Paso Doble Dance Classes

Paso Doble is the most Spanish of all the Latin style dances. It is hugely popular and carries with it an attitude classic of the Spanish bullfighters. It describes both a dance and a type of music. This is the music that would be heard as the bullfighters entered the ring in preparation for the fight. Often a tune will be named for a victorious bullfighter. The dance is an energetic rendition of the bullfight. It was actually developed in southern France, but was based on the Spanish bullfight. There are traditional folk versions of the dance as well as a standardized ballroom versions used for competitive dancing.

In the traditional version of Paso Doble, the lead dancer plays the part of the matador. The follower plays the part of the matador's cape or the shadow of the matador. The follower can also be the bull or a flamenco dancer. The music is a quick march in pronounced 2/4 time. It was danced at celebrations. The ballroom version has been spruced up and standardized for completion in the International Latin and Standard areas. It is a progressive dance like the Samba. The standard and Latin versions of the ballroom dance are very similar. They both take steps leading with the heel but the standard version has less hip movement.

Paso Doble is traditionally choreographed. Even fold versions are highly planned dances that allow for little improvisation. Due to this nature, in ballroom this dance is almost always a competition dance. It is also a highly musical dance. The music has pauses or breaks in it traditionally. Dancers and choreographers use these dramatic breaks as a part of the dance. These are so important to the dance that music without breaks is generally avoided. The drama of the dance is heightened by these breaks.

The ballroom version of Paso Doble is still reminiscent of the bullfight. The matador and his cape call the bull forward to the kill in the most dramatic fashion. It is a well loved dance and is frequently offered at dance schools and dance studios around the world for students. Official ballroom dance classes offer certification in the dance through medals testing in both standard and Latin styles of dance. These allow the student to become proficient in the dance and its elements. They slowly master the basic steps then move up to flourishes and highly choreographed dance.