Rock step (also called break step) may refer to one of several similar

dance move Dance moves or dance steps (more complex dance moves are called dance patterns, dance figures, dance movements, or dance variations) are usually isolated, defined, and organized so that beginning dancers can learn and use them independently of each ...

s. The name refers to the rocking action during the move: the weight is transferred from one foot to another and then back. It is used in a number of dances, such as East Coast Swing,

Zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

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 ...

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

. Most often it is a two-step

executed in two beats of music. There are two basic versions: rock back and rock forward. They may start with any foot.

Basic rocks

In rock back, the dancer steps backwards with full weight transfer then transfers the weight back to the front foot while keeping it in place. In rock forward, the dancer steps forward with full weight transfer then transfers the weight to the back foot while keeping it in place. In some dances, e.g., East Coast Swing or

, the partners rock from opposite feet in opposite directions, i.e., both are doing rock back, e.g., during the basic step sequence: "triple step, triple step, rock step". In others the rocks are done from opposite feet, but in the same direction, i.e., when the leader rocks back, the follower rocks forward.

Turning rocks

In some dances (

Argentine tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as AB ...

) the rock step is used to change the direction of travel. In such cases a one or both steps the dancer may perform a certain amount of

pivot turn In dance, a pivot turn (or simply pivot) is a general classification for dance turns in which the performer's body rotates about its vertical axis without traveling. The performer may be supported by one or both feet, which swivel in place during t ...

. In

, the turning rock step is also known as a rotational rock step, due to the

rotation Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...

of the body's

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

to change direction or prep for a

move Move may refer to: People * Daniil Move (born 1985), a Russian auto racing driver Brands and enterprises * Move (company), an online real estate company * Move (electronics store), a defunct Australian electronics retailer * Daihatsu Move Go ...

. The degree of rotation in the turning rock step varies with how far the dancer wants to change direction. When used as a prep for a

, the degree of rotation depends on how much

tension Tension may refer to: Science * Psychological stress * Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching of an object (the opposite of compression) * Tension (geology), a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions * Voltage or el ...

must be built up in the connection between the dancers in order to properly execute the move.

Rock step vs break step

Sometimes the terms ''rock step'' and ''break step'' are used interchangeably e.g., ''Forward Rock'' and ''Forward Break''. The stylistic difference is that in the ''rock step'' the emphasis is in the rocking action during the step, while the term ''break'' carries the meaning of the change of the direction into the opposite, i.e., the ''forward break'' changes the direction of the movement from forward to backward.

Dance variations named "Rock Step"

*In

, the Rock Step is the name of a pattern obtained from the Zydeco's Basic Step if the leader on count 6 makes a little push for the follower to rock back (on 7,8) and rocks himself back.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock Step Social dance steps