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Round Dance Tips by
Tim Eum—
Introduction to
Foxtrot
History:
In the summer of 1914, ragtime music was all the rage in America. A
vaudeville star named Harry Fox included dancing in his act which
featured fast moving, hoppy, “trotting” steps to the ragtime music. The
dancing became very popular and became known as the “Fox Trot”. Very
soon afterwards, professional ballroom teachers such as Vernon &
Irene Castle and G.K. Anderson & Josephine Bradley adopted the new
“Fox Trot” although they made it more graceful, slower, and smoother.
It was this ballroom version that we now generally call “Foxtrot”. Some
aspects of the original, fast, “trotting” style of dancing has still
survived in what we now dance and call “Quickstep”. As a side note,
Arthur Murray got his start in the dance business by printing the basic
steps of Foxtrot and selling them for 10 cents each through the mail.
General Characteristics:
The Foxtrot is a smooth, progressive (i.e., traveling) dance. There is
rise and fall but not as much as in Waltz – the emphasis is on moving,
not on going up and down. As you become more familiar with Foxtrot, the
figures you use have more passing steps in them rather than ending a
figure with feet together (which is done often in waltz and other
rhythms). The timing of many Foxtrot figures is generally SQQ, although
SSQQ, SQ&Q, and even SQQ-QQQQ are also common. The rich variety of
Foxtrot figures helps make it one of the most versatile of all the
rhythms – although this also makes it a little more difficult to
master. In any case, remember that the originator, Harry Fox, danced
with a care-free, entertaining, and joyous spirit --- and you can too.
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Begin most Foxtrot figures by relaxing the knee of the leg you have
your weight on (thus lowering) as you take the first step. Note how the
heel of the foot taking that first step contacts the floor first. Such
“heel leads” are common in Foxtrot. As you finish the first step you
roll onto the ball of the foot and begin rising – but not as much as in
waltz. You instead glide forward into the second and third steps of the
figure thus progressing and moving smoothly across the dance floor.
Terms:
- Close: Bring free foot together to weighted foot and change
weight.
- Touch: Bring free foot together to weighted foot but keep
free foot free (don’t change weight.)
- Lead (hand, foot): Man’s left and Lady’s right.
- Trail (hand, foot): Man’s right and Lady’s left.
- Closed Position (CP): Stand close, facing partner, slightly
offset so that right toes are pointed ahead between partner’s feet.
Join man’s left hand and lady’s right hand and hold “eye-high” extended
to the side but with arms still curved. Man’s right hand rests on
lady’s left shoulder blade with right elbow the same height and
distance from body as his left elbow. Lady’s left hand rests on man’s
upper right arm. Lady turns her head to look to her left and man holds
head erect looking over lady’s right shoulder.
- Semi-Closed Position (SCP): Similar to CP but lady turns to
her right (head, hips, knees, and toes) while maintaining the same CP
hand holds and upper body frame. The man turns toes and head slightly
to his left but leads the lady by turning his hips and upper body
slightly to his right.
- Banjo Position (BJO): Similar to CP but man turns hips and
knees slightly to his left while the lady turns her hips and knees
slightly to her left. The lady is still in front of the man’s right hip
(not side by side), and toes of both man and lady are pointed outside
of partner. Keep upper body frame the same (hands, arms, head) as CP.
- Sidecar Position (SCAR): Similar to CP but man turns head
and knees slightly to his right while the lady turns her head and knees
slightly to her right. The lady is still in front of the man’s left hip
(not side by side), and toes of both man and lady are pointed outside
of partner. Keep upper body frame the same (hands, arms, and especially
the head) as CP.
Figures:
On all figures below, the foot placement given is for the man. The
lady’s footwork is opposite unless otherwise stated (given within
parentheses).
