Cross-step waltz (originally, the French Valse Boston) is a
social
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
ballroom dance in
time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
, performed primarily in
closed position
In partner dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other.
Closed positions employ either body contact or body support, that is, holding each other is ...
, to slower tempo
waltz music
A waltz (German: ''Walzer''; French: ''Valse'', Italian: ''Valzer'', Spanish: ''Vals'', Polish: ''Walc''), probably deriving from German ''Ländler'', is dance music in triple meter, often written in time. A waltz typically sounds one chord ...
(around 110 to 120
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ...
). It is characterized by a "
primary cross-step" where the
Lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
role crosses the right foot over the left, as the
Follow
Follow may refer to:
* ''Follow'' (album), the third album by Pakho Chau
*Follow (dancer), one member of a partner dance
*"Follow", a song by Jerry Merrick, popularized by Richie Havens on his 1966 album ''Mixed Bag''
*"Follow", a song by Drowning ...
role crosses the left foot over the right, on the first count of the musical
measure. Cross-step waltz can travel and rotate like traditional
waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...
es, while the dynamic of the cross-step facilitates a wide range of traveling variations.
History
Cross-step waltz evolved in the early 20th century. In 1914, the "Cross Walk Boston" waltz created by Frank H. Norman foreshadowed the cross-step waltz. In the Cross Walk Boston, the Lead crossed his left foot over his right, stepped right with his right foot, and closed left to right. This was then repeated with the right foot. There is no indication that Norman's step evolved into the modern cross-step waltz but it is an early example of a cross-step waltz.
Cross-steps in general appeared between 1910 and the 1920s in the American
one-step (the Snake Dip),
Argentine tango (Cruzada, Ocho) and especially in the
foxtrot (the Cross Step). The March 1920 issue of ''
Dancing Times Magazine'' in London reported that in the foxtrot, "The crossing of the feet is popular and effective." The early foxtrots were in
time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
, but some dance manuals, like Geoffrey D'Egville's 1919 ''How and What to Dance'' in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
suggested that the Cross Step "may be introduced into the Waltz," which essentially turned this foxtrot step into cross-step waltz. In D'Egville's foxtrot version of this step, as in Norman's Cross Walk Boston, the Lead crossed his left foot over his right on the first count of the musical measure. However in the same year, Adèle Collier, also from London, described a similar foxtrot "Cross Step" beginning with the Lead's right foot. Of all the early cross-step dances, this lineage of foxtrot variations is the most likely evolutionary path that became the French Valse Boston and today's cross-step waltz.
After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Americans brought their foxtrot and blues dance steps to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, where Parisian dance teachers observed and described the variations. The first descriptions appeared in Parisian dance and music magazines (such as ''La Baionnette'' and ''Musica-Album'') in 1919, then in dance manuals beginning in 1920 (for example, ''Toutes Les Danses Pour Tous'' and ''Les 15 Danses Modernes''). Significantly, most of these French descriptions commenced the dance steps with the Lead's right foot.
Around 1930, waltz tempos were slowed to a walking tempo, about 110-120 bpm, allowing the French crossed-step foxtrot to become a form of waltz, called Valse Boston, which was identical to today's cross-step waltz. At the same time, ballroom dancers in England and the United States developed their own slow waltz variations, but commencing with the Lead's left foot. This gave the cross-step (the "Twinkle" in American slow waltz) a different musical dynamic and momentum from the French Valse Boston, which began with the Lead's right foot.
Cross-step waltz was demonstrated in the 1944 American
Lindy hop
The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many danc ...
film "Groovie Movie," with the Lead's right foot crossing on the musical downbeat.
The French Valse Boston has partially faded away, although it can still be seen today in
southern France and occasionally in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. It was revived in the United States around 1994, developed into a social dance form with hundreds of variations, and renamed cross-step waltz. Cross-step waltz has been spreading in the 21st century, is now popular at more than thirty mostly-waltz dance groups across the United States, and has recently become widespread in outdoor parks in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.
["Chinese Waltzing." YouTube. September 29, 2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSatuU0eJaM]
References
External links
Stanford University page describing cross-step waltzMore than 300 videos of cross-step waltz variations for the Waltz LabAnother list of popular cross-step waltz variations with videos
{{Dance
Waltz
Triple time dances