Slow (International) Foxtrot - Love it or Hate it.

[chachachacat]

When I started with Bronze American Foxtrot, I thought it was the most boring of the dances, and was actually insulted when someone said my foxtrot was my best dance.
But, with Continuity (Silver) and, especially with Slow Fox, I love floating around the floor with a good dancer with GOOD TIMING! For me, it's all about the music. Frank Sinatra, esp. Fly Me to the Moon, just makes me want to take big sweeping flowing steps. Also love Billy Eckstein's Lullaby of the Leaves. It's the slowness of the slows that's fun for me. There's a special flow to Slow Fox that I love. It's almost like ice dancing.
I also like American, with all the freedom to do lovely, balletic arm expression.

 

[dTas]

yup! American Style Foxtrot!

gotta love it! 8)

 

[tsb]

yup.

 

[Lockstep]

dont dance it myself, still above my ballroom level i suppose, but at least i dislike watching it...hope my opinion will change once i get to do it myself, but for now, sf's are the time when i'll go to the bathroom so i dont miss any of the 'good' stuff

 

[tacad]

There's a special flow to Slow Fox that I love. It's almost like ice dancing.

On foxtrot I'm always jumping around trying to be Fred Astaire (ok not quite jumping) and have had no real use for a slow foxtrot. But just last week I had this incredible slow foxtrot. It was amazing! We were so smooth and unified. It was like gliding! I had never experienced this before. Just amazing! And romantic. I never would have guessed.

 

[Chris Stratton]

A few keys to slow foxtrot:

First the rolling-foot walking action, both forwards and backwards. This occurs in bronze american foxtrot basics if you do them right (those taught to bounce need to find a real teacher) and can be practiced there.

Body flight: we say that the 3rd step (2nd quick) is "drifted". What this really means is that the body moves off into space ahead of the leg. The standing foot has to provide enough support that the body can't really fall, but will sort of float there for an instant, drawing out the step until the delayed moving leg finally swings into place and absorbs the arrival. The last step of a feather would only be as large as the distance you can drift your body - you can't reach the leg in advance because your partner is in the way.

Limited rise: I think the foot rise should actually be fairly limited - it's not waltz, and if you don't rise so high, it's easier to lower gradually and not rush the next slow. A foot will articulate more as the weight moves off of it, but that's different than in waltz where we rise in a foot we are standing on.

 

[tacad]

Body flight: we say that the 3rd step (2nd quick) is "drifted". What this really means is that the body moves off into space ahead of the leg. The standing foot has to provide enough support that the body can't really fall, but will sort of float there for an instant, drawing out the step until the delayed moving leg finally swings into place and absorbs the arrival. The last step of a feather would only be as large as the distance you can drift your body - you can't reach the leg in advance because your partner is in the way.

Is this what I would call a twinkle? (Rather body flight is the 3rd step of a twinkle?) It sounds like it may be. We do a twinkle into promenade (SQQ SQQ). I don't know what a feather is. We either have different terminology or I haven't learned it yet.

Limited rise: I think the foot rise should actually be fairly limited - it's not waltz, and if you don't rise so high, it's easier to lower gradually and not rush the next slow. A foot will articulate more as the weight moves off of it, but that's different than in waltz where we rise in a foot we are standing on.

I assume the foot rise is on the QQ? My teacher hasn't gone into as much detail with foxtrot as with other dances but I think he said one time that for SSQQ the SSis lowered whereas the QQ is not lowered (but no rise). I could be remembering wrong or misunderstood. I was really new at the time.

 

[DancePoet]

The feather is on the Bronze Level International style syllabus.

The twinkle is on the Bronze Level American style syllabus.

 

[Chris Stratton]

There real twinkle is a continuity figure and so probably doesn't show up until silver american. It's also a silver international figure, under the name "hover telemark to PP". It's a different sort of step than a feather, but can have a degree of the same momentarily unsupported flighting effect out on three, however the roles of the partners in promenade need to be considered - the man gets to lead out, the lady needs to stay back a little bit.

 

[DancePoet]

Does the silver American twinkle have a different name, too?

 

[Chris Stratton]

No, the silver version doesn't have a unique name, you could call it a continuity twinkle or something if you want to be precise.

Jonathan Atkinson once hit the nail on the head with:

In other words, people use the word "Twinkle" to define just about any step imaginable, much in the same way the Smurfs used the word... "Smurf!"

 

[chachachacat]

Yes, there is a Silver American Twinkle, and it used to be in Bronze 3!
Imagine that! AM had continuity footwork in Bronze.
Yes, that twinkle is where the magic can happen. I love to watch a top couple hover forever...

 

[rodger]

For me, the wonderful thrill of slow foxtrot is the ability to express yourself in the timing!
This is something that is very hard to teach and learn. It only comes after you're comfortable with the international figures, but it gives the dance a lot of contrast and excitment for both the performer and the viewer.
The best part is that you can nail your movements to parts of the music that feel right for you, delaying and then catching up to just the right beat.
No other dance allows this kind of individual expression that, when done appropriately, it still fully consistent with the spirit of the dance.

 

[chachachacat]

For me, the wonderful thrill of slow foxtrot is the ability to express yourself in the timing!
This is something that is very hard to teach and learn. It only comes after you're comfortable with the international figures, but it gives the dance a lot of contrast and excitment for both the performer and the viewer.
The best part is that you can nail your movements to parts of the music that feel right for you, delaying and then catching up to just the right beat.
No other dance allows this kind of individual expression that, when done appropriately, it still fully consistent with the spirit of the dance.

Welcome, Rodger! You expressed it beautifully. It's like Frank Sinatra's singing, playing with the timing. You can "borrow" beats.

 

[Laura]

Kitty wrote over on the "Social Ballroom Dancing" thread:

" ... the first person who taught me something useful about int. foxtrot told me: "the trick of foxtrot is that the girl doesn't do anything".

Kitty, what did your instructor mean by this?

Yeah, that's pretty much it...I've spent the past few months learning to do less in the Foxtrot. It's tempting, especially when dancing Slow Foxtrot with beginners, to "help" by throwing oneself into feathers, or in natural or reverse turns. The truth is that the less the follower does the better. My coach left me with the visual that I must think of melted chocolate flowing upward over my partner as we dance feathers and three steps. And heel turns...heck, there's no "turn" at all in them, I just close my feet and step forward. If I try to "turn" it messes things up. Foxtrot is a zen-like dance of sublime subtleties.