Dance Lovers: Foxtrot Intermediate

If you’ve seen and practiced to the Lampert’s similar Intermediate Waltz DVD - also available at Danceflix - you may be happy to discover that you already know most of the moves taught here.

Meanwhile, the Lamperts’ dry style doesn’t change on this DVD – Judy smiles and Foster tells you what he’s going to do, does what he says, tells you what he did, then moves on. Coffee helps.

If you don’t get up and practice (after seeing the DVD all the way through at least once first) then you’ll completely miss the boat here. This is, “See this…? Try this!” instruction and it’s very effective if you jump up and do it.

As I’ve said before, these aren’t great DVDs, but they are simple and much less bother than attending beginner classes that too often move at the speed of the worst student.

Important: if you have no experience at all, these will help tremendously if you are taking classes.

Note too that there’s little said here about how to dance to “Foxtrot” music and you’ll have to find some to practice to after you begin get the moves down. Also, you’ll need a lot of room for practice as you’re generally taking nine to twelve walking steps with many of the patterns, which, of course, connect to other such patterns.

Which brings up the issue of, “floorcraft,” knowing where to start and stop different movements without, as Foster puts it, “bumping into other people.” Pay attention to his words about starting “diagonal to the line of dance” and so forth. It’s how you’ll get around on the dance floor and very (self) confusing if you don’t take these matters into account before starting a pattern. In other words, you’ll get lost and wind up starting over.

We generally practice each “part” at home and put things together at the various dances we’re going to anyway. It only takes a little practice to learn a lot. We’ve noticed that after working in the smaller space at home, a ballroom feels like a playground!

Work, then play…