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Hartford Ballroom Blog


Step List For October 2017

11/3/2017

 

Dances Covered:

Level 1: Swing and Foxtrot
Level 2: East Coast Swing
Level 3: Cha Cha
Level 4: Slow Waltz
Level 5: Bolero

Level 1: Swing and Foxtrot

Swing-
  • Basic (single step)
  • Follower's underarm turn
  • Leader's underarm turn
Foxtrot-
  • Basic
  • Hesitation

Level 2: East Coast Swing

  • Tuck Turn
    • with a "stop sign" hand
    • with followers' free spin
    • with both leaders and followers turn (apart turn)
  • Charleston with tuck turn ending
  • Peekaboo
    • original (inside turn)
    • with leaders' hands on follower's back
    • with leaders' right hand only on followers' back (the cool way)

Level 3: Cha Cha

  • Crossover, back breaks, outside breaks (review)
  • Big box from outside breaks
  • Alternating underarm turn with man's loop to cross body lead and shadow crossover
  • Shadow crossover, turn and loop to shadow back breaks
  • Half moon (shadow crossover + cross body lead)
  • Triple progressive cha cha

Level 4: Slow Waltz

  • Twinkle with promenade chasse ("one, two-and-three")
  • Grapevine with apart turn (starts with a twinkle and check)
  • Chasse (the in-and-out move that starts with a twinkle with leader's turn)
  • Twinkle with inside turn to left turn
  • Zigzag with develope to inside turn ending
  • Butterfly, with leader's going across

Level 5: Bolero

  • Rope spin
  • Back spot turn with Rudolph Ronde
  • Half moon with quick turn
  • Right hand loop, with optional Cuban walk
  • Crossover with quick turn ("quick, quick, and-slow") to fencing line and right hand loop)
  • Three Threes (J-hook lead, followers' full spot turn to the left, back break and half spot turn to right, then "forward-and-forward-and side")

Berkshire Hall Step Lists For September 2017

10/6/2017

1 Comment

 

Dances Covered:

Beginner: Cha Cha
Intermediate: Slow Waltz

Read More
1 Comment

Step List For September 2107

10/3/2017

 

Dances Covered

Level 1: Salsa and Cha Cha
Level 2: Cha Cha
Level 3: Slow Waltz
Level 4: Bolero
Level 5: Argentine Tango

Read More

Berkshire Hall Step List For August 2017

9/1/2017

 

Dances Covered:

Beginner: Slow Waltz
Intermediate: Bolero

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Step List For August 2017

9/1/2017

 

Dances Covered

Level 1: Bachata and Merengue
Level 2: Slow Waltz
Level 3: Bolero
Level 4: Argentine Tango
Level 5: West Coast Swing

Read More

Step List For July 2017

8/15/2017

1 Comment

 

​Dances Covered:

Level 1: Rumba and Waltz
Level 2: Bolero
Level 3: Argentine Tango
Level 4: West Coast Swing
Level 5: Viennese Waltz

Level 1: Rumba and Waltz

Waltz:
  • box
  • progressive/travelling step
  • underarm turn
Rumba:
  • box step
  • chasse
  • underarm turn

Level 2: Bolero

  • Basic
  • Crossover
  • Back Break
  • Open Break
    • to underarm turn
    • to backwrap
    • to copa

Level 3: Argentine Tango

Milonga:
  • Baldosa Box
  • Traspie (rock step)
    • best done on either step 3 and/or 4
  • Repeat 5+6
  • Repeat 3,4,5,+6
Argentine Tango
  • Crusada
  • Calisita (keeping follower in one spot while leader circles around)
  • Forward Ochos
  • Back Ochos
  • Parada and Pasada

Level 4: West Coast Swing

  • Styling
    • music break ("freeze")
  • Right Side Pass with hand change behind back
  • Tick tock
    • with ladies' free spin
    • with right handshake
      • shoulder check
      • underarm turn (with optional man's loop at the end)
  • Twinkle

Level 5: Viennese Waltz

  • Cross body lead with turn into chasse
    • optional backwards chasse
  • Cross body lead with turn into explosion and braid, ending with a runaround
1 Comment

Step Lists For April 2016

4/28/2016

 

Dances Covered:

