Hartford Ballroom Blog

Dances Covered

Level 1: Swing and Foxtrot
Level 2: Hustle
Level 3: Foxtrot
Level 4: Rumba
Level 5: Cha Cha

Level 1: Swing and Foxtrot

East Coast Swing

basic step
underarm turn
pickpocket

Foxtrot

Basic
Promenade
Hesitation

Level 2: Hustle

Compression basic (stays in place)
New York Style basic (guy does a tap step)
inside turn
pickpocket
cuddle
cuddle with yo-yo and free spin

Level 3: Foxtrot

Basic Routine: 3 basics, 3 promenade (with a turn on the second one), 3 side rocks, hesitation, 2 basics, box step
Twinkle
Parallel Twinkle
Chasse with box step beginning and ending
Chasse with twinkle beginning and ending
Quarter turn basic

Level 4: Rumba

Open break to backwrap and walkaround to pattycake and shadow back break ending
Open break to peekaboo with inside turn ending
Cross body lead into wraparound
Paseo
Shadow crossovers and shadow back breaks

Level 5: Cha Cha

Triple cha-chas with ronde
Natural Spin Turn (aka "Back Spot Turn")
Open break, threading the needle, to Turkish Towel, to cross body lead with ladies turn, to half moon, ending with arm wrap (aka "arm hook")
Hammerlock combination
Shadow crossovers, loop into shadow back breaks
Choreography: kick-ball-change, sailor steps, end with a spiral turn
Crossover swivels
Swivels from closed position

Berkshire Hall Step Lists For April 2015

4/30/2015

Dances Covered

Beginner: Foxtrot
Intermediate: Rumba

Beginner: Foxtrot

Basic
Hesitation
Promenade
Promenade with underarm turn
Box Step
Twinkle
Parallel Twinkle

Intermediate: Rumba

Crossover and back breaks combination (review from last month)
Right hand loop
Open break with underarm turn
Peekaboo (from open break)
Cross Body Lead
Wraparound (from cross body lead)

Dances Covered:

Level 1: Unavailable
Level 2: Foxtrot
Level 3: Rumba
Level 4: Cha Cha
Level 5: West Coast Swing

Level 2: Foxtrot

Basic
Promenade
Promenade with underarm turn
Hesitation (aka "trouble step")
Side rocks
side rocks with underarm turn
box step

Level 3: Rumba

Crossover with underarm turn
Crossover with apart turn
3 crossovers, 3 apart turns
Cross body lead
Cross body lead to open break
Cross body lead to crossover
Open break to peekaboo (Optional: start from a cross body lead)
shadow crossovers and shadow back breaks (Optional: start from a cross body lead)
Underarm turn with Cuban walk
Backwrap with walk

Level 4: Cha Cha

Solo Steps: single and double taps, chase turn, double cross, guapacha, cuban breaks
Triple cha-cha
crossover and back break combination
alternating underarm turn
Paseo
cross body lead with ladies' turn
Shadow crossovers and shadow back breaks
Cuban breaks
Routine: 1) triple cha-cha, 2) alternating underarm turn, 3) cross body lead with ladies turn, 4) 3 shadow crossovers, 5) turn and loop to 3 shadow back breaks, 6) she turns/he turns/she turns
Turkish Towel

Level 5: West Coast Swing

Note: steps marked with an * were taught by Nate Evans

pop step with body roll*
right side pass with sailor step*
whip with man's foot drag*
extended whip (3-and-4-and-3-and-4)*
backwards whip with tick tock ending and half a sombrero*
Sugar push with styling*
Whip with inside turn and men's pickpocket to handshake, followed by twinkle, and ending with a tic toc to half a sombrero
Backwrap to double turn
Backwrap to Basket

Step Lists For January 2015 (Berkshire Hall And Hartford Ballroom)

1/31/2015

This Month's Dances:
Level 1: East Coast Swing and Foxtrot
Level 2: West Coast Swing
Level 3: Slow Waltz
Level 4: Salsa
Level 5: Foxtrot

Dances Covered:

Level 1: tango, hustle, and merengue
Level 2: slow waltz
Level 3: salsa
Level 4: foxtrot
Level 5: east coast swing/Charleston

Level 1: Tango, Hustle, and Merengue

Hustle

basic
inside turn
pickpocket

Tango

basic
corte
forward rock

Merengue

outside/inside turn
double turns
guy's turn
cuddle
yo-yo from cuddle
backwrap
lasso from backwrap

Level 2: Waltz

Basic Traveling Step
Box Step
Box Step With Underarm Turn
Balance Step
Hesitation
Zigzag
Twinkle
Parallel Twinkle

Level 3: Salsa

Cross Body Lead
Alternating Underarm Turn
Canopy
Shoulder Check
Routine #1: Alternating Underarm Turn, Shoulder Check, Canopy
Crossover With Underarm Turn
Crossover With Apart Turn
Cross Body Lead Into Crossover
Crossover swivels

