Discofox or disco fox 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 ...

partner dance Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a ...

which evolved in

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in the mid-1970s as a rediscovery of the dance hold in the improvisational disco dance scene dominated by solo dancing, approximately at the same time when the

hustle Hustle or The Hustle may refer to: Film * ''Hustle'' (1975 film), an American crime film starring Burt Reynolds * ''Hustle'' (2004 film), an American television film about Pete Rose * ''Hustle'' (2008 film), a film starring Bai Ling * ''The H ...

emerged in the

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. Both dances were greatly influenced by ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from the Brookl ...

'' starring

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (1 ...

. In various regions, it is also known under different names: disco hustle, swing fox, disco swing, and rock fox. Discofox is very popular in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, Switzerland and becoming popular in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. The set of figures is influenced by various dances:

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 ...

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

, salsa, etc., adapted to the musical style and basic step of the dance. Moreover, various fusion styles emerged, such as sals-discofox and disco cha. Discofox may be danced to a wide variety of and music such as 1970s disco, 1980s

Eurodisco Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is the variety of European forms of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the late 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the early 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, p ...

disco polo Disco polo is a genre of popular dance music, created in Poland in the 1980s, it was initially known as "sidewalk music" ()Anna KowalczyKrótka historia disco polo"Wiedza i Życie". Nr 9/1997. ( Polish) or "backyard music" ('). This genre, bei ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, and

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

. Tempo may vary. In a social setting it is mostly danced in one place, although the couple may also move across the dance floor. It is danced with various types of single and double handhold. Among the figures are various handwraps, spins, throw-outs/catches, poses, drops, and for competitions also acrobatic figures. There are international competitions in discofox.

Basic timing and step

The beginner's count of the

basic step The basic step, basic figure, basic movement, basic pattern, or simply basic is the dance move that defines the character of a particular dance. It sets the rhythm of the dance; it is the default move to which a dancer returns, when not performing ...

is "step-step-tap". Advanced dancers use the hustle-style split-beat four-step basic (still occupying 3 beats of music), counted variously: (1,2, & 3), (1,2, a3) (1,2, 3&), (1,2, 3a). Social dance Partner dance Competitive dance {{europe-dance-stub