Characteristics and Basic Skills of Foxtrot Dance

I. Introduction

Every musical beat of foxtrot is 4 beats, 1 beat is a remake, and the third beat is a remake. Slow tempo equals 2 beats, and fast tempo equals 1 beat.

On the basis of 19 13, Harry Fox choreographed and created a dance with the rhythm of American neo-black jazz, and introduced a self-designed funny song and dance, which premiered in the roof garden of new york cinema, starring Fox and Yanqi Dooley, and was unexpectedly applauded, thundered and shouted? Fox fox "! Therefore, it is rapidly popular in the United States and some European countries. Fox? Dance was later adapted into English dance by British dance expert Yue Se Fang Li Bin.

It was not until 1928 that it entered the first wharf in China-Shanghai Beach. Fox? The English translation means fox. In China, people call it foxtrot. In fact, foxtrot has nothing to do with foxes, but this kind of dance feels like a trot, but it is a name code of dance, and there is no need to investigate right or wrong.

The style of foxtrot is characterized by strong sense of flow, light movements, smooth stretching, steady and generous, leisurely and leisurely. When moving forward, the footwork moves lightly with the ground, and when moving backward, the heel cannot be dragged heavily on the floor. The stride is big, the unsynchronized long lines don't stop, and the dance steps should be continuous and smooth. The orientation is changeable, and the upper body moves back and forth continuously, and the reflectivity should not be too great. When moving forward or backward, the strength should be kept forward or backward. The two partners kept clever contact without broken bodies, and the dance steps were smoothly connected. At the same time, the foxtrot technique uses a lot of turning movements, which highlights the characteristics of the dance. Foxtrot is a kind of oblique pendulum. The usual ups and downs begin to rise at the end of the first step, keep rising at the end of the second and third steps, and then fall at the end of the third step. The ups and downs are parabolic. Beginners should not use waltz to do foxtrot. It is particularly important to note that when retreating, the toes of the front feet will rise first and then leave the ground, so that the body will rise and then fall, but the feet will not. It is rare for both feet to retreat and rise at the same time, but the front heel will rise, which is called barefoot rise. But different dance steps have different lifts.

Second, the basic skills

First of all, let's talk about the views on correct technical skills: the most important thing is to understand clearly and thoroughly the composition of these correct skills. If the technology of this chain plays an important role, its whole structure will be destroyed. Assuming that these incorrect knowledge information is transmitted by coaches who train national dancers, it will form a "shock effect" in some countries. Like a waterfall, incorrect skills will be passed on to learners one level below these players, which will be as terrible as a plague. This phenomenon is likely to flood the immature market in China. It is gratifying that there are a group of dancers and scholars who really stick to the mainstream position in colleges and universities in China, as well as scholars like Mr. Hu, who have made unremitting exploration and found the artistic law of the beauty of modern dance art

1. Rack type

The shoulders are similar to hangers, the head is a hook, and the center of gravity is the coat on the hanger; When dancing, the head is used to help adjust the center of gravity; When standing on tiptoe, the center of gravity hangs on the hanger, with the waist as the boundary, the upper part extends upward and the lower part presses the floor; When dancing, take the waist as the boundary, drive the lower body and pull the upper body; When you start dancing, you stand in a high position, which is similar to the feeling of platform diving.

When hugging, both sides should be on the same line as the center of gravity, and the man asks the woman to come over through his own body shape. The right side is aimed at the women's center, and the left side is? Through? Women's center. Ladies should keep their own space.

When holding, the man's right hand should not be too tight, otherwise it will not be a real balance. The balance of the body is not an artificial balance deliberately created, but a dynamic balance through the upward extension of the body. Every step and every process is balanced. Balance is achieved through the drive of the body. After each action is completed, we must pay attention to the body's righting, that is, returning to the initial state of the frame, so as to facilitate the start of the next step.

