The Slow Foxtrot: English Elegance Conquers the World

The Slow Foxtrot is the ultimate representative of the "English dance culture".
Furthermore, when the Slow Foxtrot evolved in the first part of the 20th century,
England rose to be the dominating nation in competition dance. Here the first world
championships took place and English dancers became the first champions. If you
know how Slow Foxtrot developed, you know the history of the competition dances.

A Detailed History of the Slow Foxtrot

The Foxtrot, from which the Slow Foxtrot was later developed, evolved from the
Ragtime in North America between 1910 and 1915. It also implemented elements
from the One-step, Two-step and the Castle Walk. With its fast and slow steps,
based on natural walking, it became a pioneer for the "English Style."

The origin of its name cannot be definitely placed anymore today, as the sources are
too ambiguous. Most likely it can be traced back to the actor Harry Fox, who
connected the Ragtime with many steps from the One-step and Castle Walk in his
dance show "Harry Fox & the Zigfeld Follies". In this way the Foxtrot appeared for
the first time in the USA in the summer of 1914, and with his popular show, Fox
quickly spread this dance to the public.

The ragtime as the forefather of Foxtrot was the first music trend from the USA to be
transmitted on sound carriers. In this way it represents a significant era in American
entertainment music. Between 1897 and 1917 it dominated the American music
stage and developed, like almost all American music and dance trends, from the
suffering of the African slaves, who in this manner came to terms with their destiny in
the New World. Blues and Jazz also have their roots in ragtime.

Shortly before the First World War, the Foxtrot came to England. There, the first
Foxtrot ball took place in 1915. The Foxtrot soon established itself as the most
important representative for the many walking and step dances.
It was first and foremost English dance teachers who defined ballroom dances and
who developed new techniques in the 1920s. At the biggest conference for English
dance teachers in 1920, the basics for many new dances were developed.
Complicated dance figures were simplified for the main public. This is how the
already mentioned "English style" evolved in 1921, which is characterised most of all
by its "normal" walking movements.

Shortly after, in 1922, Victor Silvester and his partner Phyllis Clarke became the first
to win a World Championship in dance, naturally taking place in London. London
quickly established itself as the world capital for all standard dances. English
dancers have dominated the world's dancing stages ever since.

From 1923 on fluent movements more and more replaced the previous marching-
like steps and the dance tempo steadily increased. In 1923, at the next World
Championship in the Queen's Hall in London, quick and slow Foxtrot was danced.
In 1924 the slow and the quick Foxtrot were finally separated and called "Slow
Foxtrot" and "Quick-Time". The Slow Foxtrot had been born into the dancing world.

Both new forms were included in the newly developed competition dance program.
The way the Slow Foxtrot has been danced since then is characterised by wide
curves with progressive turns and long waves, which are not allowed to come to a
stop. The couple should uniformly and without any stops glide over the dance floor.
The Slow Foxtrot therefore needs a lot of space and can hardly be danced in public
without sufficient room.

Another reason why it is difficult to dance is because it demands a high degree of

body control from the dancers. Many artificial turns, the body-close dancing pose
and the lifting and lowering require great skill. Therefore more complex step
combinations are not included in the training of beginners. This is the reason why
Slow Foxtrot is taught only at advanced level.

In 1929 another meeting of British dance teachers took place, the so-called Great
Conference". The Official Board of Ballroom Dancing was established, and
continues to govern Ballroom Dancing today. For the One-step, Slow Foxtrot, Tango,
Blues and Waltz a uniform "standard" was established. At this groundbreaking
conference the figures as well as the pace of the different dances were determined.

The Slow Foxtrot that we know today owes a great deal to the work of the early
"greats" of the dance world - Josephine Bradley, Phyllis Haylor, Victor Silvester,
Maxwell Stewart, and Alec Millar.

Dance:

4/4 beat

Tempo:

28 - 34 bars per minute, competition tempo: 30 bars per minute

Rhythm:

Slow steps: 2 beats; Quick steps: 1 beat.

Walking step:
slow fast fast slow fast fast
Dancing posture and foot technique:
Standard dancing posture. The footwork represents the natural walking movement.
The forward steps are set down with the heel.