While it's tempting and probably very common to teach Foxtrot sequentially, I find much greater success to work conceptually. It's much more effective, not to mention memorable, to teach the elements out of order and then string them together towards the end of the class.

This approach is not without its dangers, however. You must be very good at pacing, because if you run out of time before finishing, your class will be left without having really danced anything at all. Furthermore, this approach is not for the A.D.D. instant gratification crowd... It requires a considerable amount of patience, as they will not be able to dance a repeatable sequence to music until the very end of class. Of course, the same could be said for Foxtrot in general. So if you have a group of people truly interested in learning Int'l Foxtrot, it's a good sign they might be candidates for this method of teaching.

In the simplest of terms, I like to think of the Int'l Foxtrot as being very similar to most other smooth & standard dances, in that the fundamental sequence of movement is the two-way turn. The two-way turn is a sequence of two turns (typically two measures each) and two changes (typically one measure each). This amounts to six measures total, which can be initially presented to a class as two 3-measure sequences, which are near mirrors of each other. When presented in this manner, the Foxtrot will not be intimidating for either student or teacher.

The three measures to be taught, in order, are (1) the heel turn, (2) the change (e.g. Three or Feather), and (3) the passing turn (e.g. Feather Finish or 4-6 Natural Turn).

I attack the heel turn first thing head-on, by teaching it as a series of actions (e.g. step, close, turn, change weight, rise, step) to both men and ladies together. (This helps men understand what they're leading). The action consists of 1/4 turn, finishing checked on the forward step, so that it can be repeated in the opposite direction. The exercise has them repeating natural, reverse, natural, reverse, back & forth with 1/4 turns from one wall to another. Then I teach man's parts to the men, and put them together to do the same exercise as a couple.

Next I add a "prequel". That is to say, I tack measure 1 on to the beginning of the heel turn, which is actually measure 2. Three walks, *then* heel turn. This exercise is also repeatable, however, you will continue to dance the same direction of turn over and over, since you are now dancing and even number of steps (e.g. LRL, RLR). A good solution is therefore to have the class dance a series of, say, four repetitions in one direction, then change feet, and dance four in the opposite direction.

Up until this point the class has been dancing quarter turns only, aligned towards walls. At this point I usually introduce the alignments, the concept of diagonals, and challenge them to add an extra 1/8 turn to the heel turn measure. I now have the class dancing the first measure toward either DW or DC (depending on which foot starts), and finishing the turn down LOD.

The last measure to be taught is the passing turn. Once appended to the end of the sequence, the class can dance two individual 3-measure sequences, which can then be linked together to create a two-way turn, Foxtrot style. Although the sequence can be linked together with either part first, since this is Foxtrot, one would expect to start with the RF toward DC into the Feather and Reverse Turn.

In writing, this may appear horribly convoluted and complex. But trust me, in practice it has just the opposite effect. If you have reservations, have a non-dancing friend volunteer to be your guinea pig. In a group setting, this will take an hour, but one-on-one, you can tackle it in 20-30 minutes.

Good luck with your class.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

Jonathan. A question. Do you believe that the man should learn the ladies Heel Turn, for instance in a Reverse Turn Foxtrot. And do you believe that the lady should learn the man's steps in a Reverse Turn also.
If i read your paragraph five, second line correctly, you have both man and lady all doing the same thing at the same time when you wrote " both men and ladies together ". Later when you write as a couple . To me that means one in front of the other and not side by side. Which is all doing the same steps exactly Solo.

Knowing what your partner is trying to do by having tried it yourself is a good thing.

However, if teaching the men about the lady's heel turns, it is important to be clear that the action in a lady's natural heel turn is substantially different than than in a man's open or closed impetus heel turn - when the lady does the heel turn, the rise occurs into it, but when the man does the heel turn, the rise occurs a step later, when exiting it.

ALL class work should be predicated on continuity of attendance... the method of teaching any class should take that into account.

Unfortunately, todays market is geared towards the " instant " dancer, and no matter what people say, their threshold of concentration for the finer points, is very limited.

Even in the UK where one might expect a keener interest , Ive not found it so. This has much to do also, with the age of my clientele .

Time constraints, usage and several other factors need to ne considered if one is going to sustain a " medal " type class .
Thats why I asked the Q why FT ( the reply was they have had W and QS ) this is usually a good sign for continuation but not always .

My current classes have a blend of standard W and QS.. but.. Amer. style Tango and FT. This approach works very well for the senior type student .( I also teach them Sq Rumba )

I am glad the topic of heel turns came up in the context of these postings, and it was also good to hear that most of the teachers say it is good to get that concept ingrained in a student early. I have been dancing for many years, but to this day, I will have to confess that I am not positive I have the heel turn engrained in the way it should be. In short, I have a feeling I tend to execute that turn on the ball of my foot. My instructors have never pointed it out as a specific problem, or something I am doing totally wrong, but it just seems that I am on the balls of my feet a lot. Even when stepping back, on a closed impetus for example, I don't feel that weight shift grounding my heel. But maybe it is? Should it be that pronounced, or am I unecessarily concerned about the fine details? After all, I'm not dancing in front of Len Goodman, who almost always chides celebrity dancers on their inability to do heel leads and heel turns.

The Heel Turn commences on the Ball and transfers to the Heel( NOT HEELS ).. BUT.. the weight should be transfered back to the Balls of the feet as when appropriate.

In other words, do NOT settle back into the heels as the turn is completed.. the forward poise at completion of turn, if in its correct position, should eliminate that problem.

Thanks, terence2. That describes exactly what I hope I am doing, and will stop me from thinking I have to settle the weight back into the heel. Your description makes it clear that to do so would throw off balance and quite frankly would look kind of clumsy. I was somehow equating the weight transfer back on the heel to making it easier for a more complete turn. That's obviously not true, and in fact, could result in the opposite. I am thinking the same would be true of getting too hung up on proper heel leads .. that the weight transfer is quick to get back to the ball of the foot.

The "heel" that is actually the most critical in a heel turn is not actually in the turn at all: it's making sure that the body movement of that first backwards step drives by rolling through and pushing from the heel of the departing foot. Get that action right, and a good heel turn is likely to follow, get it wrong and it's going to be very hard to compensate for lack of a full beginning. This is doubly true of the more complicated precedes like a slip pivot - the pivot must complete and the standing foot cycle when launching the heel turn, otherwise the bodies just fall into it and the action will not be right.

In terms of where the weight is at the ending, as the turn completes, allow the knees to soften somewhat forward. This will set up for the exiting step and put the weight in the proper part of the standing foot.

A step into a Heel Turn. Very few of us ever do the footwork correctly. Swing the LF back from the hips. First with the ball of the foot and then the toe skimming the floor.. How many ever get to the toe. Possibly it is an aquired thing only perfected with a lot of practice. The standing leg must come into this equation. Nobody can extend if the weight from the standing leg has been released too early.
Do yourselves a favour and go to International Foxtrot Reverse Turn and Feather Finish found in " Learn The Dances " on this site. The little picture which we click on to our right . Take a good look at Jonathan's right leg to the toe. Copy that and you wont be far wrong. Ladies also.
Right click, print and hang it on the wall so that it will be remembered

That's just an ordinary backward walk, and if we are not extending backwards on the toe, we are making a very odd action indeed. I have moved from ball to toe before the moving foot has finished passing the standing foot. It isn't going to be much of a back stride if I don't.

The full extend of the backstride is reached by lowering back to the BOF, and then, having released the front toe, I reach the the moment of divided balance (heel front foot, ball of rear foot) I then transfer weight to the back foot, and can start a heel turn, if that is required, the turn commencing on ball of foot.