Foxtrot Lessons

    Vaudeville actor Harry Fox originated the Foxtrot in the summer of 1914. As part of his act, Harry Fox was doing "trotting" steps to the very popular ragtime music, and people referred to his dance jokingly as "Fox's Trot." But the name caught on. Shortly thereafter exhibition dancers, the Vernon Castles, popularized the Foxtrot in their performances and the elite of the dancing world were soon trying to capture the unusual style of movement of the Foxtrot. Another performer, G.K. Andersn danced his way from London to the U.S. and with Josephine Bradley won many American competitions. And the Foxtrot spread.

    The Foxtrot was the most significant development in all of ballroom dancing. The combination of quick and slow steps period more flexibility and gave much greater dancing pleasure than the one-step and two-step which it replaced. There is more variety in the Foxtrot than in any other dance, and in some ways it is the most challenging dance to learn! Variations of the Foxtrot include the Peabody, the Quickstep and Roseland Foxtrot. Even dances such as the Lindy and the Hustle are derived to some extent from the Foxtrot.