Slow Foxtrot
The foxtrot premiered in 1914 and was popularised in the United States by Vernon and Irene Castle; its name may come from the vaudeville performer Harry Fox, though the origin is unclear. It is danced in 4/4 time, and over the years it split into a slow and a quick version, known today as foxtrot and quickstep.
In England the Ballroom Branch of the ISTD, formed in 1924, set a technical structure for the foxtrot, and in 1935 Victor Silvester recorded the first strict-tempo records for dancers. The International Standard slow foxtrot is a smooth, gliding dance in constant body contact, with a slow-quick-quick rhythm, at roughly 28 bars a minute.
Sources
- Foxtrot (Wikipedia)
- History of Modern Ballroom (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing)
- The Schism over dance tempos (Richard Powers)
- Victor Silvester (Wikipedia)
Organisations connected with this dance
- Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), Modern Ballroom faculty
- International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA)
- Blackpool Dance Festival
Listed as references; being listed is not an endorsement by or of the organisation.