Dancing the Foxtrot

Dancing the foxtrot has been one of the favorite pastimes of ballroom dancers from amateurs to competitive professionals for decades. The foxtrot has gone all the way from the vaudeville stage to prime time TV on shows like Dancing with the Stars.

Foxtrot has some basic characteristics common to many competitive ballroom dance forms:

When dancing the foxtrot, the lead controls the direction of movement and signals any special dance moves to the follow through body movement with hand pressure. This doesn't mean the follow is simply passive – remaining alert and adding in embellishments and ornaments to whatever forms are indicated by the lead is a very challenging skill.

Most of the foxtrot is danced in "closed" frame, with the lead's left hand holding the follow's right, and the lead's right hand wrapped around the follow's back and resting on the scapula. The follow's left hand should rest on the lead's arm just above the bicep muscle. The word "rest" does not imply weight being given to the arm – both partners should support themselves. This way the foxtrot dance becomes a dance done by two people moving as one, not one person dragging around another.

The footwork for the foxtrot is a bit tricky – in fact, people who are learning the "basic" step will look at experienced dancers and wonder if they are actually dancing the same dance. That's simply because the way to learn the rhythm of the dance is to learn the mantra "slow – slow – quick – quick" and repeat it, over and over, until it becomes internalized. The steps break down as follows (starting with the dancers in closed position as described above):

1. Slow – the lead steps forward with the left foot, and the follow steps back with their right. Both dancers shift their weight fully to the foot that moved.
2. Slow – the lead steps forward past the left and forward with the right, the follow doing the same with the left foot. Again, their weight shifts to that foot.
3. Quick – using the left foot, leading with the toe, the lead takes a very short step to the left. The follow mirrors this step with their right.
4. Quick – Both dancers finish the basic step by "closing" their feet, the lead bringing the right and the follow their left to parallel position. Once again weight shifts so that they are ready to begin from the first "slow" step.

Once the basic has been completed, it is repeated, and just like that, you are dancing the foxtrot.

Once the basic steps and rhythm have been internalized, there are other embellishments such as posture, line of dance, and rise-and-fall that can be added to make it more beautiful. Usually the input of a good dance coach is best for that, because it's very hard to learn that kind of fine-tuning from a book, dance instruction DVD, or website.

Eventually the rhythm sinks into the dancer's subconscious and they can start doing variations on the basic step, including:

Dancing the foxtrot progressive step means the lead needs to cover ground quickly. It is very similar to the basic step, but angled in a way so that every step makes the dancers cover ground in one direction (instead of moving vertically for the two slow steps and then laterally for the quick-quick).

Used when the dancers need to change direction quickly, the rock step varies the basic in one core way – instead of the second "slow" step moving forward for the lead, instead the body weight is simply shifted back onto the right foot. In the quick steps that follow, the dancers change their body alignment approximately 45 degrees from the start. Especially useful in crowded dance floors, the rock-step can be repeated several times in a row.

One of the easiest and most fun variations in the foxtrot is the promenade, where the dancers face each other and move their feet sideways (still in the same rhythm) with a sort of grapevine step in order to move in the same direction. One of the fun aspects of this particular move is that they can do it in a closed or open frame.

Many more complex dance moves can be integrated into the foxtrot, making it one of the most beautiful and intricate ballroom dances.

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