Fox -Trot (foxtrot)
Fox Trot:
developed by Vaudeville actor Harry Fox in
the summer
of 1914. Born Arthur Carringford in Pomona, California, in 1882, he
adopted the stage name of "Fox" after his grandfather.
Fox Trot: a ballroom dance that has
a regular step of slow-slow-quick-quick (with slow = 2 beats) or 1-2-3-4-5-6.
Music for the Foxtrot has a flowing, perky quality and adhered to 4/4 time, so
that steps are regular.
Fox Trot:
a
series of trotting steps.
The
Fox-trot originated in the Jardin de Danse on the roof of the New York
Theatre. A dancer for
the New York theater, Harry Fox married Yansci Dolly, of the Dolly sisters and the
two were seen doing a sprightly trotting dance steps between regular shows at
the theater to ragtime music. The result was a crowd pleaser, and the audience referred
to his dance as "Fox's Trot." That
same year, the American Society of Professors of Dancing standardized the steps
of the Foxtrot.
The dance was introduced
to the public with Oscar Duryea, an established choreographer of the time. His
dance team introduced the Foxtrot as a rolling smooth glide (international
style) that moved in large steps across the room, because the trotting step was
too much for ladies. Therefore, the
Foxtrot was known by this name, although the trot did not remain for
“International style”, but for “social dancing” only, which conveys its purpose and
limitations.
Because of its mixed slow
and fast steps, it is easy to keep the steps in a contained area. This does not
mean that the Foxtrot cannot cover a lot of ground, however. Anyone who has
watched a dance competition knows that couples can clear a room when dancing in
earnest.
The
Foxtrot was the most significant development in all of ballroom dancing. Dancers
who do the Foxtrot have noted that there are an unusual number of variations,
which permits more flexibility, that can be performed with the combination of quick and slow
steps, thereby, giving much greater dancing pleasure.
For some, it is the hardest of the ballroom dance series.
Variations
of the foxtrot include the Peabody, the Quickstep and Roseland foxtrot. Faster
foxtrots turn into Swing and Jitterbug. Even
dances such as the lindy and the hustle are derived, to some extent, from the
foxtrot.