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Hartford Ballroom Blog


Step Lists For February 2016

2/29/2016

 
Dances Covered:
Level 1: East Coast Swing and Foxtrot
Level 2: Foxtrot
Level 3: Hustle
Level 4: Argentine Tango
Level 5: Samba

Read More

Steps Lists For January 2016

1/31/2016

 
This month's dances are:
Level 1: salsa and cha cha
Level 2: hustle
Level 3: Argentine tango
Level 4: samba
Level 5: rumba and bolero


Read More

Step Lists For December 2015

12/31/2015

 

​Dances Covered

Level 1: American Tango and Hustle
Level 2: Argentine Tango
Level 3: Samba
Level 4: Rumba and Bolero
Level 5: Cha cha

Level 1: American Tango and Hustle

Tango (Note- this is American Tango):
  • Basic
  • Corte
  • Promenade
Hustle:
  • Basic
  • Inside Turn
  • Pickpocket

Level 2: Argentine Tango

Keep in mind that there are 3 times of Argentine Tango: milonga, Argentine, and vals.  For the month of December we focused primarily on Milonga, which is the easiest of the 3.  Towards the end, we introduced something that belongs more in Argentine Tango.
Milonga:
  • Basic, aka "Baldosa Box" (6 steps)
  • Traspie ("quick-quick-slow"), can be done on any of the first 5 steps of the Baldosa Box
  • Side together (repeat "5-6" as many times as you'd like)
Argentine Tango:
  • ​Forward Ochos
  • Leader's out-of-the-way rock step to forward ochos
  • Forward Ochos to parada (means "stop", as in leader blocks the follower's foot and stops the ocho), to pasada (means "go", as in follower steps over the leader's foot and continues)

​Level 3: Samba

  • Basic forward and back
  • Basic side crosses
  • Side crosses with followers' underarm turn (outside turn)
  • Box step
  • Promenade
  • Routine: forward and back, side crosses, promenade, box step
  • Counterpromenade
  • Bota fogo with promenade and counterpromenade (goes back and forth)

Level 4: Rumba and Bolero

Rumba:
  • Box step with Cuban walk
  • Shadow crossovers (uses right handshake), turn and loop to shadow back break
  • Crossover with inside turn endings:
    • Right hand loop (inside turn with leader's right hand)
      • Optional: you can include Cuban walks in the right hand loop, between the loop and the final turn
  • She goes/he goes (inside turn with leader's left hand)
  • Half moon (one shadow crossover+one cross body lead), turn and loop to shadow back break (optional)
  • Half moon to arm hook, aida (rock-and-turn), fencing line (across-and-side), end with she goes/he goes
  • Open break to Copa*
  • Open break to triple fans, grapevine and ronde with a copa ending*
​*these moves do not require that you end with a fifth-position ending.  It's cleaner if you simply do a box step and slowly get back together

Bolero:
  • Shadow crossovers (uses right handshake), turn and loop to shadow back break
  • Crossover with inside turn endings:
    • Right hand loop (inside turn with leader's right hand)
      • Optional: you can include Cuban walks in the right hand loop, between the loop and the final turn
  • She goes/he goes (inside turn with leader's left hand)
  • Half moon (one shadow crossover+one cross body lead), turn and loop to shadow back break (optional)
  • Half moon to arm hook, aida (rock-and-turn), fencing line (across-and-side), end with she goes/he goes
  • Open break to Copa
  • Open break to triple fans, grapevine and ronde with a copa ending

​Level 5: Cha Cha

  • Sweetheart Twinkles
    • open break, leader's foot fake, back break (no cha-cha-cha), 5 twinkles (4+1, 2+3, etc.), back break (with cha-cha-cha), inside turn ending while leader foot fakes.
  • Cuban break combination with shoulder check ending
    • 2 crossovers, 2 Cuban breaks (2+3+4+1), 2 short Cuban breaks (2+3, 4+1), 1 Cuban break for follower only, shoulder check for the followers (technically check from the arm) 
  • Bota Fogos and Cuban break combination from an outside break
    • 2 outside turns, 2 bota fogos, Cuban break (2+3+4+1), 2 bota fogos (in other direction), Cuban break (in other direction), outside break
  • Crossover, grapevine into back break
    • "run-run-run"
  • 4 Natural Tops (aka "back spot turns")
    • Original
    • With an outside turn
    • with follower's swivels
with follower's grapevine

