Concluding a trio of posts on easy hesitation waltzes, here is the simplest hesitation at all: a normal waltz sequence stretched over two bars of music. Albert Newman succinctly described the dance in his 1914 manual, Dances of To-Day:
In reality it is our Standard Waltz, but instead of taking two measures this Boston takes four measures.
What this works out to in practice is that the first step (forward or backward) of each half-turn is held for an entire bar (three counts) and the step to the side and close are done on the first and third counts of the second bar of music, with the overall rhythm being ONE-two-three-FOUR-five-SIX. The three steps taken over two measures give the variation one of its names; I see nothing especially English about this that would account for the other.
Three-Step Boston or English Boston
1b Gentleman steps back along line of dance with left foot while lady steps forward right (1); hold for two counts (2,3)
1b Turn one-quarter clockwise to slide second foot (gentleman's right, lady's left) along line of dance (4) and close free foot with weight, slowly (5,6) continuing to turn to place lady's back to line of dance at the beginning of the next bar
1b Lady steps back along line of dance with left foot while gentleman steps forward right (1); hold for two counts (2,3)
1b Turn one-quarter clockwise to slide lady's right foot/gentleman's left along line of dance (4) and close free foot with weight, slowly (5,6) continuing to turn to place gentleman's back to line of dance to continue
To make the steps backward along the line of dance (the gentleman in the first bar and the lady in the third), the other dancer should shorten the sliding step to allow the person stepping backward to move slightly ahead. In general, however, the relatively slow pace of this variation, even to fast music, allows for long, sweeping steps with a slight rise on the first step of the first and third bars to occupy the full three counts of music.
Newman explicitly states that the three-step Boston "can and should be done in every direction," meaning forward and backward, as well as with a reverse turn instead of a natural turn. Forward and backward waltzes would be accomplished by having either the lady or the gentleman always step backward on the first and third bars, with the side-close on the second and fourth taken at an angle along the line of dance. The reverse turn is accomplished by starting with a step back right along the line of dance; the transition can be accomplished in several different ways.
Alternating four bars of regular turning (two complete turns) and four bars of three-step Boston (one complete turn) makes a very pleasant dance sequence, especially with a mix of natural and reverse turns and forward and backward waltzes. The change in dance tempo relative to the music must be strongly led. Newman is needlessly defensive when he concludes his description of the three-step Boston by stating that
When properly performed it makes quite a dignified dance, not at all tiresome, and should be quite acceptable when one is obliged to continue dancing until the wee hours of the morning.
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