Learn to Dance the Quickstep
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Music
The quickstep evolved in the 1920s from the foxtrot and Charleston, and contains elements of both. It's fun and lively, to be danced with brio. Hear the music of the era and learn to dance the quickstep like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
QuickStep like a pro
Put on some catchy quickstep music—‘It Don't Mean a Thing’, ‘Too Hot to Hold’, ‘Let's Face the Music and Dance’. Get to know the rhythm: slow, quick, quick, slow … slow, quick, quick, slow …
Posture and movement
Because of the speed of this dance, you'll be mostly up on your toes for the quick steps and should move like a cat on hot bricks. Longer, slow steps are taken on the heel. The upper body should remain smooth and unaffected, as the feet work quickly underneath.
Get started
Engage your partner in a classic ballroom hold (the lady slightly offset to the man's right). The man leads, the lady follows.
SLOW Take a good step forward with your right foot.
QUICK QUICK SLOW Now for a chassé (sidestep-slide-sidestep). Step forward and to the left with your left foot and close your right foot to meet your left; then step left again with your left foot.
SLOW Take a long step back and to the left with your right foot.
QUICK QUICK SLOW Step back and to the left with your left foot and close your right to meet your left; then take another step to the left with your left foot.
Change the angle
As you take any of the slow steps, try rotating your foot so that it lands at an angle to where it was originally pointing. You can then use this foot as a pivot to execute a simple turn. As you grow in confidence, you can also add ‘lock steps’ by crossing one foot behind or in front of the other, and ‘variations’ by throwing in some fast little hopping movements. Have fun!
Now, Let's Face the Music and Dance!
...From Golden Era Hollywood classic Follow the Fleet,4.99
