Dancing For Beginners
Learn The Most Popular Ballroom Dances

Foxtrot

Foxtrot is a smooth, elegant, easy to learn dance, very popular at wide variety of social events, including wedding receptions. It's one of the most beautiful ballroom dances characterized by long, flowing movements.


Quick intro

Foxtrot is named after its originator, Harry Fox, who was a Vaudeville performer in New York in the 1910s. Because he was having a hard time finding female dancers capable of performing the difficult two-step, he added trotting steps to ragtime music. People soon referred to his dance as Fox's Trot.

Foxtrot includes basic elements found in most other dances, so when you learn it you acquire a good foundation to learn other popular dance forms. It is highly versatile and can be danced to a variety of musical styles and tempos. From slow and romantic to quick and jazzy. Popular vocalists for foxtrot include Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dinah Shore, and many, many more.



Basic steps

The basic elements of foxtrot are walking steps and side steps. The long walking movements also involve a rise & fall action, which is similar to waltz, although more subtle. The basic box step is also similar to waltz steps – the main difference being timing (foxtrot is 4/4, waltz is 3/4). If you already know how to waltz, then learning foxtrot will be just a matter of rhythm.

The basic rhythm is slow, slow, quick, quick. The slow steps use 2 beats of music and the quick steps use one. The slow steps are long and elegant, and the quick steps are short and energetic. As already mentioned, the music is played in 4/4 timing.

Foxtrot is danced in a normal closed position, which means facing your partner and holding them close.



Instructions & Diagrams:

Stand upright with your feet together. Face each other, lady puts her right hand in his left. His right hand is on her left shoulder blade, her left hand is on his right arm.

Basic Steps - Gentleman

Basic foxtrot steps for men

Basic forward

  1. Step forward with your left foot (slow step)
  2. Step forward with your right foot (slow step)
  3. Sidestep to the left with your left foot (quick step)
  4. Move your right foot to your left foot (quick step)

Basic backward

  1. Step backward with your left foot (slow step)
  2. Step backward with your right foot (slow step)
  3. Sidestep to the left with your left foot (quick step)
  4. Move your right foot to your left foot (quick step)


Basic Steps – Lady

Foxtrot steps for the lady

Basic forward

  1. Step backward with your right foot (slow step)
  2. Step backward with your left foot (slow step)
  3. Sidestep to the right with your right foot (quick step)
  4. Move your left foot to your right foot (quick step)

Basic backward

  1. Step forward with your right foot (slow step)
  2. Step forward with your left foot (slow step)
  3. Sidestep to the right with your right foot (quick step)
  4. Move your left foot to your right foot (quick step)


Video

In the following video Leon and Kim will show you the basic forward. You will also learn how to achieve smoothness in your movements:

more videos »

Now that you know basic forward, try doing basic backward. It's the same thing, only that you move... backwards (from the perspective of the leader). And then you can mix the two together.

Ok, so now that you've mastered the basic step, lets do something a bit different. In the next video (from Learn & Master Ballroom Dance) you will learn the Left Turning Box. Timing will change here to slow, quick, quick instead of the basic slow, slow, quick, quick.



Where to go next?

When you're ready for more, check out the recommended video lessons. With a good video training program, you can quickly rise to the next level.