The Principles of Modern Ballroom Dances

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 16, 4 November 1927, Page 16

The Principles of Modern Ballroom Dances

In the course of her series of talks on modern ballroom dancing Miss Phyllis Bates outlined the principles underlying various modern dances. These principles give an understanding of the trend of modern developments in this field. :

2 Y modern dances," explained Miss Bates, "I mean those of the nonsequence type which have made their appearance during thé last ten years, as distinct from what are termed "old-time" dances, which include the old waltz, ‘square dar:ces,’ such as the Lancers and those of the sequence type such as the two-step and the schottische. These are never seen in the cities now except at the one or two "old-time" assemblies which still survive. "The modern. waltz and fox-trot, which, as we know them now, are entirely British are the two standard British dances of to-day- They represent the ideal in our ballrooms, and, performed correctly, are really graceful and beautiful. While we have. been developing these two dances, America has launched several of an eccentric character on the world. We have had the "Chicago,’ the ‘Blues,’ the ‘Charleston,’ the ‘Blackbottom,’ and, if rumour is correct, we are to have the ‘Heebie Jeebies’ very soon! MODIFIED FOR BRITISH TASTE. "While these dances in their original American form find considerable favour in Australia and a little in New Zealand, before: being accepted by the best Eng‘lish teachers, they are invariably modi- fied, sometimes out of all recognition. This is a fact which is not generally appreciated, as witness the case of the Charleston. We were continually read-. ing condemnatory newspaper reports: which really referred to either the American or the stage Charleston, and were not applicable at all to the flat English ballroom yersion- Nevertheless we seem content to draw our inspirations from America, and these American Jances, which usually have some points to recommend them, having been ‘Anglicised,’ serve their purpose for a period. It seems that nowadays we must have variety, and, if these dances tend to keep the general interest alive, it is something in their favour. Unfortunately there are too many people who want to know ‘the latest’ to the exclusion of all else, and too many teachers ready to regard the ‘latest’ as a good money-maker, and who accordingly advertise it practically to the exclusion of the more worthy fox-trot and waltz. As a result there are many who get a distorted idea of the comparative values of the various dances-for instance, they place the BlackLottom or the Charleston on a level with the fox-trot or waltz. I do not discountenance innovations, but I would never sacrifice good style to novelty, and I know of nothing which will develop a dancer’s discrimination and judgment so much a: a knowledge of the principles governing the different dances. __ ; THE FOX-TROT. "The fox-trot, which made its appearance in England about ten years ago, was of American origin. It was at first performed almost as a sequence dance, most people having their own parficular sequences, and consequently find-

ing it an advantage to have their particular partners as well. This is quite unnecessary now that we have developed a technique which makes it veasy for the girl fo follow the man’s lead without knowing beforehand what he means to do. . After the inception of the fox-ttot teachers were soon at work on it, and changed it from a side-to-side chassee movement on the toes to a flowing walk and a three-step, taken’ directly forward or backward, or on turns, making use of the heels. ‘To-day the dance consists ‘mainly of ‘the passing three-step, in which the feet are not brought together, and the natural and reverse open turns. The waltz was actually changing before the advent of the fox-trot-the old eperatic technique was gradually being dropped, ‘The introduction of the foxtrot gave an impetus to this change, and thenceforward with both dances the development of the natural movement technique which prevails to-day was contemporaneous. The waltz now consists of a three-step in which the feet pass slightly on the third movement. For turns, the same three-step movement is used, but the feet make an exact close. . "In the evolution of these two dances n> doubt practice at first preceded theory, but now that the theory has been fully developed we realise that they are both expressions of natural movement, and that the principles governing them are the same as those governing sucli simple movements of our everyday life, as the walk and the run. For instance, the fox-trot walk, except that the feet slide instead of being lifted, is similar to the normal walk, the balance travelling forward continually with the forward foot, and the three-step, which consists of a long step followed by two shorter and quicker steps, embodies the principle of the run, the weight travelling ahead of the forward movine foot |

"The rythm and tempo of the music necessarily dictate what a dance shall be, and the slow fox-trots and the waltz -are both smooth and flowing thythms. The fox-trot 1s in 4/4 time, which lends itself to the expression of & vatiation of slow and quick move-

ments. The first and third beats are the accented ones, The waltz is in 3/4 time, and can be perfectly expressed only in an undulating threestep. The first beat is well accented. THE ONE-STEP. The one-step is really an older dance than the fox-tret. It experienced a great waye of popularity in New Zealand about six years ago. In place of the onestep, Paso Doble music in 6/8 time is occasionally played. "Valencia" is an example of this music. Most people one-step to it, but the Paso Doble is actually a Continental dance, the steps of which are short and lilting and quite unlike the one-step.

