The quickstep is a light-hearted

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

of the standard

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of European 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 te ...

s. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

s. The upbeat

melodies A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term ca ...

that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Its origins are in combination of slow

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 time ...

combined with the Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.

History

The quickstep evolved in the 1920s from a combination of the

, Charleston,

shag Shag or Shags may refer to: Animals * Shag or cormorant, a bird family ** European shag, a specific species of the shag or cormorant family ** Great cormorant another species of the family Persons * Shag (artist), stage name of the American a ...

, peabody, and

one-step The One-Step was a ballroom dance popular in social dancing at the beginning of the 20th century.Claude Conyers. 'One-step', in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001) Troy Kinney writes that One-Step originated from the Turkey Trot dance, with all man ...

. The dance is English in origin and was standardized in 1927. While it evolved from the foxtrot, the quickstep now is quite separate. Unlike the modern foxtrot, the

leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

often closes his feet, and syncopated steps are regular occurrences (as was the case in early foxtrot). Three characteristic dance figures of the quickstep are the

chassé The ''chassé'' (, French language, French for 'chased'; sometimes anglicized to chasse ) is a dance step used in many dances in many variations. All variations are triple-step patterns of gliding character in a "step-together-step" pattern. The ...

s, where the feet are brought together, the quarter turns, and the lock step.Silvester, Victor 1982. ''Modern ballroom dancing: history and practice''. Paul, London.^p126 This dance gradually evolved into a very dynamic one with much movement on the dance floor, with many advanced patterns including hops, runs, quick steps with much momentum, and rotation. The tempo of quickstep dance is rather brisk, as it was developed to

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

era

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

music, which is fast-paced when compared to other dance music. By the end of the 20th century the complexity of quickstep as done by advanced dancers had increased, with the extensive use of syncopated steps with

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durations. While in older times quickstep patterns were counted with "quick" (one beat) and "slow" (two beats) steps, many advanced patterns today are cued with split beats, such as "quick-and-quick-and-quick, quick, slow", with there being further steps on the 'and's.

Style

The quickstep is elegant like the

and should be smooth and glamorous. The dancers should appear to be very light on their feet. It is very energetic and form-intensive. The quickstep is danced to 4/4 music of 48 to 52 measures per minute.

Syllabus

The two

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

syllabi of ISTD and IDTA for quickstep differ very little. The

American Style This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those. This glossary lists terms used in various types of ballroom partner dances, leaving out terms of high ...

dance competition program does not include quickstep, but a limited version of the dance is taught and danced socially in some American dance venues.

Pre-bronze

# Quarter turn to right # Natural turn # Natural turn with hesitation # Natural pivot turn # Natural spin turn # Progressive chassé # Chassé reverse turn # Forward lock # Heel pivot (quarter turn to left)

Silver

# Quick open reverse # Fishtail # Running right turn # Four quick run # V6 # Closed telemark

Gold

# Cross swivel # Six quick run # Rumba cross # Tipsy to right # Tipsy to left # Hover corté

In popular culture

The quickstep is one of multiple dances performed on the celebrity talent show

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

, as well as

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

References

External links

A sample listing of the Quickstep syllabus

ISTD Quickstep syllabus
at the Dance Central website {{Authority control