango are danced to a slower tempo than their standard counterparts. The different speeds of these songs lend a distinctive stylistic identity to the dances.