History of Two-Step

The name "two-step" evolved from a French term, "valse a' deux temps," which means, "waltz of two beats." It has a pattern of two quick steps followed by two slower steps and that is where it gets its name. The two-step dance has been in existence since the 19th century. It began as a variation of the waltz, which was a precursor to the two-step dance. The waltz was banned in several countries after its inception in the 1600s since it was the first dance to allow the man and woman to touch each other's waists and was considered scandalous at the time. The two-step dance was not quickly accepted, as the public felt it looked jerky when danced to waltz music. By the 1800s, the waltz was becoming more acceptable, and this made the transition to two-step, and later couple dance, more acceptable in society. However, two-step did not catch on until new music was written that fit its pattern better than traditional waltz music. But in 1891, John Phillip Sousa published the Washington Post March. The tempo of this march was better suited to the two-step than older waltz tunes, and dancers increasingly turned to the two-step. There was a large amount of music written for the two-step and but when ragtime began to appear, the popularity of the Sousa marches started to reduce. Therefore, people who wanted to keep dancing the two-step did it to foxtrot music, since the foxtrot was the upcoming trend at that time. In 1847, in his book "La Danse des Salons", Henri Cellarius expressed his regrets about the use of the term "deux temps" stating that the dance would be better accepted if it were called "deux pas" (two step) as the term better described the step of the dance .The two-step persisted in countrydances throughout the 20th century, even after it fell out of use in large cities. The two-step mainly consists of a "leader" (traditionally a man) and a "follower" (traditionally a woman). The leader determines the movements and patterns of the pair as they move around the dance floor. It is a progressive dance that proceeds counterclockwise around the floor. Generally, the dancers begin in a closed position with the leader facing the line of dance. The follower faces the leader. The frame of the couple is such that the leader places his right hand over his partner's left shoulder. In the contemporary styling, the closed position is formed by placing the right hand under the follower's left arm and on her back. The leader holds the follower's right hand in his left hand at about shoulder height. There are several dance positions to the two-step. Some dance positions include the Sweetheart position in which the couple moves side by side. The leader's right hand is on the follower's right shoulder and the left hands are together near the left shoulder. Another position is the Shadow two-step, which is also a side-by-side dance. The girl places her right hand on the back of her right hip, the boy has his right hand placed in hers and his left hand at hip level on his left side. The girl reaches her left hand across to place in his. The third move is the Wrap or cuddle

position in which the girl's left arm crosses her body and holds the right hand of the boy. The girl crosses her right arm over her left and he places his left hand in it. This is also a side-by-side position. Some other positions are the Skater, Promenade and Reverse Promenade. The two-step traditionally includes three steps that are, a quick step, another quickstep and then a slow step. In modern times, this is also called as Texas Polka and can be danced to music that has either a 2/4 or a 4/4 time signature. Older dance manuals specify that the real two-step should be smooth and beautiful to watch. Modern dance styles have continued to be smooth and have added a slight rhythm to it. The same step pattern of step, close, step, with a timing of quick quick slow was given as the definition of Country-Western Two Step in 1983. This two-step has its origins in the European and Mexican dance history and had appeared in Germany and Hungary in the 19th century. The steps danced at Mexican fandangos were also an influence on the evolution of two-step dance. The common dance positions in this case are an open position with the lead placing his right hand on the follower's left shoulder, a closed position with no space between the partners and a closed overhand position in which the lead wraps his left forearm over the follower's right forearm and clasps her hand with his palm against the back of her hand. There is also a side-by-side, a shoulder hold and a cape position for this dance. A variation of the two-step dance is the Texas two-step, which was originally known as the Texas Shuffle or Foxtrot step. It is danced to music with a 4/4 time signature and consists of four steps with the timing: quick, quick, slow, slow and the pattern of movement can be aptly described as "Step-together, walk, walk". This two-step has been in existence since 1983. The two-step can be danced over a fairly wide range of tempos, such as 130 beats per minute to over 200 beats per minute while accomplished dancers can dance to tempos above 185 beats per minute. In this dance, the basic two-step consists of two quick steps, followed by two slow steps (or alternately, two slow steps followed by two quick steps). Dancing may start with either the slow steps, or the quick steps. Here, the leader begins by stepping forward with his left foot. The follower begins by stepping backward with her right foot. Ideally, the quick steps are full strides, with one foot passing the other on each step. However, in informal situations, when the beat of the music is fast, the second quick step may be a shuffle, with the foot that's behind after the first quick step sliding up to, but not even with the foot in front. More variations for this kind of two-step are the Rhythm two-step, the Double twostep, and the Night Club two-step.