- Box: Forward, - , Side, Close ; Back, - , Side, Close ;
- Left Turning Box: Forward turning ¼ Left Face (LF), - ,
Side, Close; Back turning ¼ LF, - , Side, Close ; Forward turning ¼ LF,
- , Side, Close ; Back turning ¼ LF, - , Side, Close ;
- Box Finish: Back with trail foot turning up to ¼ LF, - ,
Side with lead foot, Close;
- Feather Finish: Back with trail foot turning LF, - , Side
with lead foot turning LF to BJO, Forward crossing in front (Lady cross
in back) ending in BJO ; turns up to 1/2
- Forward & Run Two: Forward, - , Forward, Forward ;
- Three Step: Forward, - , Forward to CP, Forward ;
- Feather: Forward, - , Forward, Forward to BJO ;
- Hover: Forward L, - , Side R (rising), Side L to SCP ;
- Pickup: Cross trail foot thru, - , Side turning LF ¼,
Close; (Lady cross trail foot thru turning LF to Closed Position, Side,
Close ; )
- Manuever: Cross trail foot thru turning RF to Closed
Position, - , Side, Close ; (Lady cross trail foot thru, Side turning
RF ¼ , Close ; )
- Left Turns: Forward turning 3/8 LF, - , Side, Close; Back
turning 3/8 LF, - , Side, Close ;
- Right Turns: Back turning 3/8 RF, - , Side, Close; Forward
turning 3/8 LF, - , Side, Close ;
- Thru Chasse to SCP (or BJO) : Thru with trail foot to face
partner, then “syncopated” side/close, side ending in either SCP or BJO
;
- Forward Forward/Lock Forward: Forward, - , Forward/Lock,
Forward ; (If beginning in BJO, then Lady will be going Back, - ,
Back/Lock in front, Back ; )
- Turn Left & Chasse Right to BJO : Forward with lead
foot turning LF, - , Side/Close, Side turning LF to BJO ;
- Spin Turn: Back with lead foot pivoting RF in closed
position, - , Forward trail foot rising and continuing RF turn (total
turn about 5/8 RF from beginning alignment), Back with lead foot still
in closed position;
- Closed Impetus: Just like a Spin Turn except the Man closes
on his second step pivoting on his left heel but transferring weight to
his right toe and rising to finish the pivot (a Heel Turn) before
stepping back in CP to finish the figure.
- Open Impetus: Start like a Closed Impetus, but open up into
SCP at the end of the second step and then step forward in SCP to
finish the figure.
- Wing: From SCP both step Thru with trail foot, - , man
holds but turns upper body left face to lead (lady to go forward,
forward to SCAR position);
Two Foxtrots
There seems to be two different styles of Foxtrot within Round Dancing
which roughly seems to be Phase 3/4 Foxtrot versus Phase 4/5/6 Foxtrot.
The primary differences seem to be how much you use figures that have
"Side, Close" in them --- such as Box, Left Turning Box, Box Finish,
Thru & Face Close, 2 Left Turns, etc. and figures with "toe turns"
instead of "heel turns".
There are those who believe such figures, especially when done by low
level dancers "sloppily" lead to bad habits that are hard to break when
they move up to the "upper phase" Foxtrot which replaces Left Turning
Box with Diamond Turn, replaces Box Finish with Feather Finish, which
replaces 2 Left Turns with full Reverse Turn ---and which uses "heel
turns" in Telemarks, Impetus Turns, Reverse Turns, Natural Turns, and
Zig-Zag instead of toe turns in such things as Spin Turn, Twisty Vine
3, and Pivot 3.
I have seen comments from some teachers that wish they could skip lower
level Foxtrot and start teaching dancers Foxtrot from phase 4 and up. I
am not so pedantic. I think there is a place for lower level Foxtrot --
it is a valid "fun" level and a good bridge from Waltz to Foxtrot.
Note that upper level Foxtrot has "flight", where the dancers move
flowingly across the floor and that there is a little rise and fall
(though not as much as in waltz). That is why there are more "passing
steps" instead of "Side Closes" in upper level Foxtrot. Dancing a "Side
Close" tends to stop a couples momentum which is not "Foxtrot-like".
Be careful in regarding Foxtrot to be simply phase 3 Waltz figures done
with Slow Quick Quick timing It is okay to do this, but remember that
Foxtrot is different from Waltz -- the rise and fall is different, the
flight and travel is different -- all this changes how the figures look
and feel.
Tim
Eum has
prepared many Round Dance Tips for Calls 'n' Cues,
WASCA, for his weekly Rocket Rounds email reports, and for
other
publications. DRDC is
grateful for permission to collect and reprint. A Tim Eum archive.
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