Dance forms change with the passage of time. It is an inevitable process. In the years up to 1500, examples of the popular dances are: Brawles, Farandoes and Basse; while in the period up to 1900, Pavane, Galiard, Volta, Minuet, Gavotte, Hornpipe, Waltz and Polka were danced. The 20th century heralded the modern Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Quickstep, Tango, Rock 'n' Roll and the various Latin dances such as the Rumba.

In the late 1920s British dance teachers felt the need to have some standardization of what they taught so that a dancer moving from one area of the country to another would find the same dances and figures being used. This led to the formation in 1929 of the so-called Official Board of Ballroom Dancing, later to be renamed the British Dance Council (B.D.C).

This body standardized at that time, six dances. These were Quickstep, Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Tango, Blues, and a new dance, the 6/8. The first four are still with us. As well as standardizing basic figures in the dances, the committee also established rules for dance competitions and defined amateur and professional status for such events. In 1950 the B.D.C. called a conference to consider all the world adopting the guidelines it had laid down. Duly, the International Council of Ballroom Dancing was established for this purpose. Today, in all International Dancesport Championships we see the following 10-dances in two categories :-

Latin American -  Cha-Cha-Cha / Samba / Rumba / Paso Doble / Jive

Standard  -  Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep