There are several types of lock step in waltz dancing, including International Standard waltz. A "lock step" is when the moving foot approaches to the standing foot and crosses in front of or behind it, creating a "check" position. [1]
There are several locking steps in waltz, including: the back lock, which is a Bronze syllabus figure; the turning lock, of the Silver syllabus; and the turning lock to right, of the Gold syllabus. [2]
The back lock is a Bronze syllabus step. It is a progressive figure borrowed from quickstep. It is commonly used as the ending to a progressive chassé to right. [2]
Beat | Foot position | Alignment | Amount of turn | Footwork |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Left foot back in contra body movement position (CBMP) | Backing diagonal wall | Toe – heel | |
2 (1⁄2 beat) | Right foot back | Backing diagonal wall | Toe | |
& (1⁄2 beat) | Left foot crosses in front of right foot | Backing diagonal wall | Toe | |
3 | Right foot diagonally back | Backing diagonal wall | Toe – heel | |
Beat | Foot position | Alignment | Amount of turn | Footwork |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Right foot forward in CBMP, outside partner (OP) | Facing diagonal wall | Heel – toe | |
2 (1⁄2 beat) | Left foot diagonally forward | Facing diagonal wall | Toe | |
& (1⁄2 beat) | Right foot crosses behind left foot | Facing diagonal wall | Toe | |
3 | Left foot diagonally forward | Facing diagonal wall | Toe – heel | |
The forward lock is the same figure as the back lock, only with reversed roles between leader and follower. [3]
The turning lock is a Silver syllabus step. It transitions from a right turning figure into a left-turning one.
Beat | Foot position | Alignment | Amount of turn | Footwork |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 (1⁄2 beat) | Right foot back, right side leading | Backing diagonal center | Toe | |
& (1⁄2 beat) | Left foot crosses in front of right foot | Backing diagonal center | Toe | |
2 | Right foot back and slightly right | Backing diagonal center | Start to turn left | Toe |
3 | Left foot to side and slightly forward | Pointing diagonal wall | 1⁄4 between 2 and 3, body turns less | Toe – heel |
1 | Right foot forward in CBMP, OP | Facing diagonal wall | Heel | |
Beat | Foot position | Alignment | Amount of turn | Footwork |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 (1⁄2 beat) | Left foot forward, left side leading | Facing diagonal center | Toe | |
& (1⁄2 beat) | Right foot crosses behind left foot | Facing diagonal center | Toe | |
2 | Left foot forward and slightly left | Facing diagonal center | Start to turn left | Toe |
3 | Right foot to side and slightly back | Backing diagonal wall | 1⁄4 between 2 and 3, body turns less | Toe – heel |
1 | Left foot back in CBMP | Backing diagonal wall | Toe | |
The turning lock to right is a Gold syllabus step. It was only added to the ISTD syllabus after 1966, due to its increasing popularity. [4]
Beat | Foot position | Alignment | Amount of turn | Footwork |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 (1⁄2 beat) | Right foot back right side leading | Backing line of dance | Toe | |
& (1⁄2 beat) | Left foot crosses loosely in front of right foot | Facing center | 1⁄4 to right between 1 and "&" | Toe |
2 | Right foot to side and slightly forward, small step, between partner's feet | Facing diagonal center | 1⁄8 between "&" and 2 | Toe |
3 | Left foot diagonal forward, left side leading in promenade position (PP) | Pointing diagonal center, body facing line of dance | Slight body turn to right | Toe – heel |
Beat | Foot position | Alignment | Amount of turn | Footwork |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 (1⁄2 beat) | Left foot forward, left side leading | Facing line of dance | Toe | |
& (1⁄2 beat) | Right foot crosses loosely behind left foot | Backing center | 1⁄4 to right between 1 and "&" | Toe |
2 | Left foot to side and slightly back | Backing diagonal center | 1⁄8 between "&" and 2 | Toe |
3 | Right foot to side in PP, having brushed towards left foot | Pointing to center, moving diagonal center | 3⁄8 between 2 and 3, body turns less | Toe – heel |
The waltz, meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple, performed primarily in closed position.
The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a 4
4 time signature instead of 3
4. Developed in the 1910s, the foxtrot reached its height of popularity in the 1930s and remains practiced today.
A redowa is a dance of Czech origin with turning, leaping waltz steps that was popular in European ballrooms.
This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those.
In ballroom dancing, directions of progressive movement, in particular directions of steps, can be indicated either in relation to the room or in relation to the body position. Directions of turns, although there are only two of them, may also be indicated in several ways.
Box step is a basic dance step named after the pattern it creates on the floor, which is that of a square or box. It is used in a number of American Style ballroom dances: rumba, waltz, bronze-level foxtrot. While it can be performed individually, it is usually done with a partner. This is the most common dance step in the waltz. In international standard dance competition, there is a similar step called closed change.
The closed change is a Pre-Bronze, or newcomer waltz figure, performed in closed position. Changes may start of the right foot or left foot, moving forward or backward. This makes four different types of closed changes. Combining two changes results in a box step. In right changes the man starts from the right foot, while in left ones the man starts from the left foot.
Samba de Gafieira is a partner dance to various Brazilian samba musical rhythms. Unlike street and club forms of Brazilian samba, it evolved as a ballroom dance.
The feather or feather step is a dance figure in the International Style foxtrot. Depending on a syllabus, it consists of three or four steps, with the third step done outside the lady with a slight turn in the body position to the right.
Waltz is one of the five dances in the Standard category of the International Style ballroom dances. It was previously referred to as slow waltz or English waltz.
V6 is a silver level dance pattern of the quickstep International Standard Ballroom dance syllabus. The couple moves diagonally to the center (DC) and then diagonally to the wall (DW), thus sweeping a V-shape on the floor.
Contra body movement is used in ballroom dances, such as waltz, foxtrot, tango, and quickstep. It comprises turning the body against the movement of the legs: either moving forward with the right foot and the left hip and shoulder, or vice versa.
The whisk is a ballroom dance step used in the waltz and American style Viennese waltz. It is one of several ways to get into promenade position and is used to turn dancers around corners or change their direction on the dance floor. It can be performed after a reverse turn.
A natural turn is a dance step in which the partners turn around each other clockwise. Its near-mirror counterpart is the reverse turn, which is turning to the counter-clockwise.
Corta Jaca is a figure from the Bronze level syllabus of the ballroom Samba dance, danced in closed position.
The impetus is a ballroom dance step used in the waltz, foxtrot or quickstep. The open impetus is one of several ways to get into promenade position and is used to turn dancers around corners or change their direction on the dance floor. It is often performed after a natural turn.
The Telemark is a ballroom dance step; in waltz competition, it is in the Silver syllabus. Telemarks are reverse turns where the follower does a heel turn as the leader travels around her. There are similar Telemarks in foxtrot and quickstep.
A wing is a ballroom dance move, in the silver syllabus of competition waltz. It is a transitional movement that repositions the follower to the leader's left side. Thus, while many dance moves can precede a wing, only a reverse movement can follow a wing, such as a reverse turn, double reverse spin, Telemark, fallaway reverse, or drag hesitation.
The chassé is a waltz ballroom dance figure. Like chassés in other dances, it involves a triple-step where one foot "chases" the other in a "step-together-step" pattern. It is derived from a ballet step.