Paso doble
Pasodoble means double step. It began as a fast Spanish military march, said to run at about 120 steps a minute, and its exact origin is disputed: one theory points to the French pas redoublé, another to sixteenth-century Spanish music and Romani dance. Bullfighting pasodobles, usually slower and more dramatic, became tied to the bullring after music entered corridas in the nineteenth century.
In ballroom dancing pasodoble is danced to 2/4 music, mostly in competition and almost always as a rehearsed routine. The leader plays the matador and the follower the cape, sometimes a flamenco dancer, with sharp, theatrical movement; it is one of two Latin dances that progress counter-clockwise. The ISTD's 1947 syllabus included Spanish Paso Doble. As a social dance it survives in Spain, France, Colombia and elsewhere.
Sources
- Paso doble — Wikipedia
- Latin American dance — Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
- Federación Española de Baile Deportivo (FEBD)
- List of DanceSport dances — Wikipedia
Organisations connected with this dance
- Federación Española de Baile Deportivo (FEBD)
- World DanceSport Federation (WDSF)
- Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), Latin American Dance
Listed as references; being listed is not an endorsement by or of the organisation.