We have been debating at our studio the best way to teach Slow Foxtrot for the first time to relative beginners.

We are agreed that we wouldn't tackle the dance at all until we had covered the other swing dances to a reasonable standard, but then opinions diverge over a methodology of introducing figures and amalgamations, that could be used in dancing socially.

We tend to start with a Feather Step, Three Step, Feather Step pattern along LOD, with a Change of Direction used as a simple corner figure (and we worry about dancing THAT figure correctly, later on) before continuing the basic pattern on the new LOD.

May I canvass opinion (from teachers, mainly!) as to what they would do next? My view is that there's no getting away from introducing the Heel Turn and working on the basic amalgamation of Feather Step, Reverse Turn, Three Step & Natural Turn, but there are alternatives, and I would be interested in others' experience.

This is what I was taught many years ago: Feather step, Three step, Feather step, Three step,....

And this is what I have been teaching too. However, my students were feeling bored, they found the heel-toe-toe, heel-heel-toe pattern monotonous and muddling.

So one day I decided to change my way of thinking and introduced a basic amalgamation: Feather step (to DW), 1-4 Reverse Turn checked to Basic Weave, Three Step, Closed Impetus (in the corner), Feather Finish, Three Step, Natural Turn.

The students found it enjoyable, felt they were really dancing, worked hard and got it!!!

It is wrong to think that a Heel Turn is something unachievable. Just explain it patiently, no rush, repeat it as many times as necessary and let matters take their course.

The important thing is that your class will work knowing that what they are trying to learn is real dance, not just repeating two basic figures.

P.S. I think the Change of Direction is a more difficult figure to explain than a Heel Turn

Oh, I agree. Heel Turns are frequently badly danced by social dancers with many years' experience anyway, so I think it quite OK for beginners to turn almost any way they like (just to start with), as long as they turn, get their feet together and rise out of the figure.

I can't come up with a convincing FT amalgamation that avoids HTs altogether, anyway, so think that the class might as well just get on with it.

I agree too, that a Change of Direction can be viewed as a more difficult figure, but it can be fudged, quite successfully, just to get around a corner, and we do dance it properly quite quickly.

There are four requirements for heel turns:

1) The lady must have a combination of shoe stability and ankle strength which allows her to balance her weight on the heel of one foot, not only when arriving over the heel, but also when driving backwards off the standing foot to enter the figure in a supported manner. Few dancers can do this in social or latin heels as often worn in beginner classes, and even good ballroom shoes may be challenging enough to delay the learning of this action. Consider making initial experiments in flats, switching to ballroom shoes once some experience of the goal has been gained.

2) The lady needs to understand the sequence of actions, weight going back in one foot then across and forward in the other, standing knee softening to exit. Drilling this solo in alternating directions making a V on the floor is a good idea. The solo amount of turn may be less since most of the rotation is caused by the partner and torquing oneself is a bad idea.

3) The man needs to understand that the lady's heel turn is characterised by the bracing of her arriving knee rather than bending into it as in her other figures or his own heel pulls and turns, and that he can prompt this by bracing his own arriving knee when he wishes to lead a heel turn.

4) The man needs sufficient strength in his standing forefoot to project his body into a supported forward step, without holding back his standing hip, collapsing his posture, or clunking down early and heavily.

I tackled this topic in a previous thread regarding the teaching of Foxtrot to beginners. You can find it here:

https://www.ballroomdancers.com/Message_Board/view_messages.asp?MsgID=38678

In a nutshell, it is possible with the proper method to teach an entire 6-measure Foxtrot sequence, including heel turns, to a beginner class in 1 hour. As for technique, you'll only scratch the surface in the first hour, but you will get them dancing the entire basic two-way turn sequence passably. After that, you may need another handful of classes to cement the material, layer on some basic technique, and develop the routine with a couple of extra elements (e.g. Impetus, Change of Direction). But with the proper presentation, you can tackle a lot in that first hour alone.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

Its really a Q that answers itself.. the delaying of teaching anything will not improve it !!..

There was a time when tango was in silver ( strange thinking )...

the standard sequence that has been mentioned ," F..Rev/Nat. etc",needs to be introduced in any of the combos that will suit the individual .

The more important problem is stressing the time frame that it may ( will ) take ,to reach a level of competance . The expectation level of most students is not realistic, and good mental preparation is essential.

The other major factor, is how much time and effort the student is willing ( or able ) to invest in the process .

Thank you for the responses.

My own instinct is that nothing can be gained by delaying introducing the Heel Turn action at the earliest point. If the basic amalgamation is extended to include the Impetus family, then both Man & Lady need to be able to dance this action, and if the students are not yet ready, they should continue to progress with other dances until they are.

One thing on which I would appreciate some further thoughts is the degree to which we should ignore technique (footwork, in particular) in developing the turn action, as a starting point. I tend to say to students that they should not worry about how they accomplish the turn, as long as it is made on one foot only, as the feet are closing. After all those weeks of effort to achieve a forward balance in the carriage of the body, it comes hard, suddenly, to turn on the heel.

As teachers, we often say " we dance with our BODY, not our feet ".

The other side of that coin, is that pretty much all times , require certain specific foot actions to create a desired ( and sometimes simple ) result .


And, the problem of boredom ,can be tempted, by giving way to more challenging material, which in most cases can have a detrimental effect adding to the already existing problem (s) .

I,m a firm believer that steps taught in isolation ( that what classes were originally intended for ) are the pathway to long term success .

Something to be considered... the aptitude of the student ; its quite easy to drive some one away, with heavy doses of technique .

And.. something else that is seldom discussed.. teaching couples ( no matter the level ) . A topic unto its self..

I think all Profs know, that there are no easy solutions when dealing with complex actions..

Oh, very true. Most beginners are obsessed with their feet, and spend most of their time with their backsides stuck out, the better to look down and observe them! I regularly say that we only move our feet, at all, because we would fall over if we didn't; but you have to get a fair way down the path of becoming a dancer to understand what we really mean.

Still, if teaching people to dance well was easy, everyone would be doing it, and the average standard of dancing to be observed out and about, would be rather higher than it is. Ho hum.

I am an amateur, reporting on how one professional (who has taught for a long time) approached this. This instructor's attitude is "Anybody can learn to dance any figure. Just do what I say." Many other instructors may take issue with this, but our instructor eventually succeeded with us. When we started Foxtrot he taught us an amalgamation. First, a Feather. "What's a Feather?" OK, that doesn't seem too hard. The next figure was Fallaway Reverse and Slip Pivot. Again, this was our first lesson in International Foxtrot. Trial by fire.