Foxtrot

Foxtrot, like Tango, originated from America around 1914, when Harry Fox became a rising star of New York’s Shows. American theatre was growing and Jardin de Danse was open on the roof of the New York Theatre. The trotting steps that Harry Fox performed on the main stage were copied and popularised upstairs in the dance called ‘Fox’s Trot’. This original version was danced to 4/4 rhythm with ‘jerky’ music of tempo 160 beats per minute.

Danced mainly on the spot it is now referred to as ‘Rhythm’. In 1920’s the character of Foxtrot was been polished by dance teachers and choreographers creating a smooth, gliding fashion of steps in regular pattern of Slow-Slow-Quick-Quick across the ballroom. The music tempo was also standardised and it is now slower than originally at 120 beats per minute.

Nowadays the travelling Foxtrot is performed worldwide by competitors. Its flowing style and endless blend of slow and quick variations make it the hardest of Standard ballroom dances, yet very spectacular to watch as couples with grace and feathery aesthetics demonstrate on the stage.