Just to be clear, I’m a fan of dance, not an expert on dance, so these routines that I’ve chosen may not be the best technically danced routines of the series, but they’re entertaining (at least to me) and hopefully, you’ll enjoy them! Today, it’s the technical, tricky, taxing, tasteful ballroom dances.

Foxtrot

I’ve been trying to keep it to the Top 3 dances over the four seasons, but I just couldn’t decide between two of these for 3rd place, so we have a tie.

3. (Tie) Ashle and Artem - Season 1
They just looked so elegant together.

3. (Tie) Jessica and Jaymz - Season 2
Overall, this couple didn’t do too much for me on the enjoyment scale, but this Foxtrot is elegant and lovely and was probably their best dance.

2. Chelsie and Mark - Season 4

1. Anya and Danny - Season 3
It took me a long time to become a Danny fan, but watching this dance again with his majestic leaps and glorious lines, makes me remember why I finally did. And Anya danced beautifully, too! (And it is a crime that she was eliminated this particular week.)

Quickstep

Quickstep has become known as the “dance of death” on this show, but there actually have been a few great routines.

3. Melissa and Artem - Season 1

2. Lacey and Kameron - Season 3
They just made it look easy.

1. Sabra and Pasha - Season 3
Difficult and entertaining choreography by Tony Meredith.

Smooth Waltz/Waltz

If I understand ballroom correctly, the difference between the Smooth Waltz and the Waltz is that the smooth dances are American style and the regular Waltz is the International style, so I’ve lumped them together into one category. However, I’m not sure if they’ve always used the correct technical names for the dances, so please someone, correct me if I’m wrong - I’m no expert, just a fan!

3. Jessi and Pasha - Season 3
I think she was a little into him.

2. Heidi and Travis - Season 2
The lines! The elegance! The lines!

1. Lacey and Pasha - Season 3
Yes, Pasha is in two out of three of these dances. I love me some Pasha! But seriously, this routine just looked effortless.

Tango

There haven’t been that many Tangos on the show. Maybe they need to do it more often? Neither one of these really made me jump out of my seat in excitement, but they danced them well. (For Argentine Tango, check the post on the Latin dances.)

2. Jessica and Will - Season 4

1. Lauren and Neil - Season 3

Viennese Waltz

I believe the difference between the Viennese and the Smooth is that the Viennese Waltz is faster than the Smooth Waltz. This style is my very favorite of the ballroom dances, and it was impossible for me to come up with only 3 favorites, so you get 4 instead.

4. Kherington and Twitch - Season 4
The atmosphere, the music, the emotion, so beautiful.

3. Anya and Danny - Season 3
That layback spin (or reverse attitude turn as Nigel called it) she does in this routine is breathtaking.

2. Lacey and Danny - Season 3
The whole dance was just ethereal.

1. Donyelle and Benji - Season 2
I struggled with which dance would be at the top of the list and whether Lacey would beat out her brother Benji, but I remember the week that they danced this, I watched it over and over and over again on the dvr. It was just so emotional and beautiful and the connection between them was tremendous. And I’ll never forget Donyelle calling it the “Vietnamese Waltz”.

Keep checking back, I’ve got three more posts planned in this series. Did I leave any of your favorite ballroom routines out? Tell me in the comments.

Other posts in this series:

Part 1 - The Latin Dances