Quickstep

The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.

Being a "swing" dance, many quickstep figures are adapted from waltz or foxtrot. However, quickstep is the fastest ballroom dance in terms of beath per minute. It is characterized by steps made up of locks and chasses done on the forward part of the ball of the foot (usually referred to as the toes).

History:

In the 1920s when ragtime music was popular, new dances such as the Charleston, the Shimmy, and the Black Bottom emerged. Foxtrot was new too, having come onto the dance floor out of Harry Fox’s vaudeville routine. Most dancers found the fast foxtrot too fast for a night of dancing, so instructors began slowing it down. In England, the faster version was modified as the “Quickstep” and in America, it became the “Peabody,” named for a New York police lieutenant popular in dancing circles.

The new quickstep moved a little like waltz, added some flourishes of Charleston, and kept the runs, chasses, skips, and hops of Harry Fox’s “trot.”

With questions or to schedule your Private Dance Lessons to learn Quickstep please contact us:

Phone: (281) 741-3242

email: info@ballroomdancesugarland.com

Currently lessons are being taught at DanceSport Club 11758, Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77031