Foxtrot (and Samba) Anyone?

When
· September 11, 18 October 2, 9
· Friday
· 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Where
· Oracle Aerobics Room

Teacher
· Eric Koptke

What is Foxtrot?

The foxtrot is relatively simple and very versatile, giving beginners a great foundation to work with. It can be danced at slow, medium or fast tempos, making it easy to move gracefully across the floor for social dancers of all skill levels.

The dance was named after vaudeville performer Harry Fox, and it quickly pushed aside the other "trots" popular in the ragtime era. The American Smooth version danced in competitions is slower, and was made popular by Fred Astaire. The International Standard foxtrot, slower still, is sometimes called the "slow foxtrot" and was developed in England.

Foxtrot is danced to jazz or Big Band music, the same style of music that you would dance swing to. Speed is usually the deciding factor that makes a song better for Foxtrot (danced to 110-150 beats per minute) or for Swing (danced to 120-250 beats per minute), but you can usually dance a slow swing to any Foxtrot tune. In fact it is fun and not too difficult to go back and forth between Swing and Foxtrot in the same dance.

Many people mistakenly think that Foxtrot is a difficult dance to learn , but this is usually because they are thinking of more complicated styles of Foxtrot such as International Style and American Silver and Gold Styles, that are used mainly in performances and competitions. Basic social Foxtrot (sometimes referred to as American Bronze Style) is fun and simple to learn, an excellent dance for beginners.