2. Forward and backward.

Walking, as an independent dance step, does not appear in the performance process, and all walking steps constitute an important part of the basic dance steps. Don't think that walking is easy, it is the most difficult step in modern dance. If you can't master this step correctly, you can't continue to learn other moves of foxtrot.

Progress (progress)

Moving forward as smooth as silk on the floor comes from their understanding of the principle of body contact and body tilt. Because the music rhythm of foxtrot is slow, the stride is slightly longer than quickstep, the knee joint is looser than quickstep, and the knee joint is gradually straightened and compressed, which will make foxtrot soft.

When translating forward, the center of gravity is one step at a time. After each step is in place, only let the main foot touch the ground, feel the center of gravity with the foot, and then the strength runs from the foot, ankle, knee, hip, back and back neck to the top of the head. Because foxtrot is a slow pace that takes two beats, it is necessary to have work to do in a town. The wrong way is often that the process has no content, or it rises too early, for example, sticking out your right foot. When in place; Traction in front of the right knee joint, accumulate strength and press the ground, and close your left foot next to your right foot. Put your left leg away. In other words, release yourself at the age of one, continue to accumulate strength at the age of two, and keep pressing the ground, release, press the ground, and release ... indefinitely.

Go back.

Walking backwards is the more difficult step. The most important thing to remember is to keep a forward posture every step, and at the same time, the heel touches the ground, which means that the heel is lifted off the ground. If the feet are raised, it will seriously hinder the smooth dance steps. Besides, every step of foxtrot has drag, which needs to be dragged with the inside of the foot like hesitation, so that the strength can be more sustained.

John Wood said that when a woman retreats, the first step is the shortest, the second step is a little longer and the third step is the longest. When you step back, you feel that you are moving forward, including your knees, chest and center of gravity.

Another important point is: the heel landing slowly when retreating.

This paper introduces an exercise method to strengthen ankle strength and enhance the control ability of heel falling: ballet first pushes your left foot shoulder width, the instep stands up, and the knee pushes along the toe direction, then your heel will not fall off. When your body is quiet above your knees, your heels move up and down in a controlled way. This action is done to train and strengthen ankle strength and control ability, and the effect is obvious!

The teacher also reminded me not to deliberately tuck in my abdomen, but to lift it on the diaphragm, drag the rectus abdominis downward, look at the floor at the navel and tighten the middle waist. It is easy to make mistakes when retreating from the low position. Lean back or sit down, leave your hips and thighs to your partner and block the dance steps, that is, your body does not pull up, your hips do not swing back, and your legs do not fold.

3. Rotation/rotary motion

Turning with smooth quality depends on their clear understanding of the principle of reflexive action. This action activates almost all rotation or rotation, and it must be combined with body contact and body tilt to make the rotation more smooth.

The following quality in foxtrot is an important link and an important aspect of basic skills.

This behavior of people is reflected in the closed power. First of all, he stepped back in a straight line, turned right, and raised his end slightly, but his feet did not rise. He turned his left foot and heel, continued to rise from heel to toe, and changed his center of gravity. The center of gravity is on the right foot, the right palm continues to rotate, the left foot moves sideways and slightly backwards, stays on the floor and finally descends, and the right foot retreats and turns left. SQQS .

To do this well, the teacher said, I only told you in the small class, so mysterious! In fact, there are many places that should be paid attention to. 1, turn with your left foot and one heel, haha, so that's it. If you break enough paper, the problem will be solved; 2. Don't step backward with your left foot too much; 3. Don't bend the knee joint of the left leg excessively, and almost straighten the knee; 4, the rise should not be too early, try to slow down; 5. The man should lean to the left and stay at Q, so as to receive the forward twitching action of the woman on the right; 6, the man's left side should be fixed, the left shoulder sinks, and the left back muscles contract to form the left axis of the body.

Women should use follow-up in natural turn and reverse turn. In addition to the above points, what women should pay attention to is the guidance of men, which is too important! Even the hostess, if there is a problem with the introduction of men, women can't do it. The key is that men think it is not turning, but swinging forward, keeping one side tilted, but not rising too early.

