Quickstep
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Quickstep is an International Style ballroom dance that follows a 2/4 or 4/4 time beat similar to a fast Foxtrot. If you can imagine the song Come to the Cabaret from the Cabaret movie, then you are thinking classic Quickstep. However, while the dance may remind you of a fast Foxtrot, its technique and the patterns are unique to itself. For a sample listing of the Quickstep syllabus, follow the external link [1].
The Quickstep evolved in the 1920s from a combination of the Foxtrot and the Charleston, as bands started to play music which was too quick to make large open leg movements which the Foxtrot required. The Quickstep now is quite separate from the Foxtrot. Unlike the Foxtrot, the man often closes his feet, and syncopated steps are regular occurrences. In some ways, the dance patterns are close to the Waltz, but are danced to 4/4 time rather than 3/4 time.
This dance gradually evolved into a very dynamic one with a lot of movement on the dance floor, many advanced patterns include hops, runs, quick steps with a lot of momentum, and rotation. The tempo of quickstep dance significantly increased, especially in ballroom competitions, due to the extensive use of steps with eighth note durations. While in older times quickstep patterns were counted with "quick" and "slow" steps, many advanced patterns today are cued with split beats, e.g., "quick-and-quick-and-quick-quick-slow".
Quite in contrast to the slowfox or the waltz, the quickstep often has patterns or sequences that have a duration of multiples of measures as well as containing patterns with an extra half measure, creating a shift of the emphasis from beat ONE to beat THREE and vice versa.
External link
[1] Quickstep syllabus (http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/quickstep-syllabus.htm)
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