Level 1: Rumba and Waltz
Level 2: Fast Waltz
Level 3: Salsa/Bachata
Level 4: Foxtrot
​Level 5: Hustle

​Level 1: Rumba and Waltz

Rumba
  • Box
  • Side-together-side
  • Ladies' underarm turn (aka "turn with Cuban Walk")
Waltz
  • Box
  • Travel
  • Box with underarm turn
Balance step

Level 2: Fast Waltz

  • Progressive (travel) step
  • forward and back 
  • 1/4 turns to the left
  • 1/4 turns to the right
  • Side crosses
    • with ladies' outside turn
    • with ladies' inside turn
  • Promenade
    • with ladies' outside turn

​Level 3: Salsa and Bachata

Bachata
  • Basic to the side
  • Forward and back
  • Cuddle
  • Pickpocket, using leader's right hand
  • Ladies' inside turn
  • Leader's inside turn
  • Back wrap
  • Hand change behind back
  • Rock step
Salsa
  • cross body lead
  • canopy, cross body lead, man's loop, cross body lead
  • out of the way
  • shoulder check
  • out of the way to shoulder check
  • hand flick to right handshake

​Level 4: Foxtrot

  • Left 3/8 turn
  • Simple twinkle (aims down the line)
  • Turning twinkle (aims across the line)
  • Promenade Chasse (slow, quick-and-quick)
  • Twinkle with guy's turn to chasse
  • Butterfly
  • Twinkle to grapevine (mirror image)
  • Fallaway twinkle
  • Twinkle with guy's turn to chasse with inside turn ending
  • Grapevine with apart turn
  • Finishing twirl

Level 5: Hustle

  • The New Yorker (like a left side pass in West Coast Swing)
  • The Las Vegas (involves syncopated rhythm for the ladies)
  • Cool hand slide to 1/2 a sweetheart and inside turn ("cool hand slide...with a twist")
  • Triple right side pass
  • Outside turn to 1-1/2 ampersand
    • switch sides to back wrap with other hand and then roll-in from backwrap to cuddle (leader needs to simultaneously change hands to accomplish this)
      • optional: guy turns at the same time
  • Switch sides to ampersand (a double turn)

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

Step List For October 2015

10/31/2015

 

Level 4: Slow Waltz

  • box step (both to the left and to the right)
  • left 3/8 turn
  • right 3/8 turn
  • left turn,  travel step,  right turn,  travel step
  • double twinkle (aka "triple twinkle")
  • zigzag to shadow twinkles

Step List For September 2015

9/30/2015

 

​Dances Covered

Level 1: Foxtrot
Level 2: Cha Cha
Level 3: Slow Waltz
Level 4: East Coast Swing
Level 5: Salsa

Level 1: Foxtrot

Foxtrot
  • basic
  • hesitation (also called "trouble step")
  • promenade
  • routine: 2 basics,  3 promenades, 1 hesitation

Level 2: Cha Cha

  • Basic (with the cha-cha-cha going either to the side, or forward and back)
  • Full turn
  • Crossover with underarm turn
  • Back breaks with underarm turn
  • Butterfly
  • Double crossover

Level 3: Slow Waltz

  • Routine 1 (a review): 4 travel, 4 box
  • Routine 2 (a review): 6 zigzag, 1 box, box with underarm turn
  • Chasse with a box beginning and ending
  • Chasse with twinkle beginning and ending (where the guy goes under)
  • Balance Step
  • Hesitation

​Level 4: East Coast Swing

  • Charleston crossovers
  • Over-the-head and twist choreography
  • Windmill
  • Lindy rhythm
  • Double inside turn with Lindy rhythm
  • Chasse (from an inside turn)

Level 5: Salsa

  • 4 different shoulder checks:
  • Right handshake (the original)
  • Hands crossed, right on top (right hand loop)
  • Hands crossed, left on top (Titanic)
  • Both hands uncrossed (cuddle to backwrap)
  • Copa
  • Turkish Towel
  • "The Illusionist"
  • Lady's backwrap with hand flicks
  • Opposition with stop-and-go
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  • Home
  • About
    • The Teachers
    • Hartford Ballroom
    • Ballroom Dancing
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • What We Offer
    • Private Lessons
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  • Directions
  • Contact
  • Blog