Change of Direction in Foxtrot

Ballroom Blitz #099

Change of Direction in Foxtrot - Jan 18, 2024

Transcript

Ian: Hey, hey, hey, random dancers from the interwebs. My name's Ian,

Lindsey: and my name's Lindsey,

Ian: and welcome

Ian & Lindsey: to Ballroom Blitz!

Lindsey: Hello lovely dancers, welcome back to a Ballroom Blitz. This is our 99th Ballroom Blitz video so we're this close to our Century. Today we are going to be having a look at the Slow Foxtrot. It's a very simple but very useful move called the Change of Direction.

So the Change of Direction is only three steps long, they are all slow steps, and funnily enough as the name suggests it's going to change direction on us. So, the leader starts with a left foot walk and by the time they get to their next left foot step, two steps later, they will be going in a different direction. So let's have a closer look at the Change of Direction.

[Demonstration without music]

Lindsey: Let's have a look at the leader steps first.

Ian: Alrighty leaders, this one is super simple and it only really goes wrong when you try and get more out of it than it really deserves. You have two left foot walks, and they are basically walks, the first one is kind of a drive step the second one is more of a walking non-driving heel, and between them we're going to take a side step on our right and that helps us achieve that up to about a quarter of a turn. Later on when you get this moving you can turn a little bit more or less, or sort of use it as required. But, when you're first learning aim for a quarter and use it to either change direction back out into the floor, if you're moving down a straight, or as Lindsey just mentioned to help you turn a corner and follow up with pretty much a feather step. So, if I align myself diagonal wall, dancing this direction, I'm going to take a left foot drive like so. I'm now going to, still with a slow step so three slows in a row, I'm not going to increase speed, I'm going to turn a quarter, almost swiveling on my left foot, to take my side step, taking my partner with me. This would be nice and low and slow, keeping the knees bent, and now I'm going to have my left foot walk out, which is very Foxtroty. You don't want to close your feet or hesitate in any way, because that's not really what Foxtrot wants to do, we want to keep walking. So it is drive, turn a quarter to the side, take a cruisy walk out.

Lindsey will do the follower steps.

Lindsey: And now the follower steps which are the natural opposite of the leader. So we stay in a closed position all through this, so if the leaders are coming forwards on the left followers we're going backwards on the right. So we will feel this step and then the leaders will guide us through that turn. We're hoping that by the time we have landed this second step we've achieved the amount of turn that the leader wants. So, our final step, again backwards on the right, should be nice and straight and balanced. So if I do that from the other side I've got, back right, side left, back right, and I to have turned about a quarter to the left.

[Demonstration with counts]

[Demonstration with music]

Lindsey: And that's all there is to that one so nice and easy good for getting around corners good for changing to a different Alignment good for just slowing things down if you feel things are getting a little bit away from you so try it out let us know how you go and we'll see you next time.

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