Dance Style: The Fox Trot

Although often associated with the style of Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers, the Foxtrot was actually introduced into the mainstream by Harry Fox in 1913. Foxtrot is a "Ballroom" or Smooth dance, traveling around the line of dance (the perimeter of the room in a counterclockwise direction). Foxtrot is a lot like walking or strolling . Musically it is very easy to hear the Foxtrot rhythm. Foxtrot is an extremely useful dance socially and can be danced to a variety of jazzy musical styles. American Style Foxtrot has a fun "theatrical" quality because the couples can open up to allow for spinning the women. Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly both used the long, smooth m ovements of Foxtrot to cover a lot of ground gracefully in their routines. The basic beginner rhythm of Foxtrot is Slow-Slow-Quick-Quick. Higher level is often danced Slow-Quick-Quick.

Foxtrots:

"A Wink and a Smile" by Harry Connick, Jr.
"L.O.V.E." by Nat King Cole
"Fly me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra
"You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You" by Dean Martin
"Something's Gotta Give" by Sammy Davis Jr.
"World On A String" by Peggy Lee.