Ah, June, when one turns one's thoughts (and feet) to...weird little foxtrot variations!
This time around, let's look at a pair of steps, or rather step-sequences, from Edna Stuart Lee's Thirty Fox Trot Steps (New York, 1916) that both involve quick dips. These are actually ever-so-slightly harder to do than the usually run of walks, trots, glides, and two-steps that make up a great deal of the 1910s foxtrot repertoire. Lee noted that the first of these, The Coney Island Dip, is "very exhilarating and excellent exercise for the lungs."
The gentleman's steps are given; the lady dances opposite.
The Coney Island Dip
12 Walk forward along line of dance (left, right)
3&4 Two-step (left-right-left) ending in a dip on both knees
123 Walk forward along line of dance (right, left, right)
4 Close left to right without weight
Lee notes that it is "natural" to rise on the toes in the middle of the two-step (the "&") before making the dip. I would add to that that you have to come back up fast, on the invisible "&" before the next walking step. Think of the first part as "walk, walk, step-close-DOWN-UP". It's not difficult, at least if your knees are in good shape, but one needs to be careful not to dip too far unless one has the fast-twitch muscle power to bounce just as far up again at speed.
Gentlemen leading this need to be careful to keep their torso upright on the dip and stretch the final step (4) of the two-step so that the lady naturally bends her knee. It is somewhere between awkward and terrifying for a lady when a man leans directly into her (forcing her to tilt or arch backward) and pushes her toward the floor while dancing. Backward is even scarier than face-first (as in this maxixe dip). Make the dip a natural result of a longer step; as with that maxixe dip, the effect needs to be more like "lunge".
As you come up from the dip (lunge), make sure your weight stays on the leading foot (his left, her right). You bend both knees, but the weight is not equally distributed. The trailing foot has to swing forward (backward for the lady) to take the next walking step.
A final note: there's no reason this step can't be done on the other foot. Use a catch step (single two-step) or scissors catch to switch the lead foot and it works fine with a right-foot lead.
The Kellerman Dip
1234 Walk forward along line of dance (left, right, left, right), turning a quarter to the left (counterclockwise!) on the fourth step
123 Complete the half-turn by stepping backward along the line of dance (left) and then walk two more steps (right, left) backward along line of dance
4 Step backward (right) along line of dance, bending the knee in a dip and leaving the left leg extended forward (against line of dance), raising it slightly, toe pointed ("cut")
1-8 Rise quickly (before "1") and repeat all of this against line of dance, again starting on the left foot
The most critical note for this variation is that the repeat goes against line of dance, so, as Lee says:
It may be danced in a small room, in a straight line from one side to the other and back again, but must not be attempted on the ballroom floor unless there is plenty of space.
For "plenty of space" I would read "very few people dancing", since it's less the size of the room than the degree of crowding that is the problem. It's a nice move to do in the center of the room where, hopefully, there are no other couples to interfere with. Dance with care. Or, perhaps, skip the repeat.
Lee offers extra tips for the "cut":
In the "cut," the entire body is balanced on the right foot with the right knee bent. Try to balance the body in this way and you will naturally thrust the left foot forward.
As with The Coney Island Dip, the gentleman needs to consider his lead carefully. He knows that the dip coming. The lady presumably does not, at least not the first time. If he just dips straight down and kicks his left leg straight forward, he is quite likely to kick her in the shin. Once again, lengthen the "dip" step into more of a "lunge" so that her right leg is naturally extended backward. And be gentle about thrusting the left leg forward. Don't try to kick. Just allow the leg to rise naturally, and not all that far. With a longer step, this will be fairly natural.
Once the lady gets the idea, the dip can become more like the "cut" Lee describes, which is fun and dramatic. But that's not the way to initiate the step when improvising.
Lee also notes that this step works fine in one-step, which it does. With a fast one-step one almost leaps into the dip/cut. Just remember that one has to bounce back up just as quickly!
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