"Seven steps" is actually something of a misnomer for this variation, which actually involves eight steps taken over two measures of half and half (5/4) time. Its original source, Frank H. Norman's Complete Dance Instructor (Ottawa, 1914) lists it only as step "No. 2" (out of two) for the half and half. The Half and Half section of Norman's book is credited to George E Rutherford.
The basic principle of the step is to take a single slow hesitating step, lasting three counts as usual (1-2-3), and then take seven quick steps on the last two beats of the first measure and all five beats of the second (4-5-1-2-3-4-5). Like the five-step variation, this is a very "busy" step that is best done to a very gentle tempo of half and half music.
Rutherford's description has the gentleman starting on the right foot and going forward along line of dance while the lady goes backward. He describes the seven quick steps as "Beginning l. take seven short running steps forward, forcing the Lady backward count 4-5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5." That's clear enough, but not much fun to do repeatedly, even if one reverses the genders and has the man run backward. But Rutherford gives three possible variations, one of which I want to cover here:
"The running steps may be taken -- four forward -- and three back..."
1 Gentleman forward right (lady back left)
2 (hesitate)
3 (hesitate)
4 Gentleman forward left (lady back right)
5 Gentleman forward right (lady back left)
1 Gentleman forward left (lady back right)
2 Gentleman forward right (lady side left); dancers pivot clockwise halfway
3 Gentleman back left (lady forward right)
4 Gentleman back right (lady forward left)
5 Gentleman back left (lady forward right)
On the repeat, the gentleman would step back right to start and the pivot step would be his right foot to the side, making a reverse pivot:
1 Gentleman back right (lady forward left)
2 (hesitate)
3 (hesitate)
4 Gentleman back left (lady forward right)
5 Gentleman back right (lady forward left)
1 Gentleman back left (lady forward right)
2 Gentleman side right (lady forward left); dancers pivot counter-clockwise halfway
3 Gentleman forward left (lady back right)
4 Gentleman forward right (lady back left)
5 Gentleman forward left (lady back right)
Danced thus, the dancers never make a full turn; they just swing back and forth with half-turns each way. One can also start the sequence with the gentleman moving forward left first, which will result in a reverse (counter-clockwise) half-turn the first time through and a natural (clockwise) half-turn on the repeat.
If one wants to make full turns as well as make the dance less hectic, alternating the seven steps with odd numbers of bars of normal backing the lady/gentleman will reset the feet to enable a second half-turn in the same direction. There's no way to make this into a perfect repeating sequence, but one should try to at least avoid having the seven steps cross the eight-bar musical phrase or four-bar half-phrase, which feels painfully out of synch with the music. One possible sequence:
bars 1 & 2: seven steps
bars 3 & 4: normal half and half
bar 5: normal half and half
bars 6 & 7: seven steps
bar 8: normal half and half
Rather than dancing the seven steps repeatedly or making an effort to achieve full turns, however, I feel that it's better to either do it just twice, flipping back and forth, or even once, just to make a half-turn that's more exciting than a pivot turn or waltz turn before continuing on with any of the other traveling steps.
Rutherford's other variations for the seven steps involve taking eight steps to the seven counts, which I regard as both awkward and slightly ridiculous (the steps are already fast enough without adding more!) and doing the seven steps in a "circle to the right and REVERSE", which I will cover at some future point.
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