I know this is going to look alittle weird, but below is the basic foot patterns and head facing positions I have been using for a left and right 360Deg turn in the foxtrot (I am a relatively new american style social dancer).

I know the simple rocking turns to the left and right and use them in corners but I want a nice turning motion that works well traveling down the floor and stays in SSQQ - I dont like switching from SSQQ to SQQ too much.
The steps below work pretty well for me but I judge how I'm doing based off the group dances we do where you dance down the floor with different partners (forgot what this is called).

This might have more to say about my leading abilities but some women I can easily lead in these turns and others dont seem to know what I'm doing.
Assuming I will work on leading it better, my question is: Is this a legitamate dance move or am I just making this up (dont remember exactly where I picked this up from).

(note: this may be impossible to read but I thought I'd give it a try - I had to use dots since all the spaces got comressed together, the step proportions didnt turn out too well)


Foxtrot Right (Natural) Turn in SSQQ timing
* shows direction leader is facing
| shows approximate foot position
No outside partner
Start from the bottom, the steps progress roughly as shown from bottom to top (imagine footprints in sand)

...........*............
...........\\...........QQ 45Deg TR (side together)
................*--.....S RFB 45Deg TR (pivot)

.................../....S LFB (LeftFootBack) 90Deg TR (pivot)
.................*......

...............\\.......QQ 45Deg TR (side together)
................*.......

.............--*........S RFF 45Deg TR (Turn Right) (pivot)

.........*..............
......../...............S(Slow) LFF(LeftFootForward) No turn but lead rotation with upper body

........*...............
.......//...............Start facing 45Deg from LOD



Foxtrot Left (Reverse) Turn in SSQQ timing
* shows direction leader is facing
| shows approximate foot position
no outside partner
Start from the bottom, the steps progress roughly as shown from bottom to top (imagine footprints in sand)

.......*...........
......//...........QQ 45Deg TL (side together)

.--*...\...........S RFB 45Deg TL (pivot) (behind left foot but not crossing it)
.........*..........S LFB (LeftFootBack) 45Deg TL

..........||.......QQ 45Deg TL (side together)
...........*.......
...../.............S RFF 45Deg TL (pivot)
....*..............

.....*--...........S(Slow) LFF(LeftFootForwrd) 45Deg TL(Turn Left) (pivot)

..........*........
..........\\.......Start facing 45Deg from LOD

Breadore. Being that nobody has answered you. I would suggest you go to Learn the Dances, to your left. And find what you are looking for there.
Good Luck..

Since you are not getting any answers, I thought I would see if I could figure this out. After looking at this for quite a while, I think I finally figured out what you are doing. First I would suggest you look at some of the standard ways of writing descriptions of steps. Try to emulate it. In your write-up you didn't say whether the steps were taken forward or backwards, of if they were taken outside-partner or not. So with a little guess work, I think maybe I figured out what you are doing (with no outside partner steps).

These are not standard steps, and is probably something either you made up or got from someone else who made it up. When I walked thru this by myself, I was thinking maybe it might be do-able. When I tried it with my wife it was very clumsy. She couldn't figure out if the steps were supposed to go outside partner or not. Some of the turns do not work well. Even after trying it several times, she was still having trouble following it, and difficulty making some of the turns end in the right position (and she is a good follower). I can see you would have a lot of difficulty leading this with a beginner, or anyone for that matter.

I suggest you stick with standard steps. To do something similar to this and make a step that turns smoothly with a rotation of about 7/8 you will need to mix SQQ with SSQQ patterns. You need to learn this anyway to advance to the next level. These turns are made easier if they are started from a diagonal rather than facing LOD. This website has a left turning figure that does something like you want, "Left Box Followed By Promenade". This site used to have a right turning figure, but it is no longer there. It was a right turning box (SSQQ) followed by a right pivot (SSQQ). This step is somewhat similar to what you are doing, but starting facing DW, and there is no turn between steps 1 and 2. There is a 3/8 turn between 2 and 4. That is followed by a 3/8 right pivot. If you are just starting, the 3/8 pivot may give you a little problem, but it can be learned with a little practice.

Try to resist the urge to go for the advanced steps before you learn all the simpler ones. And don't make up any steps.

From your post ( which is confusing to most ) you are obviously trying to cope with the never ending changing of rhythmical sequence in Amer. style bronze F/trot

the basic was "copied " from the Q/Step and is a right and left turn sequence danced to a SSQQ rhythm.( a 1/4 turn )

What becomes confusing, is when you have to translate this to a turning figure -- L or R, it changes into a " waltz " like movement, and the rhythm sequence changes to SQQ .

This is going to occur again in several patterns-- Twinkle for e.g.

Dont despair-- it will make sense .

The Silver level is more structured to the " straight " bar sequencing --

Thanks for taking the time to look at it and for all the comments. I edited the description above to incorporate some of the suggestions. I quess I did make this up afterall, but it seems to my inexperienced mind that it should work. There should be a basic continuous turning move in SSQQ timing. I'll look more at the standard moves. Thanks again.

I'm not familiar with American Style, but the suggested pattern can't work well, because it contains "RF back, turn R", "LF back, turn L" and "RF forward, turn L". This is not possible because it violates the law of "Contrary Body Movement" which has to be applied to all turns made as a couple:
1) Turning to R: forward steps with RF only, backward steps with LF only.
2) Turning to L: forward steps with LF only, backward steps with RF only.

At International Style we use a social dance "Foxtrott" for beginners also counting SSQQ without doing real Quickstep figures. There you would do what you intend by transforming the "Rock Turn" into a pivot, like this:
Start facing diagonally to wall (DW)
1) SLOW: LF fwd DW, no turn
2) SLOW: RF fwd DW, start turning slightly R
3) QUICK: LW side backing dioganally to center(DC), 1/4 turn R btw 2-3
4) QUICK: RF closes to LF, backing the line of dance (LOD), 1/8 turn R btw 3-4
5) SLOW: LF back, backing LOD, end facing LOD with RF held fwd w/o weight(pivot), 1/2 turn R on 5
6) SLOW: RF fwd facing LOD, cont. turning slightly R
7) QUICK: LW side backing DC, 1/4 btw 6-7
8) QUICK: RF closes to LF, backing DC, 1/8 R btw 7-8
9) SLOW: LF bwd DC, no turn
10) SLOW: RF bwd DC, start turning slightly L
11) QUICK: LF side, pointing DW, 1/4 turn R btw 10-11, body turns less
12) QUICK: RF closes to LF, facing DW, body completes turn

They are studying AMERICAN style which is more compatible to the social scene in the States .

It is available ( Stand. ) for those who wish but impractical in most schools .

"This is not possible because it violates the law of "Contrary Body Movement" which has to be applied to all turns made as a couple"

There is no such "law".

While it's true that the basic way to turn is into the moving foot, it is not the only way possible, or used.

Understanding the idea of CBM or turning preferentially into the moving foot first requires establishing a concept of what "turn" is - in short, it's only part of the process of turning the couple. In classic body swing figures such as waltz, the part formally known as turn occurs during one specific step of the three that make up a turning figure, and it is indeed the one on which the foot on the inside is moving.

But a more generic idea of turn would encompass what happens on all three steps, one of which would have the foot on the outside moving. And in non body swing actions, we do not see the same kind of concentration of formal "turn" exclusively onto the inside-foot steps alone, but instead we see it spread over a series of steps using both the inside and outside feet.

So while turn is heavily associated with the inside foot, that concept is more key to understand certain types of movement than it is to telling you in the general sense what is and isn't possible.