Where our facts come from and how we check them

DanceManual is an independent, anonymous publication. There is no studio, school or brand behind it, and nobody here sells classes. You will not find named experts: we would rather show you the source than ask you to trust a name, so every load-bearing fact carries its citation in the same paragraph.

Articles on this site are written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources they cite, using the rules on this page.

• Rulebooks of dance governing bodies for competition tempos and syllabus facts: the WDSF, the NDCA, USA Dance and the UCWDC.
• Encyclopedic and institutional sources for history and culture: UNESCO, the Library of Congress, Britannica and Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a pointer to further sources, never the only one behind a claim.
• Peer-reviewed studies, identified by their PubMed record, for anything about health.
• The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities for the energy cost (MET values) of dance.
• Manufacturers' published specifications for shoes: heel heights and soles.

A short list of competing dance-instruction sites is never cited, even when a search engine surfaces them.

Every cited URL is opened before a page is published and must load. A few medical databases block automated checks; a PubMed citation passes when its PMID resolves to the study. Links are checked again whenever a page is reviewed.

1. 1Fact has a source
2. 2Link loads
3. 3Source is not a competitor
4. 4Cited in the same paragraph

Approximate figures carry a tilde (~). Where no source publishes a figure, we print none and say so, rather than estimate.

We never make absolute health claims: no page says dancing cures, prevents or fixes anything. Each health statement names its study or institution in the same paragraph, with what kind of study it was, how many people took part and who they were. When a study found an association, we say association, not cause.

A dance style's roots are stated only after two independent sources agree. Where sources disagree, the page says so instead of picking a side.

Tempo bands on this site come from published figures only. Rulebooks state tempo in measures (bars) per minute, MPM; we convert to beats per minute with the rulebook's own beats per bar, and label every rulebook figure as a competition target, because social music varies more widely. Where no rulebook or reference publishes a range, as for Lindy Hop or kizomba, the chart says "not yet measured" and prints no number.

Example. The waltz is set at 28–30 MPM in the WDSF rules. At three beats per bar that is 84–90 BPM, and that is the band drawn on the tempo chart.

Tempo analyzers disagree by a few beats and live bands drift through a song, so we print bands, not single numbers. If we measure recordings ourselves in future, the page will name the tracks, the tool, the counting convention and the rounding next to the result.

Report an error to [email protected]. We review every report within 7 days. A substantive fix adds a dated "Correction" note at the foot of the article and updates its "Last reviewed" date. Cosmetic edits, such as typos, do neither.

• Text cannot replace a teacher or a video for footwork and partner connection.
• Tempo ranges vary by event, DJ and the year of a federation's rulebook.
• Most research on dance and health is small or observational.
• Prices, store policies and dress codes change; pages say when such facts were checked.
• The site is written for readers in the United States.