Level 4: Foxtrot

1/4 turn Basic
Grapevine From 1/4 Turn Basic
Left Turn
Twinkle, Twinkle With 1/4 Turn
Zigzag, Zigzag With Develope
Chasse With Twinkle Beginning and Ending

Level 5: East Coast Swing/Charleston

Charleston Basic
Tandem Charleston
Overturn and Push-Out (to get in and out of Tandem Charleston)
Half-Moon a.k.a. "Rainbow"
Charleston Crossovers with Double-Kick apart turn
Half-Moon with kick choreography

Dances Covered:

Level 1: rumba, merengue and waltz
Level 2: Salsa
Level 3: Foxtrot
Level 4: East Coast Swing
Level 5: Bolero

Level 1: Rumba and Waltz

Rumba

Box Step
Side-Together-Side
Underarm Turn

Waltz

Basic box step
Basic traveling step

Merengue

inside and outside turn
alternating underarm turn (she goes, he goes, she goes)

looping over the head ("combing the hair")

Level 2: Salsa

basic step
full solo turn
ladies underarm turn
alternating underarm turn (half version), ending with a loop
Cross body lead
Alternating Underarm Turn (full version), ending with loop and cross body lead
side breaks

Level 3: Foxtrot

Basic Routine: 3 basics, 3 promenade (with a turn on 2), 3 side rocks, hesitation to finish
Box step with 1/4 turn
Forward and back basic
1/4 turn basic
Twinkle
Parallel Twinkle
Chasse
Grapevine From 1/4 Turn Basic

Level 4: East Coast Swing

Basic Charleston
Toe-Heel Swivel
Inside Turn With Chasse (the skippy one)
Overturn With Swivels
Double Inside Turn (changes rhythm slightly)
Charleston Crossover
Kicks While Turning Right

Level 5: Bolero

Note: The steps are titled by the name Michele uses, which are apparently the original names that you can find in any dance textbook. I've added a short description as well, in order to help trigger your memory.

"Three-Threes": This is the Gold Level step where the ladies do a bunch of turns in front of the leaders. She first does a half turn to the right, a full turn to the left, followed by a final right turn
"Cross Body Lead With Syncopated Turn": this is the one where you do a half moon, but with the ladies turning. The ladies rhythm while turning is quick-and-quick-and-slow.
"Back-To-Back Line": This is the one where the leaders and followers quickly step back following the followers' underarm turn. This is followed by a fencing line and a double turn for the ladies
"Opening Out": compared to the rest, this was an easy one! It consisted of multiple back breaks for the followers, finishing with a spiral turn.
Open Hip Twist
Romantic Sway
The "Pizza Slide": the bit that usually followed the back-to-back line
Hip Rock (aka "Jim's step")

Step List For October 2014

10/31/2014

Dances Covered:

Level 1: Cha Cha, Foxtrot, and Merengue
Level 2: Foxtrot
Level 3: East Coast Swing
Level 4: Bolero
Level 5: Samba

Level 1: Cha Cha, Foxtrot, and Merengue

Cha Cha

Basic Step
Full Turn
Ladies' underarm turn

Foxtrot

basic
hesitation

Merengue

basic turns: outside and inside
how to do more than one turn
leader's turn

Level 2: Foxtrot

Basic step
Hesitation (a.k.a. corner or trouble step)
Promenade
Promenade with underarm turn
Side Rocks
Routine #1: 3 basics (steer to the wall), 3 promenade with an underarm turn on the second one, hesitation to finish
Routine #2: 3 basics (steer to the wall), 3 side rocks, hesitation to finish
Box Step

Level 3: East Coast Swing

Note: steps were done both in triple step and single step

Underarm turn
She goes/he goes
Hand change behind the back
Hand change behind the back with ladies underarm turn
Open break to cuddle
Cuddle with yo-yo ending
Single tuck
Double tuck
Over the head
Back walk
Back breaks
Promenade Walk, a.k.a. "Promenade Swivels" (works well if followed by back walk)
Peekaboo
Windmill (new as of Sunday 10/26)

Level 4: Bolero

Shadow crossovers and shadow back breaks with loop
Copa
Triple ronde into copa
She goes/He goes ending
Right hand loop ending
1 crossover, apart turn, 1 back break, underarm turn, 1 outside break, right hand loop ending
Half moon (crossover with the right hand, bring her across), arm hook, rock and fencing line, she goes/he goes ending
Rudolph Ronde (starts with open break and back spot turn, ends with copa)

Level 5: Samba

Forward rock, spiral turn into counterpromenade, bota fogo, bota fogo in place, maypole
Bota fogo into "easy" grapevine, ending with spot turn voltas
Bota fogo into "difficult" grapevine
Left turn into bota fogo (with guys going backwards), into ladies swivels

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