The term Quickstep in English literally means “quick step”. A dance with that name is easy, graceful. Dancers, as if soaring weightlessly over the dance floor. Quickstep is one of the dances included in the standard ballroom and sports program. It is called the “small grammar” of the compulsory program.

Quickstep is a type of foxtrot. Appearing at the beginning of the 20th century, this dance made its adjustments to the decorous, noble foxtrot, thereby laying the foundation for the pace and rhythm of the new century.

The history of the dance

Quickstep appeared in New York during the 1st World War. His first performers were African dancers who made their debut in the American Music Hall. In the dance halls of that time, the traditional foxtrot began to be performed at a faster pace. Not all the dancers coped with the dance steps at such a pace, and new movements were thought up to replace the old movements, which laid the foundation for a new dance - quickstep or quick foxtrot. In the clubs of that time, there were specially hung signs informing that the foxtrot is dancing at a fast, not slow pace. This was done so as not to mislead lovers of traditional, slow dance.

The basis of new dance moves  quickstep lay down modified combinations of the then popular dances of shimmy, charleston, foxtrot and blackbott.

What is quickstep?

The musical size of the dance is 4/4. The first and third beat measures are accented. Music sounds at a fairly fast pace - 48-50 beats or 200 beats per minute. The dance consists of fast and slow combinations. Slow combinations are performed on two musical accompaniment accounts, fast - on one.

Quickstep's basic steps are easy to learn, as they clearly correspond to the musical accompaniment, and beginners will already enjoy this dance. Experienced dancers, performance by performance, will find in Quickstep new facets of perfection that will add ease and grace to the most complex combinations.

The main figures of quickstep are the chassis and the main step. Having studied the main step, we can proceed to the turns: quarterly, natural, reverse. Quickstep abounds in leaps, bounces with turns and stained-glass windows to the right and left, kicks.

Quickstep Features

In the USA, quickstep training in most specialized choreographic schools begins after other dances of the standard program have been mastered. This is because, when starting Quickstep training, a student must already have developed musical ear and master the basics of movement to music.

Quickstep is full of various jumps both in progress, and in turns and in place. The movements of modern quickstep have changed significantly compared to movements of the current 20s of the last century. Smooth climbing steps make Quickstep look like a slow waltz, but fast paced and hopping combinations make Quickstep stand out from all the dances of the standard program.

Since the quickstep is characterized by a joyful, fervent character, this dance looks and plays with pleasure. Quickstep is impossible without sparkling lightness coming from the inside. It is no coincidence that this dance is called the "dance of joy"

Learn to dance, perhaps everyone dreams. This skill is useful at any party and special occasion. Thanks to the dance, you can quickly attract attention and it is impossible to go unnoticed. In addition, most often dancers are one big family, with common interests, needs, holidays. They organize dance schools, studios, festivals, competitions - they live a vibrant and eventful life.

This master class will teach the basic movements of interesting dance direction  - quickstep. Literally translated from English, this means a quick step. In fact, quickstep is a quick foxtrot. This is a dance of the European sports program ballroom dancing. Because of his fast lively rhythm, he demands lightness and mobility from the dancer.

Video training “Quick step dance”

Quickstep Dance Features:

1. Fast dance, a type of foxtrot.
2. All movements in the dance should be performed quickly and easily.
3. Quickstep quick movements of Quickstep require a high reaction speed and light, active movements from the dancer.
4. The musical size of the dance is 4/4. Four beats per measure.
5. Quickstep runs 50 beats per minute.
6. The emphasis in the dance falls on 1 and 3 beats.
7. Competitions for this type of dance lasts about 1.5-2 minutes.
8. The rise and fall in the dance is performed at the expense of 1, continues for 2 and 3 and ends at 4.
9. The basic rhythm of the dance is slow, slow, fast, fast and slow.
10. Interesting fact: it is proved that the energy that is consumed in 60 seconds of quickstep dance is equal to a mile race in record time!

The emergence and development of Quickstep dance

This dance direction appeared during the First World War and originated in the poor suburbs of New York. The first Quickstep dancers were inspired by the quick and vibrant movements of African and Caribbean dancers. Quickstep debuted on the stages of American music halls and gained wide popularity. Since then, Quickstep has evolved and become known throughout the world.

