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Dance Tempo Table

Competition and social BPM ranges for all 66 dance styles — sortable, searchable, and filterable. The reference page ballroom dancers have been looking for.

Showing 66 of 66 dance styles

		Social BPM			Rhythm		Vibe
Argentine Tango	Varies	96–130	2/4 or 4/4	Argentine Tango	Walk-based, improvised	Intermediate–Advanced	PassionateSensual
Argentine Tango – Milonga	Varies	100–160	2/4	Argentine Tango	Faster, playful rhythmic phrasing	Intermediate–Advanced	EnergeticPlayful
Argentine Tango – Nuevo	Varies	80–130	2/4 or 4/4	Argentine Tango	Improvisational, elastic phrasing	Advanced	ModernImprovisational
Argentine Tango – Salon	Varies	96–120	2/4 or 4/4	Argentine Tango	Walk-based, smooth elegant phrasing	Intermediate–Advanced	RomanticPassionate
Arizona Two Step	Varies	150–180	4/4	Country & Western	Quick-Quick-Slow-Slow	Beginner	UpbeatEnergetic
Bachata (Traditional)	Varies	108–152	4/4	Social Latin	Side-tap (1-2-3-tap)	Beginner	SensualRomantic
Bachata Sensual	Varies	108–140	4/4	Social Latin	Bachata base with body isolations and waves	Intermediate	SensualRomantic
Balboa	Varies	160–340	4/4	Swing & Social	8-count in close position (down-hold)	Intermediate–Advanced	IntimateSophisticated
Blues (Partner Dance)	Varies	60–100	4/4	Folk & Social	Improvisational, pulse emphasis	Intermediate	IntimateSoulful
Bolero	88–96	84–100	4/4	American Rhythm	S-S-Q-Q	Intermediate	RomanticFlowing
Brazilian Zouk	Varies	90–120	4/4	Social Latin	Flowing slow timing, elastic phrasing	Intermediate–Advanced	RomanticFlowing
Carolina Shag	Varies	108–132	4/4	Swing & Social	6-count with triple steps	Intermediate	RelaxedSmooth
Cha Cha (American)	112–120	104–124	4/4	American Rhythm	2-3-4&1	Beginner–Intermediate	LivelyEnergetic
Cha Cha (International)	120–128	112–128	4/4	International Latin	2-3-4&1	Intermediate	LivelyEnergetic
Charleston (Partnered)	Varies	160–220	4/4	Swing & Social	8-count kick patterns	Intermediate	PlayfulEnergetic
Collegiate Shag	Varies	180–260	4/4	Swing & Social	6-count with hop-step	Intermediate–Advanced	EnergeticPlayful
Contra Dance	Varies	108–124	4/4 or 2/4	Folk & Social	Caller-led sequences in repeated phrases	Beginner	EnergeticPlayful
Country Cha Cha	Varies	100–120	4/4	Country & Western	2-3-4&1	Beginner–Intermediate	RelaxedPlayful
Country Swing	Varies	96–120	4/4	Country & Western	Triple rhythm	Beginner–Intermediate	High-energyFun
Country Two Step – Progressive	Varies	150–180	4/4	Country & Western	QQSS (lane travel focus)	Beginner	EnergeticUpbeat
Country Two Step – Shadow	Varies	150–180	4/4	Country & Western	QQSS with shadow holds/turns	Intermediate	EnergeticFlowing
Country Two Step – Traveling	Varies	150–180	4/4	Country & Western	QQSS (strong progressive travel)	Beginner–Intermediate	EnergeticJoyful
Country Two Step (UCWDC)	168–192	150–200	4/4	Country & Western	Quick-Quick-Slow-Slow	Beginner–Intermediate	EnergeticUpbeat
Country Waltz	84–96	78–102	3/4	Country & Western	1-2-3	Beginner	FlowingElegant
Cowboy Cha Cha	Varies	96–116	4/4	Country & Western	2-3-4&1 with traveling elements	Beginner	LivelyJoyful
Cumbia	Varies	80–104	4/4	Social Latin	Side-close-side	Beginner	JoyfulUpbeat
East Coast Swing (Double)	136–160	120–160	4/4	Swing & Social	1&2 3&4 (double time)	Intermediate	EnergeticPlayful
East Coast Swing (Single/Jitterbug)	152–192	132–192	4/4	Swing & Social	1-2 3-4 (single time)	Intermediate	EnergeticUpbeat
East Coast Swing (Triple)	136–144	120–152	4/4	American Rhythm	1&2 3&4 (triple step)	Beginner	EnergeticUpbeat
Foxtrot (American)	120–136	112–136	4/4	American Smooth	S-S-Q-Q	Beginner–Intermediate	SmoothFlowing
Foxtrot (International)	112–120	108–126	4/4	International Standard	S-S-Q-Q	Advanced	SmoothFlowing
