Foxtrot Dance

"To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful."
- Agnes De Mille

This quote seems to be personified when you see someone dancing. Yes, it might not be technically correct and graceful but who cares, as long as you are getting to express yourself! Having mentioned about dance, ballroom dancing is a very popular style of dancing. An umbrella term, ballroom dancing is a genre which includes daces like Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Quickstep and so on as per the International Standard. In this article though, we will try and step the foxtrot way! Are you ready for doing a foxtrot dance gig?

Foxtrot Dance History
The exact origins of this dance are not clear, though it is said that the name was taken from its inventor Harry Fox. However, the dance was done first in 1914 and then it started developing rapidly around 1920's. It was eventually standardized by Arthur Murray and his version was close to positions of tango. Initially, the music played for this dance was ragtime. In the modern era, this dance is done with big band music akin to swing. The 1940's was the time when Foxtrot was one of the most popular dances ever. Over a period of time, its slow and fast versions developed, Slow Foxtrot dance and Quickstep versions. Read more on ballroom dance.

How to Foxtrot Dance
Dancing Foxtrot is not a very easy job. But if you can pick it up, nothing like it. Besides it is very similar to Waltz. To learn foxtrot, one needs to get an idea about what is the nature of these foxtrot dance steps. Typically, the nature of these steps is long when the counts are slow in tempo. On the contrary and logically enough, the steps are short when the tempo of the music is fast.The key is to maintain the 'trot' in the dance, as the name suggests by the way of these short steps as the tempo goes up. An interesting zig zag formation is formed when the dancers dance well and are in a fantastic flow. Here are some of the basic Foxtrot steps.

Basic Step
The basic step of foxtrot is as follows:

* The leader or the man steps forward with his left foot and then steps backward with his left foot. Both these are slow steps.
* A sidestep is taken then to the right with his right foot, this is a quick step. In another quick step the left foot is moved together with his right foot.
* Again, he will step forward, but this time with his right foot and then with his left foot, again these are slow steps.
* Finally, he will sidestep again with his right foot to the right and move his left foot with his right.

The follower's or the woman' steps include mirroring the leader's steps in foxtrot dance.

Weave
Weave comprises fast steps in a row, each one of them on toes, as it is the thumb rule while doing the quick steps. On the contrary, the slow steps are done on heels.

Feather Step
The man steps on the outside of the woman and simply put the action resembles feathering of the oar done in rowing.

Promenade
In Foxtrot dance, promenade is done by turning in a manner wherein the center of the floor is faced by the man's body and the woman faces the wall. The couple even then is directly in front of each other. The position is something like the alphabet V, where the direction in which the dancers are going is the open end of the 'V'. There are further, a few variations with regards to turn for the entry and exit. Read more on ballroom dance types.

Foxtrot dance is thus all about grace, technique and poise. Once you get that, you are all set to do a fantastic gig. Eventually, if you are really serious and enthusiastic about learning this dance, instead of asking someone or reading about it may be you can think of enrolling for Foxtrot dance lessons!

I wrap up my dancing words here! All the best for your stint with Foxtrot dance!