Dresses for Ballroom Dancing Getting dressed for an evening on the ballroom dance floor is much different than getting ready for a night out at the club. With ballroom dancing becoming a popular American pastime, the attire is also constantly growing and changing. We've seen several styles of ballroom dancing dresses on television, thanks to the media's recent interest in covering this elite activity. The modern ballroom dances vary in tempo (beats per minute) and rhythm (structure); however, they all involve a couple dancing in a closed hold. A closed hold involves 5 bodily points of contact between the couple. Three of these points involve the hands, his left hand holding her right, her left hand on top of his right upper arm (for the Tango her hand would go behind his arm) and his right hand on her back resting on her left shoulder blade. The most important things for teaching these students to dance are a visual count, high quality sound systems and use of sign language. Hundreds of viewers watched fascinated as Heather Mills competed for several weeks on Dancing with the Stars with one prosthetic leg. Not only was it difficult to tell which leg it was most of the time but she performed some high difficulty moves that the other dancers didn't even attempt! Where to Learn Ballroom Dancing After seeing ballroom dancing on television, you decide it's time for you to get up and strap on those dancing shoes. Or, maybe you are looking to get into shape but don't exactly want to pay for a gym membership that may never be used. No matter what your reason, deciding to learn ballroom dancing is an excellent decision. Some distinctive steps of the Paso Doble are the chassez cape (where the man uses the woman as the cape), the Apel, where the man stamps his foot as if to attract the attention of the bull (a very strong move) and the Arpel which is a movement that starts with stamping of the feet then the couples walk in opposite directions. The maximum height for ladies' shoes is three inch heels, whereas men's shoes are around one and a half inches. Like choosing a dress, shoes for ballroom dancing should not be based on appearance alone. Again, you will have to jump, twirl, and kick in these shoes, so you need them to be comfortable and supportive of your feet.