Foxy	Varies	80–112	4/4	Folk & Social	Smooth traveling with rotational elements	Beginner	SmoothFlowing
Hustle	112–120	108–124	4/4	Swing & Social	1-2-3 (3-count)	Intermediate	EnergeticUpbeat
Jive	172–176	152–176	4/4	International Latin	1-a-2 3-a-4	Advanced	EnergeticUpbeat
Kizomba	Varies	84–100	4/4	Social Latin	Slow walk, 2-count	Intermediate	SensualRomantic
Lindy Hop	130–180	110–200	4/4	Swing & Social	8-count basic	Intermediate–Advanced	EnergeticPlayful
Mambo	184–196	160–200	4/4	American Rhythm	Q-Q-S	Advanced	EnergeticPlayful
Merengue	Varies	120–160	2/4	Social Latin	March step (1-2)	Beginner	EnergeticUpbeat
Modern Jive (Ceroc)	112–128	100–132	4/4	Folk & Social	Walk-walk	Beginner	FunUpbeat
Modern Western Square Dance	Varies	120–128	4/4	Folk & Social	Caller-based patterns to structured phrasing	Beginner	UpbeatEnergetic
Nightclub Two Step	Varies	60–84	4/4	Swing & Social	Slow-Quick-Quick	Beginner	RomanticFlowing
Paso Doble	110–124	108–124	2/4	International Latin	March phrasing	Advanced	DramaticPassionate
Peabody	236–244	220–240	4/4	American Smooth	S-Q-Q-S	Beginner	LivelyEnergetic
Polka	112–128	108–132	2/4	Folk & Social	1-2-3 (hop-step-close-step)	Beginner	LivelyUpbeat
Quickstep	200–208	176–208	4/4	International Standard	S-S-Q-Q variations	Advanced	LivelyEnergetic
Rumba (American)	120–128	104–128	4/4	American Rhythm	S-Q-Q	Beginner	RomanticSensual
Rumba (International)	100–108	96–112	4/4	International Latin	4-1-2-3	Advanced	SensualRomantic
Salsa (Cuban)	Varies	160–220	4/4	Social Latin	Quick-Quick-Slow (on 1, circular/casino)	Intermediate	EnergeticPlayful
Salsa (On1)	Varies	150–250	4/4	Social Latin	Quick-Quick-Slow (break on beat 1)	Intermediate	EnergeticFlashy
Salsa (On2)	Varies	150–220	4/4	Social Latin	Quick-Quick-Slow (break on beat 2)	Advanced	SmoothElegant
Samba	96–104	90–104	2/4	International Latin	1-a-2	Advanced	LivelyRhythmical
Schottische	Varies	100–128	4/4	Folk & Social	Step-step-hop patterns	Beginner	VintagePlayful
Social Country Line Dance	Varies	96–128	4/4	Line Dance	Choreographed patterns; beginner-friendly repetition	Beginner	EnergeticUpbeat
Social Party Line Dance	Varies	100–128	4/4	Line Dance	Short repeating choreographed patterns	Beginner	FunUpbeat
St. Louis Shag	Varies	120–160	4/4	Swing & Social	Fast triple rhythms, close position emphasis	Intermediate–Advanced	UpbeatEnergetic
Tango (American)	120–132	112–132	2/4 (4/4 feel)	American Smooth	S-S-Q-Q-S	Intermediate	DramaticPassionate
Tango (International)	120–132	112–132	2/4 (4/4 feel)	International Standard	S-S-Q-Q-S	Intermediate	PassionateDramatic
Texas Two Step	180–198	160–190	4/4	Country & Western	Quick-Quick-Slow-Slow	Beginner	SocialEnergetic
Traditional Square Dance	Varies	120–132	4/4	Folk & Social	Caller-led figures in 4/4 phrasing	Beginner	FestiveJoyful
Triple Two Step	76–84	72–96	4/4	Country & Western	Triple-triple-step	Intermediate	RelaxedFlowing
UCWDC Line Dance	Varies	96–128	4/4	Line Dance	Choreographed patterns to set phrasing	Intermediate–Advanced	EnergeticFestive
Viennese Waltz (American)	156–164	150–180	3/4	American Smooth	Continuous 1-2-3	Advanced	ElegantFlowing
Viennese Waltz (International)	174–180	150–180	3/4	International Standard	Continuous 1-2-3	Advanced	RomanticFlowing
Waltz (American)	84–96	78–96	3/4	American Smooth	1-2-3	Beginner–Intermediate	RomanticFlowing
Waltz (International)	84–90	78–96	3/4	International Standard	1-2-3	Intermediate	RomanticFlowing
West Coast Swing	108–120	80–120	4/4	Swing & Social	Walk-walk-triple	Intermediate	PlayfulEnergetic

All BPM values are in beats per minute. Official rulebooks (NDCA, WDSF, UCWDC) often publish competition tempos in measures per minute (mpm) — click "BPM legend" above for a full explanation of the difference.

Dance Tempo Table

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