Please see the previous post for the introduction to the Castle Fox Trot and the first three step-sequences.
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Moving right along with the Castle Fox Trot, the two photos below (click to enlarge) illustrate the fourth step-sequence:
4. "Get over, Sal" and trot. This is an odd little sequence, with two movements on each of the slow steps. Let's start with Vernon's description, with an advance apology for his use of a racial term which was polite at the time but is no longer considered so:
For the next step, instead of taking two slow steps forward we take two drags to the side. This drag is a very old negro step, often called “Get over, Sal. It is done this way: You first take a small hop on your left foot, then quickly throw the weight of the body on the right, dragging the left up to the right. This should take up one long beat. I realize how difficult it is to understand this, but I can think of no simpler way of explaining it, and the sixth photograph should help considerably. In it my wife is just about to drag the left foot up to the right.
After this you do exactly the same step on the other side (see the seventh photograph).
To clarify the feet, since it initially seems wrong to have the lady start on the left foot: after whichever previous sequence, the lady's weight is on her left foot. She hops on that foot then steps sideways to the right. The gentleman's weight is on his right foot; he hops on that and steps sideways to the left. The actual step to the side is with the usual first foot. The hop is just a preliminary.
The sequence winds up with four quick trotting steps, for a mnemonic of "a slow (drag), a slow (drag), quick-quick-quick-quick.
Once again, this is a bit tricky to lead, mostly because of the speed at which each hop-step-drag has to happen. The hop will at least be communicated by its own rising motion, though the lady who isn't expecting it may do no more than rise slightly. The step to the side will be obvious. The drag is not directly leadable, but notice in the photos above that the dancers are bent slightly over the trailing leg and looking at the foot that is being dragged. The gentleman should make sure to look at his foot during the drag step. It sounds silly, but when he turns his head to look, the lady will naturally do the same, and will see the drag and be able to follow it on the second time at least (the first if she is particularly fast on the uptake).
I would again recommend practicing it in pieces. Start with just the "hop-step, hop-step", going back and forth to get used to the motion. Then add the "quick-quick-quick-quick" to smooth out the transition in and out of the hop-steps. Add the dragging in once the rest is mastered.
This is also a sequence that it would be courteous to repeat once or twice more, since the lady is likely to miss elements the first time around and should have a chance to do it in full.
5. Reverse trots! This sequence is performed side-by-side, both partners facing forward to start, hands still joined, but bodies opened up slightly to accommodate this.
It starts with a regular SSQQQQ sequence, both dancers walking forward.
On the second SSQQQQ, the dancers step forward, then swivel on the first foot (not letting go of each other) to face the opposite direction, dancing "over elbows". They then do the four quick steps in the opposite direction, starting on their second foot, which will now be in front. The first quick step is more just shifting weight onto that foot.
The gentleman's feet for this part: left, swivel, right-left-right-left
The lady's: right, swivel, left-right-left-right
The photo at left supposedly illustrates the moment immediately after the swivel, but the Castles are not in parallel, and the lady's right foot is ahead in a way that it just isn't after the swivel. I've included the photo to be thorough, but I personally ignore it and follow the verbal instructions.
To get out of this reversed position, simply repeat the step and swivel. This time the lady steps forward (over elbows) and swivels on the left foot, then does the four quick steps as right-left-right-left. The gentleman steps forward and swivels on the right foot, then does the four quick steps as left-right-left-right. This brings the dancers back to the usual starting foot facing the original direction of travel.
Vernon considered this step "by far the prettiest of all" and offered performance tips:
There is one difficulty in the step, and that is to keep the feet in the same position while you turn around, and after you have made the turn, to avoid starting off again with the four fast steps ahead of the music.
To recap, here are the five sequences of the Castle Fox Trot:
- basic walk and trot: SSQQQQ in a straight line
- step out and pomander walk: SS (stepping out), QQQQ (around, hip to hip); gentleman closes feet on the last step while lady continues to step
- hop-kick sequence: SS, hop-kick-QQ
- "Get over, Sal" and trot: a-slow (drag), a-slow (drag), QQQQ
- reverse trots: basic sequence followed by slow, swivel, QQQQ and another slow, swivel, QQQQ to get back to the original directions of travel
Note that all five more-or-less maintain the SSQQQQ rhythm pattern, the exception being the added hops and drags in "Get over, Sal". But even in that sequence the actual steps keep the same rhythm. Dancing the foxtrot with a consistent rhythm pattern is one way to approach the dance. It is not as exciting as mixing up rhythms, but it makes it easier to lead variations, which should be judiciously interspersed among repetitions of the basic sequence.
The Castles would later publish more complex steps for the foxtrot, but this first set is plenty for an enjoyable foxtrot experience.
The entire December, 1914, issue of The Ladies' Home Journal is online at Hathitrust as part of a bound volume of all the 1914 issues. The Castle Fox Trot begins here.
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