Blues

Past and Present

Blues is an Afro-American dance, and is classified as a Latin and North American dance. It came into being in North America at the beginning of the 20th century and was known in Europe from 1920.

After the first World War, Blues tunes came to Europe, although Blues style is known from the beginning of the 20th century. Blues is a smooth dance, with tender movements and crawling steps borrowed from the Foxtrot. In 1923 the first Blues Ball took place in Great Britain.

In the twenties, Blues was tested as a ballroom dance but finally it was replaced by Slowfox. Around 1927 Yale Blues came into being as a Blues variant. There's a difference between Blues dance and Blues music: Blues music can even be played very fast, whereas Blues dance is suited for all 4/4 times, too slow for Quickstep.