slow dance

The tradition & historical record

A slow dance is a type of partner dance in which a couple dance slowly, swaying to the music. This is usually done to very slow-beat songs, namely sentimental ballads. Slow dancing can refer to any slow couple dance (such as certain ballroom dances), but is often associated with a particular, simple dance style performed by middle school, high school, and college students. ²

When two partners dance together, the male dancer typically holds his hands against the sides of the female dancer's hips, buttocks, or waist while the female dancer drapes her hands on the male dancer’s shoulders, upper back, or around their neck. The couple then sways back and forth with the music. Foot movement is minimal, but the pair may use their feet to turn on the spot slowly. Because the dance requires little physical concentration, participants often talk to each other while dancing. Some couples who have a close relationship may dance very closely together, in a "hug-and-sway" fashion. ²

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Slow dance”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ²

slow dance is type of partner dance in which a couple dance slowly, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ¹

The source record links this tradition to 2 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ¹