Baby Ruth. Light and higher on the toes.Higher body contact than in the other dances

Babyruth. Compare the closing of the feet in the Waltz with the closing of the feet in the Quickstep. In the Quickstep we must on a Quarter Turn for instance get our weight completly over our left foot and not think it is like the closing of the foot as in the Waltz where we arrive much later.The footwork is for the man HT T T TH On that first step get that heel off the floor and project yourself sideways. Also the body contact should be a little higher for the Quickstep. Good Luck.

I thought the Q was " WHAT does QS FEEL like ? "..

I,m assuming they were not asking for technique, but a comparison between dances (?).

Simply put... QS is "bright and breezy" , a feeling of free flow around the floor , the ability to turn at speed,... and yet still maintain control.. a " lightness " in your step..and, obviously , the correct techn. will assist in reaching that goal.

Well, if you're going to compare dance styles, you really need to mention at least one other, don't you?

Not wanting to appear didactic, I answered her Q.. if she needs more comparisons.. no problem..

Anyway.. aeshetics are best seen than described...

Thanks everyone!

Actually terence2 answered what I wanted to know. Probably because I am an ESL, my question is a bit confusing. Sorry about that.

But Telemark and Cyd's suggestions are really helpful as well since I am an absolute beginner. The closing of feet in chasse is one of the things I need to work on.

BTW, I don't quite understand what Cyd meant "a little higher body contact".

Thanks again!

I'm no instructor, but the two things I do for feeling the quick step are to listen to quickstep music and let myself feel it, and let the music inspire movement in me.

The other element is the lightness, you must be really holding yourself so that you are light on your feet to get the steps right.

Kind of a lifted feel, as if you are carrying yourself a bit higher than at other times.

Putting a feeling into words is not easy, but perhaps my little contribution will be useful.

I know what you mean, but from a technique point of view we do need to lower and rise again with each figure, but the style requires that we do not interrupt our body flight as we do it. Compare that with the swingboat action of the Waltz, and you find that Quickstep has a very different feel.

Beginners often spend too much time on the balls of their feet, and having not acquired the skill to control their movement, they go where their body momentum takes them. Dancing is not about taking the next step, or risk falling over, but taking the next step at the moment, and in the direction, that we choose. Balance and control: key skills that are not learned in any hurry.

The journey is great fun, though.

I understand, it is like the precision in the music that is Quickstep, such as "Puttin on the Ritz" each word is precise, each note clean, and the precision is done at speed.

I've had enough voice training to really really adore songs like that, and the sheer difficulty of singing them properly--quickstep is the dance of that precise music.

One can spit out the words of that song, to use it as an example, but that is a far cry from the careful exactness of a really great rendition of it!

"and having not acquired the skill to control their movement, they go where their body momentum takes them. Dancing is not about taking the next step, or risk falling over, but taking the next step at the moment, and in the direction, that we choose. Balance and control: key skills that are not learned in any hurry."

Dancing is not about avoiding the step-or-fall situation, it's about aiming for that deadline to coincide with the point when you WANT to be taking the next step.