Latin & Ballroom Dancing

We coined the phrase "Your Planet Ballroom Dance Journey" because this chart guides you along the path that you'll take as you venture into the exciting world of Latin & Ballroom dancing the Planet Ballroom way!

Ballroom Basics - We begin our teaching method with our Ballroom Basics curriculum where dancers learn the basics of Latin & Ballroom dance without getting too heavy into technical elements. A dancer proficient in our Ballroom Basics curriculum will be extremely comfortable in any social setting or in any entry level competition heat.

Advanced Dance Program - Once a dancer has properly completed our Ballroom Basics Program, they graduate into our Advanced Program where they will be exposed to more technical aspects of Latin & Ballroom dance. It is HIGHLY advised NOT to skip ahead! Our method has been developed after years of teaching experience. Be patient and work through the material at your pace. Remember, the "Journey" is as much fun as the destination!

American vs International Style - Generally speaking, American style is suited for social dancing while International style is geared for the competition floor. Today, as dances develop and evolve, there is much crossover between the two styles. American style is highly competitive and International style can, at times, be a danced in social settings; although we would recommend against dancing Quickstep at a wedding!

Our Restructuring Effort - Our unique innovation is perhaps ahead of its time. The mainstream dance world uses two separate and incompatible dance syllabi; one for American style and one for International style. To make it more confusing for EVERYONE, both syllabi use the same level terms: Bronze, Silver and Gold. For example, let‘s say there‘s a Swing step in American style in Bronze level. Often, that same exact figure finds itself in Gold level International Jive. It’s confusing and doesn’t make sense. American style Ballroom tends to drag on forever before you get to the good stuff, the continuity movement steps. On the other hand, International style takes a rookie dancer and tries to get them to dance a Three & Feather on the first lesson. It‘s a mess, but we "stepped" in to fix it!

Our Unified Standard - Our unique and innovative dance method standardizes both American style and International style into one comprehensive Latin & Ballroom dance curriculum! When it's time to learn that Three & Feather, it's introduced across the board in all dances that require the knowledge. Concepts are presented at the proper time and when they are best learned from a dancer perspective. 

Wait! Where's the Rumba Box? - We eliminated the American style Rumba box step because Rumba isn't danced with a box step. It's a Latin dance, similar to Cha Cha and Mambo. The box step was added to Rumba eighty years ago as a sales gimmick to promote ease of learning. The idea at the time was that you could learn one easy step that could be used to various rhythms (Foxtrot, Waltz, Rumba, and Samba). We believe Rumba should be danced with the forward and back action it was intended to have. We do, however, add the Rumba box into our Bronze 3 curriculum and mix it with the forward and back action. American Rumba does rotate more than its International counterpart, but not enough to warrant a box step basic. New dancers learn Rumba light years faster when they can relate it to Cha Cha and Mambo. The three dances are a set to be learn simultaneously. Rumba for slow Latin, Cha Cha for medium tempo Latin, and Mambo for the fast stuff.

Summary - We introduced a non-style Ballroom Basic curriculum for teaching new dancers the essentials of Latin & Ballroom dance. Then, we standardized American style and International style into one comprehensive and uniform curriculum, while preserving each style‘s technical differences. We are proud to present to you the world's only FREE Latin & Ballroom dance syllabus and teaching system, and the only system world-wide that presents the material in the proper format. Enjoy!