"The quick-step is danced to fox-trot music but at.a much quicker tempo than that suitable for the slow foxtrot dance. © Also, the beats of the music are more equally accented. The‘steps of the dance are short and _lilting. The feet are kept almost flat and the weight is slightly behind the moving foot. When going forward the backward knee bends. Whlien going backward the forward knee bends. It is the bending and straightening of alternate knees which gives the up and down movement characteristic of the dance. The American ‘Chicago’ and the Schottische Espagrole were the forerunners of the English quickstep. : "The flat Charleston is u’ popular variation of the quick-step. © There is a difference in the principle of the two dances, however, as in the flat Charleston the two knees are simultaneously bent and then straightened. "BLUES" MAY BE REVIVED. The ‘Blues’? are danced to slow 4/4 time, the beats being equally accented. The dance originated in America, but was modified in England. . The principle is actually similar to that of the Quick-step, but ‘‘Blues" music being not much more than half the speed, the steps are longer and the lilfing movement so slurred that the similarity is not apparent. We have heard very little of the "Blues’’ for some seasons, but a revival is anticipated and is likely to be assisted by a new type of music called ‘thot music’? now Leing played in America and England. ‘The ‘Blackbottom" is decidedly an eccentric movement. Its principle is: Knee of the unweighted leg bent; knee of the weighted leg straight; tip of the weighted leg owt. The bend of the knees is the opposite of the action of the quick-step. No amount of modificaHan will ecear malre thie Annre oracefiul

but the sinuosity of its movement aud the rhythm of the music make it attractive to dance. The music is in 4/4 time, but is distinguished from fox-trot:by au extra accent on fle sixth half-beat, which must be indicated by the dancer in his movement. The tango has never become really popular in England, although there has alvays been some demand for it. It is « most attractive dance, but does not seem to appeal to the temperament of the Englishman. It is danced to slow 2/4 time,.but it needs an experienced tango band to get tle proper atmosphere, The dance is based on the nat‘ural movement of a stealthy walk, The feet do not slide but are lifted slightly, the weight travels forward well over the moving foot, und the knees are flexed more than is the case in the fox-trot. THE PRINCIPLES OF MOVEMENT. "Fundamentally it is movement and not steps which make one dance different from another. Each dance has its distinctive rhythm and a_ distinctive movement to express that rhythm, and any steps introduced must, to be cortect, express both the movement and the rhythm. It is possible to make a logical analysis of every dance in this way, and this analysis should form the basis for all instruction. If everybody. would realise that tolearn a lot of steps is.not the alpha and omega of dancing, and were to insist that their tcachers give them principles first and steps af® terwards, all teachers would be compelled to study the logical construction of the dances they teach, and dancing would show ani immediate all-round improvement in style. Another point to note is that the more a dance adheres to the principles of natural movement, the more graceful it is-the more it departs from these principles the more eccentric it becomes. The waltz, the fox-trot, and the tango are all based on natural move« ment, which is~the explanation of their grace and their permanency. At present the blackbottom exhibits the greatest departure from natural movement. For this reason it is the most eccentric of our dances and will probably prove the most fleet: ing, ° , The outstanding teachers in any part of the world are those who can analyse for themselves. Mere copying can lead one into so many pitfalls that it is always wise to take the trouble to study. CURVES IN DANCING. Some people may consider dancing @ duil subject. Possibly they prefer to think about the Einstein theory, and, if so, they may be interested to discover that all progressive dance moyements have their distinctive curves. The foxtrot walk is a long low curve, the threestep of the waltz is a long high curve, the curves of the quick-step are short, like little waves, and the short curves of the Charleston are separated by little "bumps.’? No doubt if Mr. Einstein took up ballroom dancing he would formulate a theory so complicaled that only he could understand it, and dancing might become a pastime solely for university professors. I do hope nothing so serious comes to pass.

Photographs (left and right) posed by Miss Wilma Rathner and Mr, Colin Shorter, pupils of Miss Phyllis Bates, and winners of the Adelphi Ballroom Championship. The Quick Step photograph was posed by Miss Vilma Spiller, who partnered the runner-up in the same > event. All photographs by-

S. P.

Andrew