We use the same principle and the same abbreviations (as for disco/boogie) to describe also the basis of the most requested ballroom dance

Basic step beginners

timing

partner

 

count

tempo

gentleman

lady

note

1

S

r f

l h

 

2

S

l side

r side

 

3

Q

r add (close)

l add (close)

 

3 ½

Q

l side

r side

 

4

S

r f

l h

 

5

S

l side

r side

 

6

Q

r add (close)

l add (close)

 

6 ½

Q

l side

r side

 

learnquickstepThe side- close-side movement is called a chassé.
We dance around the floor, on the outer edge.
The man looks to the outside.
The lady looks to the center.
And both of them look slightly to the left, so away from each other.
We dance at the direction counter clockwise.
The first pass is to the outside of the floor.
You can mention the steps' in your head like:
"Out - side- close -side, inside - side- close -side."
With these basic steps you can dance all around the floor.

Important: Stay on the timing, hear the music, keep the right rhythm.
Search in our list of quicksteps for your favorite song (not too fast) to practice.
If your rhythm and the steps are correctly and fluently o, we can change from the entry-level configuration to a more flamboyant version.


Dance posture

We use a relaxed, casual ballroom attitude.
He puts his right hand under the left arm of the woman on the shoulder blade. She puts her left hand on his right shoulder.
He presented at eye level (of the smallest partner) his left hand, palm open. The lady persevered in her right hand.

You are close to each other, basically against each other. The contact surface is from the navel, for the man right, for the lady left from the thigh to the navel. Try what you find comfortable. This contact surface allows the gentleman to steer the lady.
The upper bodies tend apart.
The lady looks to the left of the man, the man left of the lady.

The first pass the man puts between the feet of the lady. All his next steps forward, however (on count 1) he puts them next to the lady (to her right) in the dance. This makes you’re moving more around the floor.


Advanced basic step

The steps do not change. But the gentleman sill on steps 3 ½ and 4 swap his body slightly clockwise (looking at 1 hour), and at 6 ½ and 1 to the left (11h).
Of course the lady follows this movement.
This gives you a sort of zigzag pattern, and again, more speed and move around the floor.

 2 and 3, and 5 and 6 you will do in the same direction as before: men straight out, women in, or rather somewhat in the dance direction.

The steps forward and backward are slightly larger and deeper than the lateral.
The forward is over the heel.
The rapid lateral more on the ball of the foot.
As a result, you get an up and down waving movement: called ‘rise and fall’, or low and high.
Try not to skip and jump, just put your steps is enough.

Now you can smoothly move around the floor. But in order to bring in is some variation, we will take the bend in the corners in a different way.

Spin turn

timing

partner

 

count

tempo

Gent

Lady

note

1

S

r f

l h

 

2

S

l side

r side

 

3

Q

r add (close)

l r add (close

 

3 ½

Q

l h

r f

turning

4

S

r v

l h

balancing

5

S

l h

r f

 

6

S

r h

l f

 

7

S

l side

r side

 

8

Q

r add (close

l r add (close

 

8 ½

Q

l side

r side

 


The rotary movement is thus made ​​by balancing while rotating back and forth on left and right foot.
On count 3 he looks instead of at 1am so to 3h. Thus even know the lady what will follow. On the following two counts each time you turn around a quarter, so you will end again in the right dance direction, rotated 90 degrees relative to the initial direction.

And in the straights parts we do a short figure to alternate.

Lockstep

timing

partner

 

count

tempo

man

woman

note

6

Q

l side 9u!

r side

man in dance direction.

1

S

r f

l h

 

2

S

l f

r h

 

3

Q

r lock

l lock

crossing in

3 ½

Q

l f

r h

 

4

S

f

l h

(start basis)

5

S

l side

r side

 

6

Q

r add (close)

l add (close)

 

6 ½

Q

l side

r side

 



The figure starts with a basic step, in which the gentleman at the last count turn all the way in the line of dance direction (9 instead of 11 am), so that the lady feels that there will follow a lockstep. The following 4 steps also go in the same (dance) direction.
The connecting foot crosses in behind the ankle of the supporting leg, and then takes over the body weight so the other foot again is free to step further in the dance direction.


Additional variations.

Lockstep
You can instead of a lockstep take two lock steps in succession.
You can also lock step backwards instead of forwards (Man backwards in the dance direction, turn on count 4 of the basic step).
And you can combine both.

Turn
You can instead of making the turn in a corner do it on the straight side. You must then turn more than one quarter, but provided some practice this works well.
You can also let the turn precede and / or follow by a lockstep and / or variants thereof. Then it seems immediately a complete an different figure.



You do not learn to dance by reading (this).
You learn not to dance by looking at it,
You learn it just by doing it.


For those who know the dance the description is probably clearly. But otherwise?
I sometimes wonder if there really is someone trying to learn how to dance through written instructions. And if that fails or works... Are you one of those? Let me know something?