Sequence

Enjoyable | Inclusive | Easy to Learn

Fun to Learn and Quick to Master

Sequence dancing is fun socially inclusive style you can take anywhere. Join in with the friendly community of sequence dancers when you learn popular sequence from all around the world. The steps don’t change, so there’s no stress and no anxiety, just fun and enjoyment, no matter who you’re dancing with.

Sequence dancing is possibly the oldest form of organised dancing there is, with roots back to the 1500s, and probably much earlier. Nearly every culture has its own historical dance sequences and any dance that has a repeated pattern falls into this category. A Sequence dance is any dance that has a set sequence; with such a broad definition there are literally thousands of recognised sequence dances across many different styles and rhythms.

Because of the wide range of dances in this category, it is necessary to narrow the range somehow. Many forms of sequence dancing are faculties in their own right, Line Dancing for example is a form of sequence, so are Scottish Country Dancing, Highland Dancing, and many others. New Vogue is also a form of sequence dancing. From a Ballroom Dance perspective the styles of sequence dancing roughly align to the common Modern Ballroom and Latin American rhythms.

The modern world of Sequence Dancing is generally accepted to be separated into 3 main sections: Old Time, Modern, and Latin American.

Old Time is by far the largest section of Sequence dances by way of styles included. Old Time includes styles and rhythms such as: Old Time Waltz, Country Dance, Quadrille, Galop, Polka, Saunter, Gavotte, Two Step, Mazurka, Schottische, and Cakewalk. The Modern sequence dances refer to the Modern Ballroom faculty, and include rhythms such as Modern Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, and Quickstep. The Latin American sequence dances include sequences from both standardised and non-standardised rhythms including Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba, Jive, Paso Doble, Bossa Nova, Salsa, and Mambo.

The Modern Ballroom and Latin American sequences, as the names suggest, are dances with a set routine that are danced to the relevant rhythm within those styles. With a governing dance style defining how the dance should be approached there is a limit to creative licence that can be applied, but styling is easier in these dances as there is less emphasis on the lead and follow requirement. Dancers often find the Modern Ballroom and Latin American sequences a fantastic stepping-stone to learning the non-sequenced version of that dance style.

Depending on the rhythm and style, most sequences hold to either a 16 or 32 bar length, and are best danced to sequenced music. However, sequences of different lengths can still be danced, and some sequences will still dance adequately to non-sequenced music. Some sequences are recognised by international bodies such as the Imperial Society for Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) and have been standardised in publications to enable their inclusion in competitions and examinations. Despite this, there are many regional versions of the dances with the same name and in most social dance settings there are often many correct ways to dance them.

Regular competitions are held between dance teachers to decide which newly created sequence dances shall be 'officially' adopted and scripted for wider distribution. Most of these are tried for a short while and then disappear into the archives. Some, just a few, find great popularity and join the select group of dances which last for many years round the dance halls. Away from the strict Ballroom rhythms, there are many popular sequences suitable for the social dance scene, many with different interpretations or iterations of the official scripts. With so many to choose from, we cannot do them all; the sequence dances regularly seen at Long-Steps are: Alpha Waltz, Argentine Stroll, Balmoral Blues, Engagement Waltz, Festival Glide, Glenroy Foxtrot, Honky Tonk, and Mayfair Quickstep.

Learn from scratch, no prior experience needed. Learn with confidence in a fun and safe environment. Learn how you learn best, either in the classroom, or by private tuition. Everyone has to start somewhere, you don’t have to know how to dance, to learn how to dance Sequence.