Sequence Dance Association
The Reality of
Sequence Dancing
Modern Sequence Dancing is a very popular form of social dancing in the UK and abroad. It is based on the normal Ballroom and Latin dancing but everyone dances the same standardised 16 bar sequences at the same time making this an interesting and pleasurable activity, particularly amongst the retired people. It is great way to make new friends and to enjoy a healthy life.
This form of dancing became popular in the 1950’s and onwards, although it is mainly a UK form of dancing, it is also popular in Australia, New Zealand as well as Canada. There are also outposts in the places where the British go on holiday such as Spain, Cyprus and Malta. As with all ballroom and latin dancing, numbers are now in decline although it is probably the most popular form of traditional ballroom dancing in the UK and most clubs have attendances of around 40 dancers.
Many of the dances are quite old and traditional, although the interest is maintained by new dances or routines which are introduced regularly throughout the year. Since about 1985 the British Dance Council and the Professional Dance Organisations have sought to regulate the inventive dance competitions and they restrict them in number and to their professional members. They impose rules that no scripts can be reproduced except by three recognised publishers and that DVD or videos cannot be published for their copyright dances. This inhibits sequence dancing. However their control only extends to their approved competitions and their own members, and not to individual clubs or other parts of the world.
Sequence dancing usually takes place in Church Halls, Community Centre etc all around the UK. Many “clubs” are run by local committees, which engage leaders to run the proceedings. Others are run by the leaders themselves as a private venture. No qualifications are needed although most leaders are usually qualified dancers, however many amateurs will often lead and run clubs. Sequence Dance holidays are also organised through many hotels both in the UK and abroad. The Ballroom or Latin clubs may have some social sequence dances but don't usually have the up to date dances.
There is unfortunately no national organisation which represents sequence dancing or the dancers. Every club is independent and is able to adopt its own rules and policies. Since 1950 there have been a number of small organisations which were formed to promote modern sequence dancing in their own areas including the Manchester M.C's club (1953). These often arranged social events and some had their own inventive dance competitions. Sadly almost all of these have now faded away although there are still a few informal groups which co-operate with one another in their own area, but these are now very rare and with falling numbers of dancers, clubs tend to compete for trade.
There is no comprehensive list of sequence dance clubs around the country and no recognised magazine or journal. Because the professional promoters claim copyright, all the new dance scripts are only available in the UK through the three authorised script publishers and DVD's are not normally published. However keen dancers do like to keep up with the latest dances, and as a result the same dances are usually performed at virtually all the clubs around the country. You can therefore be sure of being able to join in a sequence dance almost anywhere in the country.
For further information, search for "sequence dancing" on any of the search engines and ask a club near you how to get started. There is also a book "Learning the essential Sequence Dances" (ISBN 0-9501927-7-5) and "A History of Sequence Dancing" (ISBN 0-9501927-4-0) by T A Whitworth.
2009