Both foxtrot and quickstep originate from one dance. In the 20 years, musicians played foxtrot in different ways, some slower, some faster. And, in the end, it gave rise to two different dance styles. So the pace of the foxtrot became even slower, and quickstep became its fast variety.

The development of the Quickstep dance trend was greatly influenced by the feverish fascination with Charleston, which was universally observed in 1925. The British greatly influenced the development of the dance, highlighting it from the original Charleston, removing kicking movements and combining it with a quick foxtrot. At a dance championship in 1927, a couple from England performed a version of fast foxtrot and charleston, with no knee movements. This performance was a huge success and turned Quickstep into a doubles rather than solo dance.

There is a funny version that quistep became popular in the UK because people used it as a way to keep warm in cold times.

In the modern dance world, quickstep is the most joyful and carefree dance. And although his steps are quite simple, the pace of music and the mood of the dance will attract and please anyone. Learn the basic steps of the dance and adjust to the music of quickstep, for a beginner it will not be difficult. Experienced dancers will find that the pace and nature of the dance provides unlimited possibilities for variations and improvisations.

   HISTORY OF DANCE

Quickstep
   Year Established: 1923

Quickstep, as many know, is a really fast foxtrot. In the 1920s, many orchestras and jazz bands began to perform foxtrotting at a fast pace, moving from the graceful nineteenth century to the violent rhythm of the twentieth. Those who knew how to dance the foxtrot, at balls, evenings, were constantly unhappy that some movements became impossible to dance, they had to come up with new ones. Many popular newspapers of that time wrote about these problems. In the program of dance evenings, in order to warn fans of the "real" foxtrot, the dance began to be included under the name "quick-time-foxtrot", sometimes "quick-time-steps" and, finally, briefly - "quickstep".

Quickstep's birth year is considered to be 1923, when the Paul Whiteman orchestra performed in the UK. The modern Quickstep movements, once based on the steps of the foxtrot, are very different from those that danced in the 20s. Leaps in progress and on the spot, chains of moves and other original movements in a pair - all these movements, explicitly or not explicitly, having changed a lot or just directly got into the quickstep of three dances - Charleston, Shimmy and Black Bottom.

Charleston hails from the Cape Verde Islands (Cape Verde), the name of the dance comes from the port of Charleston, in which Negro dockers danced an energetic circular dance (like the "apple"). On stage, Charleston was first performed in George White's Negro show in 1922. In white American society, Charleston became popular after a 1923 tour of the USA with Running Wild in Ziegfield Follies. Charleston gained popularity in Europe in the twenties, after the performances of Josephine Baker in Paris. This dance was performed in the rhythm of 200-240 beats per minute, with waving arms and legs, kicks and something reminiscent of modern youth discos. A huge number of films were shot at a time when crowds of people "coming off" under Charleston fell into the frame. The dance quickly conquered the whole world, but for a long time it was banned in decent dance halls, limited or accompanied by comments and sometimes even PCQ signs (Please Charleston Quietly) - "Calm Charleston, if possible ..."

Black Bottom became famous thanks to the same George White, his show "George White" s Scandals "in 1926. The dance was performed in the rhythm of 140 to 160 beats per minute, and included rocking the body, bending-unbending knees and kicks.

The source of the Shimmy dance is the Nigerian dance "Shika", which slaves from Africa brought to America. The history of the dance is in the song "Bullfrog Hop", which Perry Bradford sang in 1909. Shimmy was very popular in the USA from 1910 to 1920, and became a national madness in America after his performance by Gilda Gray from the same band Zeigfeld Follies in 1922. Although there are versions that Ethel Waters performed shimmy for the first time in the show "Sometime" in 1919. In her memoirs, she wrote about a dance in which she swayed with her hands on her hips and not moving ... That’s the whole background .. .

Quickstep is currently dancing at the rhythm of 200 beats per minute. The main movements are progressive steps, chassis, turns, many other movements borrowed from foxtrot. The basic movement for beginners is quarter turns. But the main difference from other European dances is “jumping”, as in promotion, when the pair “moves along the floor”, with or without turns, or in place, with original kicks and more complex movements.