No matter what turn it is, pay attention to continuity. I think the key to the handspring is that the power pedal and moving foot can't be empty.

Later, before you turn around, you need to have a sense of pulling your front legs to make way for your partner. Don't want to turn first After you turn around, the shift of your center of gravity is driven by muscle stretching.

Generally speaking, because the person who follows the turn is the inner ring, we should invite the partner of the outer ring in by stepping over and giving way. After the partner passes, he will shift his center of gravity through muscle stretching and send the partner out.

Hehe, practice makes perfect, and more practice can get more experience and experience. There are other rotations, not to mention!

4. Primary roads

Mass and rhythmic tilting (head-to-toe alignment) is to add a reflexive movement (CBM) to the whole body and tilt the body during the whole rotating (non-rotating) movement.

Although foxtrot is not as square as waltz, if you want to jump out of the feeling of 3 or 4 lateral movements, you still have to turn your hips obliquely.

When feathering, the feet are driven by the swing of the body; The first step and the second step of foxtrot have a feeling of modeling, and modeling should be continuous in foxtrot dance.

Foxtrot is driven by the lower back, and the first two steps of each bar are driven. What about the last? Fly? . No flying, no foxtrot.

When the body is in CBMP position, the strength gradually increases from the heel through the hip to the stretched back muscles, so that the body drives the foot, which is released at three or four o'clock, and then four &; & Repeat again. The third step, from the left shoulder to the left foot, should be connected into a whole, inclined as a whole, pressed to the ground below the waist, and extended upward above the waist (ibid.).

When dancing, the left side is slightly in front of the right side. Even if it is three steps straight, the left side is still forward. What did John Wood say here? Give your heart to your partner and keep your wallet for yourself? .

When extending, you still have to step on it and pull it up. The extension direction is the direction of the toes of the main foot. Don't deliberately extend beyond the toe direction, and don't show the lines by turning your shoulders.

5. Rise and fall (rise and fall; Autumn)

The smooth and graceful lift in foxtrot is like a yacht floating on a smooth wave. Not only the elastic movement of the knee, but also the good control of the ankle and foot on the lift. This is also the dancer's ability to produce correct and inherent characteristics.

Fox-trot dance is not like waltz, with big ups and downs and big waves; The wave of foxtrot dance is relatively gentle, not pursuing high, but pursuing flowing water. The pentathlon of modern dance is compared from the range of rising and falling, and their order is: waltz, foxtrot, Viennese waltz, trot and tango (without rising and falling).

Foxtrot dance rises and falls, looking for the feeling of heel down. When the teacher talks about rising, the heel rises slowly. First, the body does not rise, and finally the heel is forced to leave the ground. The teacher stressed that four should always flow forward, which is different from waltz's three and can't stand still. Half past four. & You must press it in place before you can let go of the step behind you. The second is to press the ground again, and the third is to release it, but the hind feet should not be loose. Fourth, don't fall with a plop, close your feet slowly and gently, and have an instep. Then at&; When you carry your back, you should stand up and then fall down. That &; It makes no difference.

For example: three steps, straight three steps, the first step falls, the second step rises in the second half, and the third step stays at the top and falls behind. The teacher specially instructed the second step to start slowly, which is the most typical performance of foxtrot without lifting the feet. The left leg stretches forward to start the heel.

6.CBM & ampCBMP

Back to the reflexive action (CBM), the place where this tool is especially used is the external partner. For example, foxtrot represents the feather step in dance steps, and most world champion dancers can say that they have spent hundreds of hours practicing this basic step.

When CBM is used as an external match (such as FeatherStep Sqq for men):

Step one: s

The right foot advances with CBM, and he and his partner are in the straight position, but the body in the reverse position (left) is guided by synchronization (note: the reflexive movement forms the rotation of the body due to the elasticity of the knee standing on the foot).

Step two: ask.

