What’s the Hardest Ballroom Dance?
When you are starting out in ballroom dance or even if you have been dancing for years, you may ask “What’s the hardest ballroom dance?” Some dances are more difficult than others because some have more complicated sequences or a higher number of steps. Dances have different tempos and a faster tempo can increase the challenge. That said, the foxtrot is considered to be the hardest ballroom dance to master.
What Makes the Foxtrot Hard?
The challenge of the foxtrot is all in the timing. The “slow, slow, quick, quick” rhythm is done in time to a four-beat bar of music. Normally, the first and third beats are accented. It is based on a walking motion that is enhanced to create a smooth, gliding movement across the floor.
If this isn’t enough, two people need to do this in unison, which is what makes it so difficult to master. The timing of the shifts in body weight must be accurate to give the dance its flow. One important aspect of the dance is shifting the body weight from the standing leg to the moving leg with the right timing. It takes a lot of practice to become good at it.
In addition, the foxtrot requires strength in the ankles and feet. That means that it will take some work beyond learning the steps to master this dance. In his book Dance Class, Anton Du Beke states that “It’s the quality of movement across the bar of music combined with the accuracy of timing.” In a nutshell, that is why the foxtrot is the answer to the question: “What’s the hardest ballroom dance?”
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