Re: FT's true timing - Q-S-Q

 

"Chris Stratton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...

> "michael champion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>
> > This may be true how it is interpreted today, but the technique book, which
> > is the standard by which this form of dancing is supposedly judged, simply
> > makes this argument and all insuing discussion B.S.
> >
> > It is clear what the technique book says:
> >
> > (1). Rise End of One, Up on Two, Lower  End of Three.
>
> Agreed.
>
> > Step three is on the fourth beat of the measure.
>
> Please quote the passage that spells this out in indisputable form.

 

 

Guy Howard   Technique of Ballroom Dancing (IDTA)

 

"In the Fox Trot and Quickstep, the normal rise and fall will be :  Rise e/o 1, UP on 2 and 3, Lower e/o 3, to denote a quicker type rise."

 

 

FEATHER STEP

 

 

Rhythm (1 bar)     S                     Q                 Q                  counted as 1234 in beats (A slow count = 2 beats, A quick count=1 beat)

Footwork               TH                  T                 TH

Rise and Fall       Rise e/o 1       Up on 2       Up on 3, LOWER  e/o 3

Beats                     12                    3                 4

 

 

That is 1 bar of music, 4 beats in 4/4 time, 3 steps in 4/4 time. THE FIGURE IS OVER AT THE END OF THE BAR! The next figure commences with a Slow, from a

DOWN position. (Not from a "lowering into" action, which would make the actual lowering well past the e/o 3 and beat 4 as denoted by the various technique books).

 

This, by the way, is exactly what Sinkinson and Gleave both say in their teaching tapes, but they do not dance it that way with a partner.

 

Most dancers today DO NOT have the quicker rise of Fox Trot, and are definitely not UP on 2. Their body projection is still angled slightly upwards as they take the second weight change, and rises even more going from the second to the third step before finally lowering (i.e., they "waltz" their Fox trot).

 

I have seen Fox Trot danced using the classic technique. When I first saw it I described it to someone as it looking like "toe tango". There was a projection from "foot to foot" with the body weight NOT being split between the feet. I much prefer the style and technique pioneered (apparently) by Gleave and used by most competitors today. However, until you have worked with someone like Albert Franz or Peter Eggleton it is hard to appreciate the very sharp differences in today's styles from the original form, and it is the original form that is in the technique books (Guy Howard, Alex Moore, etc.). Why aren't competitions judged based upon what is a very lucid requirement, or the technique book updated to reflect today's winning techniques?

 

By the way, at a Blackpool conference back in the 90's Eggleton took a young dancer he had just met and demonstrated this type of Fox Trot. He showed how the techniques used (leftwards forward poise, early rise, "foot" to "foot" movement) were very effective in leading a lady, particularly since this was an impromptu demonstration (she simply responded to his body actions). They got a five-minute standing ovation.

 

MLC

 

 

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