Left foot forward, left foot forward, with the increase of left guidance, ready to be the next foreign partner.

Step 3: ask.

When the right foot advances to the outside partner, the left body is still in the trimming position, which is the so-called reflexive position CBMP(CBMP is similar to the reflexive position CBM, but the stepping foot is on the same line with the other foot, which differs from CBM in appearance in that the reflexive position does not rotate the body).

The slow first step, one put the foot right, two are reflexive, qq is brought out by the body, and the slow second half is reflexive.

Use of feet: graceful footwork is an indispensable part of good dance. When walking forward, the heel is the moment you step out of your foot, and your toes have been touching the ground before; When feathering, the feet are driven by the swing of the body; At the end of the feather step, the inside of the foot passes by and becomes the outside that touches the ground when landing.

Now let's talk about the very important part: a woman should keep in touch with her partner and change her body angle, so the relative position with her partner should be from coaxial position to the outer partner, then back to coaxial position, and then follow the next step, with her left foot moving forward (maybe three steps or backwards).

The span is downward, and the stomach, chest, cheekbones and forehead extend upward. Part of the emphasis here is that the feet can't get up and the body can get up, that is, there is no foot to get up. During eclosion, the woman's body rises twice as much as the man's, because the man stands on tiptoe and his body rises, while the woman follows the ground with her feet every step.

Although the action of the external partner seems simple, it is often misunderstood and the dance is wrong. Even in international competitions, if you want to achieve excellent results, you need to practice the following three basic items: physical contact, correct grip and artistic posture between partners. Now let's talk about it again. If the action of the outside partner is not reflexive, the man's first step has no angle, and the man's left foot must walk obliquely instead of in a straight line, which will cause three times the mistake:

(a) In the third step, the man will almost certainly lose physical contact with his partner, so as to push to the right of the woman, so that his right foot can push to the lateral position.

(b) The lady has crossed his right hip, and the grip between the partners has been distorted, and the two have formed a very uncomfortable posture.

(3) At this time, their appearance is twice as wide as it should be, their posture has been destroyed, and there is no artistic beauty at all. Taking conspicuous choreography as a shortcut and trying to skip the idea of reaching the peak of skills seems fascinating, but it is tantamount to a mirage of self-confusion. Don't fall into this trap.

Then briefly introduce two classic steps:

(1), turning in the opposite direction, it is difficult for the lady to keep up with the turn. Step on your body and don't let your hind legs loose. Continue to push up and send out, the instep should be. The man swung straight ahead. If you don't turn left, you will naturally turn left. Three-four, that is, fast-fast, if you want to keep fit, you can't retreat, and you should give space under your feet to let the lady's legs have a forward position.

(2) The feathering is completed. When it is slow, the body does not walk. First, the left foot swings backwards, giving space for the lady to move forward. When it is fast, the right leg twists the ankle and sends it out together, which is the same as the waltz's left turn. At this time, four people were walking outside, still unable to splash down, so he had to stretch forward. Finally, the feeling of instep sliding should be practiced by yourself.

Third, about the chest and waist.

In particular, it is necessary to understand what it feels like to dance with your chest and waist, whether it is a man or a woman, but the movements of women are more typical. We should clearly understand the importance of chest and waist in dance, which is the most important place to pay attention to in class and training. All other footwork, body posture and line extension are the result of chest and waist movement. Any movement, no matter how difficult, is easy to find a solution as long as you know how to keep and switch between the left and right chest and waist. Moreover, using the chest and waist to guide the dance can better maintain the beauty, continuity and fluency of the movement.

Four. music

Foxtrot music is a slow four-beat music with a long rhythm, which is manifested in the limbs, that is, the feet are retracted through muscle extension, which naturally makes the feet close slowly and faster, much like the feeling of chasse from P.P. in the bronze waltz. The teacher said to feel the music in advance, and the feet should be consistent with the musicians. If we follow what we hear, we will definitely lose music and control it, so we should feel music through breathing and muscle stretching.

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