Cross-step waltz (originally, the French Valse Boston) is a

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

, performed primarily in

closed position In partner dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other. Closed positions employ either body contact or body support, that is, holding each other is ...

, to slower tempo

waltz music A waltz (German: ''Walzer''; French: ''Valse'', Italian: ''Valzer'', Spanish: ''Vals'', Polish: ''Walc''), probably deriving from German '' Ländler'', is dance music in triple meter, often written in time. A waltz typically sounds one chord ...

(around 110 to 120

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

). It is characterized by a " primary cross-step" where the

Lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

role crosses the right foot over the left, as the Follow role crosses the left foot over the right, on the first count of the musical measure. Cross-step waltz can travel and rotate like traditional

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

es, while the dynamic of the cross-step facilitates a wide range of traveling variations.

History

Cross-step waltz evolved in the early 20th century. In 1914, the "Cross Walk Boston" waltz created by Frank H. Norman foreshadowed the cross-step waltz. In the Cross Walk Boston, the Lead crossed his left foot over his right, stepped right with his right foot, and closed left to right. This was then repeated with the right foot. There is no indication that Norman's step evolved into the modern cross-step waltz but it is an early example of a cross-step waltz. Cross-steps in general appeared between 1910 and the 1920s in the American one-step (the Snake Dip),

Argentine tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as ABA ...

(Cruzada, Ocho) and especially in the

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a ti ...

(the Cross Step). The March 1920 issue of '' Dancing Times Magazine'' in London reported that in the foxtrot, "The crossing of the feet is popular and effective." The early foxtrots were in

, but some dance manuals, like Geoffrey D'Egville's 1919 ''How and What to Dance'' in

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suggested that the Cross Step "may be introduced into the Waltz," which essentially turned this foxtrot step into cross-step waltz. In D'Egville's foxtrot version of this step, as in Norman's Cross Walk Boston, the Lead crossed his left foot over his right on the first count of the musical measure. However in the same year, Adèle Collier, also from London, described a similar foxtrot "Cross Step" beginning with the Lead's right foot. Of all the early cross-step dances, this lineage of foxtrot variations is the most likely evolutionary path that became the French Valse Boston and today's cross-step waltz. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Americans brought their foxtrot and blues dance steps to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, where Parisian dance teachers observed and described the variations. The first descriptions appeared in Parisian dance and music magazines (such as ''La Baionnette'' and ''Musica-Album'') in 1919, then in dance manuals beginning in 1920 (for example, ''Toutes Les Danses Pour Tous'' and ''Les 15 Danses Modernes''). Significantly, most of these French descriptions commenced the dance steps with the Lead's right foot. Around 1930, waltz tempos were slowed to a walking tempo, about 110-120 bpm, allowing the French crossed-step foxtrot to become a form of waltz, called Valse Boston, which was identical to today's cross-step waltz. At the same time, ballroom dancers in England and the United States developed their own slow waltz variations, but commencing with the Lead's left foot. This gave the cross-step (the "Twinkle" in American slow waltz) a different musical dynamic and momentum from the French Valse Boston, which began with the Lead's right foot. Cross-step waltz was demonstrated in the 1944 American

Lindy hop The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many danc ...

film "Groovie Movie," with the Lead's right foot crossing on the musical downbeat. The French Valse Boston has partially faded away, although it can still be seen today in

southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...

and occasionally in

. It was revived in the United States around 1994, developed into a social dance form with hundreds of variations, and renamed cross-step waltz. Cross-step waltz has been spreading in the 21st century, is now popular at more than thirty mostly-waltz dance groups across the United States, and has recently become widespread in outdoor parks in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

."Chinese Waltzing." YouTube. September 29, 2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSatuU0eJaM

References

External links

Stanford University page describing cross-step waltzMore than 300 videos of cross-step waltz variations for the Waltz LabAnother list of popular cross-step waltz variations with videos
{{Dance Waltz Triple time dances