A nice little style detail for the foxtrot as danced in England in the years after World War I:
"A variation is also to be observed in the chassé done alternately to left and right, at an angle of 45 degrees to the line of the dance. In the ordinary way of doing this, say, when the man is going forward, he slides the left foot forward to the left, and then brings the right foot up to the left, and again advances the left. The new variation is to cross the right foot behind the left. When the chassé is done to the right, it is of course the left foot which is crossed behind the right. The lady (or the gentleman if he is going backwards), crosses her foot in front of the foot that is first moved."
--- "The Sitter Out" (column) in The Dancing Times (London), January 1920, p.270.
By the "chassé", the writer means the two-step, as is clear from the description of the "ordinary way" of performing it. The description is referenced again in March, 1920, issue (p. 439; the numbering is continuous across multiple issues). In the "To-Day in the Ballroom" box shown at left (click to enlarge), under "Fox-Trot", there is a note that "The crossing of the feet (described in January) is popular and effective if the steps are kept small."
This tiny style detail is reinforced in the Adèle Collier's pamphlet, Feldman's How to Dance the Fox-Trot. (London: B. Feldman & Co., c1919). The dating is mildly uncertain, as there's no date on the pamphlet itself. The sheet music advertisements on the back include a reference to the musical Yes, Uncle!, which opened in London's West End in the December of 1917, and the costume worn by Ms. Collier certainly conforms to the styles of 1919, as shown in the image at left (click to enlarge) borrowed from Katy Bishop of Vintage Victorian's page Ladies' Evening Dress, the Ragtime Era. 1910-1920. The 1919 date seems reasonable.
Ms. Collier and her dance partner, Robert Sielle, are shown in still images demonstrating two relevant steps: the Two-Step Movement (step #3) and the Cross Step (#6). The Two-Step Movement is described thusly:
"Gentleman steps forward on right foot. Lady steps back on left foot. Gentleman close with left foot, bringing hollow of left foot to right heel. Lady close right foot in hollow of left. Gentleman step forward on right foot. Lady step back on left foot. Repeat, gentleman commencing with left foot, bring right foot up to it, forward on left foot. Lady step back on right foot, left foot up to it, right foot back. This step can be repeated ad lib."
Note the similarity in language of bringing the trailing foot "up to" the other. One doesn't want to rely completely on wording, since it was in no way standardized, but as another London source which is closely contemporary, Collier's description does provide a reasonable explanation for what the columnist of The Dancing Times thought "up to" meant.
Now, compare this with the description of the Cross Step:
"Gentleman steps forward on right foot; cross left foot behind right foot, leaving a space of a few inches between the feet, slide right foot forward. Lady slides left foot back[,] cross right foot over in front of it, keeping the feet close together, slide left foot behind again. Repeat, other foot, the gentleman commencing on left and the lady back on right. This step can also be done with the gentleman going backwards and the lady forwards. The lady or gentleman who is going forward crosses behind, and the one who is going backward crosses in front."
The only significant difference between the descriptions is the placement of the trailing foot. Instead of bringing it "up to" the other, it is crossed behind (if going forward) or in front (if going backward). This is clearly shown in the illustrations (click to enlarge):
Figure 9 shows the start of the Two-Step Movement, with the gentleman stepping forward right and the lady back left. Figure 10 shows the moment the of bringing the trailing foot "up to" the other. It's easier to see from Ms. Collier's feet that this is a very gentle third position, the right foot closing in the hollow of the left.
Figure 17 shows the close in the Cross Step, with the gentleman's left foot crossed so far behind the leading right foot that it's almost invisible. The lady's right foot is crossed strongly over the left (rear) foot. Click to enlarge Figures 10 and 17 to see the difference. Figure 18 shows the gentleman going backward and the lady forward, and the feet are even more clearly visible. Notice in both images that both the gentleman's feet actually appear to be pointing the same way! In practice, I dance more on the ball of the foot, and I come close to that angle of the toes when going backward, but much less so when going forward, more the way Ms. Collier's feet are shown. I certainly don't try to force my toes inward.
As a dancer, I absolutely love this little styling detail, particularly when dancing the gentleman's role!
(Edited 7/3/24 to swap the image of the figures for a better one)
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