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Foxtrot, Quickstep and Peabody
- Date Published:
- August 14, 2007
The Foxtrot has been America's most popular dance since 1913. Introduced by a Vaudevillian named Harry Fox, it quickly became the standard of social dancing. Foxtrot is a great dance for beginners, as it teaches the novice variety, maneuverability, and how to combine steps easily. The music for Foxtrot is any slow to moderately slow Big Band or pop music song, or "slow dance". Most pop music is written in four/four timing , which is Foxtrot's rhythm (four beats to a measure of music). The mantra for Foxtrot is the classic dance teacher's phrase: "Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick". Much of our popular music is Foxtrot music, and it's a nice, slow, easy dance during which a couple can even have a pleasant conversation. This is the classic dance for wedding receptions and social events, and wedding couples usually choose either a Foxtrot or a Waltz to be their first dance together, predicting a lifetime of slow, easy, romantic cuddling (we hope)!
Although the music for Quickstep sounds like a fast Foxtrot, it is actually considered to be a marriage between the Waltz and the Charleston! The dance features both the light, airy foot movements of the Charleston and the "floating through space" of the Waltz. We teach Social Quickstep and Foxtrot together in the same class due to the similarity of the music, and on a social level, many people dance Quickstep as a fast Foxtrot. Quickstep is an International style competitive dance.
The Peabody also resembles a fast Foxtrot. Considered a very New York dance in the Ragtime era in which it was born, legend has it that the Peabody was created by a portly police or fire chief - Captain Peabody - who was so overweight that he had to dance to the side of his partner, creating the style which is so characteristic of the Peabody. It's primarily a walking-type dance with long, gliding steps. Because of the great speed of the music and the size of the steps, a huge dance floor is required (this is true, however, of International Style Foxtrot and Quickstep, too ).