Berkshire Hall Step Lists For December 2015

12/31/2015

 

Dances Covered:

Beginner (Level 2): Argentine Tango
​Intermediate (Level 3): Samba

​Beginner: Argentine Tango

Please note, there are 3 types of tango: Milonga, Argentine Tango, and Vals.  This month we mainly focused on Milonga, although I introduced something that was technically Argentine Tango.
Milonga:
  • Baldosa Box (6 steps)
  • Walking into, and out of Baldosa Box
  • Side together (repeat 5 and 6 as many times as you would like)
  • Traspie (rock steps, changes the rhythm to quick-quick-slow, can be done on any of the first 5 steps of the Baldosa Box)
Argentine Tango:
  • Forward ochos 
  • Leader's rock to forward ochos 
  • Bonus: Leader's parada (means "stop", where the leader "stops the ochos with his foot), to follower's pasada (means "go", where the follower initiates the next move by stepping over the leader's foot)

Intermediate: Samba

  • Routine: forward and back, side crosses, promenade, box step
  • counterpromenade
  • windmill (from counterpromenade)
  • international combination (promenade, bota fogo, voltas, spot turn voltas)

Step Lists For November 2015

11/30/2015

 

Dances Covered

Level 1: Waltz and Rumba
Level 2: Samba
Level 3: Rumba and Bolero
Level 4: Cha Cha
​Level 5: Slow Waltz

Level 1: Waltz and Rumba

Waltz:
  • basic traveling step (aka "progressive step")
  • box step
  • side hesitation
Rumba:
  • box step
  • chasse ("side-together-side")
  • underarm turn

Level 2: Samba

  • basic forward and back
  • side crosses
  • side crosses with ladies turn
  • promenade
  • box step
  • samba line dance

Level 3: Rumba and Bolero

Rumba:
  • crossover
  • back breaks
  • outside breaks
  • cross body lead
  • open break
  • open break to backwrap and walkaround
  • underarm turn with Cuban walks
Bolero:
  • crossover
  • back breaks
  • open break
  • open break to backwrap and walkaround
  • copa

Level 4: Cha Cha

  • Cross body lead to crossover, back breaks, and outside breaks
  • Cross body lead with right handshake to shadow crossover, shadow back breaks, and outside breaks
  • Cross body lead with ladies' turn
  • Shadow crossover (with right handshake), underarm turn with double hands crossed, men's loop into shadow back breaks
  • Crossover with Cuban breaks
  • Shoulder check from crossover
  • Paseo
  • Turkish Towel
  • Big Box step from outside breaks
  • Half moon

Level 5: Slow Waltz

*Note: all of these steps can be done either with feet coming together (Bronze styling), or with feet brushing past (Silver continuity styling).  Keep in mind that hover and impetus patterns always involve feet brushing.*
  • Left turn
  • Right turn with impetus
  • Hover and impetus
  • 4-way underarm turn
  • ​Waterfall

Berkshire Hall Step Lists For November 2015

11/30/2015

 

​Dances Covered: 

Beginner (Level 2): Samba
​Intermediate (Level 3): Rumba and Bolero

​Beginner: Samba

  • Basic forward and back
  • Basic side cross
  • Side cross with an underarm turn
  • Box step
  • promenade
  • Bota fogo
  • Bota fogo with leader's foot fake

