The Quickstep: a brief history and the basic steps

Imagine a ballroom dance; do you see? Elegantly dressed ladies accompanied by tuxedoed gentlemen twirling around a beautiful and exquisite ballroom. Ballroom dancing began in England at the end of the 18th century. Initially owned exclusively by the upper classes, but quickly adopted by the lower classes a bit later.

The Quickstep is a popular dance in many ballroom dance competitions and began in the 1920s in England. The dance evolved from the Foxtrot, the Charleston, and a couple of other dances, and has undergone many changes over the years. Although some dancers still perform the dance slowly, today the dance is faster than it was in the beginning. In fact, it is danced to the fastest beat of ballroom dances. Another change from the beginning of the dance is the use of more syncopation in the steps. Three characteristic dance figures of Quickstep are the chases, where the feet are joined, the lockstep and the quarter turns. What is distinctive about the Quickstep is an up and down, up and down rocking motion performed at a rapid pace.

First Basic Step. The lead dancer steps right foot forward – slow, then steps to the left side – fast (feet should now be parallel), right foot joins left – fast, finally steps to the side with left foot again – slow. He continues, stepping back with his right foot and stepping to the left side (feet parallel again), brings his right foot together with his left, then steps out again with his left foot. To allow progress around the dance floor, the lead dancer would lead the step, adding more variety with spins and runs.

Looking at the Quickstep, it may appear similar to the common spinning figures in a waltz. Listen to the music, however, and you’ll be able to recognize that it’s not the waltz, but Quickstep played in 4/4 time instead of the 3/4 time waltz. Another indication that you are looking at Quickstep is the fast, jazzy rhythm of the songs compared to the slow waltz song.

Today, most ballroom dance lessons not only include quickstep, but also tango, fox trot, samba, rumba, jive, cha cha cha, and paso doble. The tango is in 4/4 time signature and uses a medium-tempo type of orchestral music. The foxtrot is also in 4/4 time signature and its basic rhythm is slow fast fast, played to medium or slow jazz music. Samba has an exhilarating Latin rhythm with 2/4 time and has approximately 100 beats per minute, while cha cha cha usually has a Latin rhythm but, unlike samba, has a medium tempo with 128 beats per minute. . On the hand, or should I say foot, the rumba is a slow Latin ballad and its tempo is 104 beats per minute in 4/4 time. The jive is fast moving swing type music with 176 beats per minute. Finally, there is the pasodoble, its meter is 2/4 and the rhythm is similar to a march with a one-step beat and drama assimilated to bullfighting music.