Quickstep is a light, lively, cheerful dance, "stuffed" with jumps, jumps with turns to the right, left, back, with turns to the right and left. Obviously, different levels of Quickstep interpretation are possible: a sparkling dance of youth, a refined nobleness of a mature performer and a more restrained, selected choreography of older dancers. Quickstep English by origin replaced the old foxtrot, which was popular in the 30s and was a great example quick dance. If the term “foxtrot” is figurative and literally means “fox step”, then the term “quickstep” is more accurate, that is, “quick step”. Indeed, we are talking about a dance that, in accordance with its lively rhythm, requires lightness and mobility from the performer. Rich in variations, quickstep is considered to be the "small grammar" of standard dances.

Quickstep, as many know, is a really fast foxtrot. In the 1920s, many orchestras and jazz bands began to perform foxtrotting at a fast pace, moving from the graceful nineteenth century to the violent rhythm of the twentieth. Those who knew how to dance the foxtrot, at balls, evenings, were constantly unhappy that some movements became impossible to dance, they had to come up with new ones. Many popular newspapers of that time wrote about these problems. In the program of dance evenings, in order to warn fans of the "real" foxtrot, the dance began to be included under the name "quick-time-foxtrot", sometimes "quick-time-steps" and, finally, shortly - "quickstep".

Quickstep's birth year is considered to be 1923, when the Paul Whiteman orchestra performed in the UK. The modern Quickstep movements, once based on the steps of the foxtrot, are very different from those that danced in the 20s. Leaps in progress and on the spot, chains of moves and other original movements in a pair - all these movements, explicitly or not explicitly, having changed a lot or just directly got into the quickstep of three dances - Charleston, Shimmy and Black Bottom. Charleston hails from the Cape Verde Islands (Cape Verde), the name of the dance comes from the port of Charleston, in which Negro dockers danced an energetic circular dance (such as the "apple"). On stage, Charleston was first performed in the George White Negro show in 1922. In white American society, Charleston became popular after a 1923 tour of the USA with Running Wild in Ziegfield Follies. Charleston gained popularity in Europe in the twenties, after the performances of Josephine Baker (Josephine Baker) in Paris. This dance was performed in the rhythm of 200-240 beats per minute, with waving arms and legs, kicks and something reminiscent of modern youth discos. A huge number of films were shot at a time when crowds of people "coming off" under Charleston fell into the frame. The dance quickly conquered the whole world, but for a long time it was forbidden in decent dance halls, limited or accompanied by comments and sometimes signs “PCQ” (Please Charleston Quietly) - “Calmer Charleston, if possible ...” Black Bottom became famous thanks to the same George White, his show "George White" s Scandals "in 1926. The dance was performed in a rhythm of 140 to 160 beats per minute, and included rocking the body, bending-unbending knees and kicks. The source of the Shimmy dance is the Nigerian dance" Shika " slaves from Africa brought to America. The history of the dance is in the song "Bu llfrog Hop ", which Perry Bradford sang in 1909. Shimmy was very popular in the USA from 1910 to 1920, and became a national madness in America after performing his Gilda Gray from the same band Zeigfeld Follies in 1922. Although there are versions, that shimmy performed for the first time by Ethel Waters in the show “Sometime” in 1919. In her memoirs, she wrote about a dance in which she swayed with her hands on her hips and not moving ... That’s the whole background ...

Quickstep is currently dancing at the rhythm of 200 beats per minute. The main movements are progressive steps, chassis, turns, many other movements borrowed from foxtrot. The basic movement for beginners is quarter turns. But the main difference from other European dances is “jumping”, as in promotion, when the pair “moves along the floor”, with or without turns, or in place, with original kicks and more complex movements. Movement data is permitted only from class B. Prior to class B, quickstep movements consist of those that were in the early years (except tipsy), quicksteps from class B are a new quickstep, incorporating shimmy, charleston ... Nowadays, the majority of specialists recognize classic, easy and technical execution of quickstep a young popular English couple Christopher Hawkins and Hazel Newberry.

Year of appearance:1923

Music size: 4/4

Pace:  48-52 beats per minute, fast

The birthplace of dance:  England

Score:  "1", "2", "3", "4". Like other non-waltz forms of dancing, the movements of the Slow and Fast accounts vary.

Emphasis:  similar to a slow waltz according to the principles of lifting movements, so the emphasis is on the “1” and “3” beat beats.

Character:  clockwork, fast, energetic dance, very effectively combining the playful character of a combination of fast lightning-fast jumps, kicks, U-turns, inclines, postures and soft, "smooth" creeping plastic movement of the dancing couple.