​Intermediate: Rumba and Bolero

Rumba:
  • box step
  • crossover
  • open break
  • open break to backwrap and walkaround
  • Paseo
Bolero:
  • basic (make sure it rotates)
  • crossover
  • open break
  • open break to backwrap and walkaround
  • open break to copa
  • open break to triple fans and ronde with copa ending

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

Step List For September 2014

9/30/2014

 

​Level 1: Hustle, Salsa, and Merengue

​Hustle
  • Basic step
  • Basic inside turn
Salsa
  • Basic step
  • Side Breaks
  • Basic Turn
  • Ladies' Underarm turn
Merengue
  • The basic turns: outside and inside
  • Cuddle, with a yo-yo ending
  • Backwrap, with a lasso ending

​Level 2: East Coast Swing

Note: All steps were done both in single step and in triple step swing.
  • Basic
  • Underarm turn
  • Hand change behind the back
  • Open break to pickpocket
  • Open Break to cuddle

​Level 3: Bolero

  • Basic (make sure it rotates to the left, and make sure there's CBM)
  • Crossover, with underarm turn ending
  • Crossover Alternative Ending #1: Right hand loop (a.k.a. "The Dove Commercial")
  • Crossover Alternative Ending #2: She goes/He goes
  • Back break with underarm turn ending
  • Open break  with underarm turn ending
  • Open break into backwrap
  • Copa
  • Shadow Crossover and Shadow Back Break 

Level 4: Samba

  • International Combination: promenade, bota fogo, voltas, spot turn voltas
  • Counterpromenade
  • Windmill from counterpromenade
  • Bota fogo promenade/counterpromenade
  • Bota fogo promenade/counterpromenade with leader's foot fake
  • Open Break with underarm turn
  • Roll Off The Arm (from open break into cuddle)
  • Maypole
  • Bota Fogo in place

Level 5: American Tango

  • closed promenade with ronde to 1 or 3 fans
  • right foot lunge from corte
  • rock to corte from promenade or open promenade (an ending to a song if you like)
  • closed promenade, challenge line, oversway, ronde, slip pivot

Step List For August 2014

8/31/2014

 

​Dances  Covered

Level 1: East Coast Swing, American Tango, and Merengue
Level 2: Bolero
Level 3: Samba
Level 4: American Tango
​Level 5: Hustle

​Level 1:

East Coast Swing
  • Basic step (single step)
  • Ladies' Underarm Turn
  • Hand Change Behind The Back

American Tango
  • Basic step
  • Corte
  • Forward Rock (bonus step)

Merengue
  • cuddle (inside turn)
  • basic outside and inside turns
  • backwrap (outside turn)
  • hand change behind the back
  • tangle


​Level 2: Bolero

  • Basic step
  • Crossover With Ladies' Underarm Turn
  • Crossover With Apart Turn
  • Crossover Into Back Breaks
  • Shadow Crossover
  • Shadow Crossover Into Shadow Back Breaks

​Level 3: Samba

  • Basic Movements (forward/back, side crosses, box step, samba walk, volta, bota fogo)
  • Side Crosses With Outside And Inside Turns
  • Promenade
  • Open Break With Underarm Turn
  • "Samba Twinkle" (bota fogo+box close)

​Level 4: American Tango

  • Open Left Turn
  • Right Side Fans
  • Turning Rocks
  • Rock-And-Corte
  • Promenade With 3/4 Pivot
  • Closed Promenade With Challenge Line, Oversway, And Spanish Drag

Level 5: Hustle

  • Tangle To Ladies' Syncopated Tap Steps 
  • Nate's Crazy Pickpocket (involves a right hand shake) 
  • Ampersand Into Sliding Door 
  • Parallel Sweetheart With Ladies' Free Spin 
  • Butterfly Into Diva Walk 
  • Triple Right Side Pass  
  • Half-wrap To Cuddle From Closed Position Basic (Involves Ladies' Left Arm Reflex) 
  • The Crazy Advanced Combination (Involves Sweetheart With Inside Turn, Cool Hand Slide Back To Sweetheart, Ampersand, To Cuddle)

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