Hi Everyone,
Do you believe that Footwork, as stated in the ballroom technique, an important aspect to the performance of a dancer? Why I ask this is because many years ago a famous past international ballroom champion, Wally Fryer and his partner Violet Barnes having left the floor after a final - which they duly won - was approached by an adjudicator who informed Wally that his footwork in the Slow Foxtrot Three Step was incorrect. To this, Wally replied, ‘Who are you to tell me, I'm the world champion!'. Wally danced the second step of the Three Step using the footwork of Toe (RF) and not Heel Toe.

That's not incorrect footwork, it's just substituting a different (non-syllabus) figure in place of the three step.

For the most part, it's important to have correct footwork in order to execute the patterns and move well. However, little things like this (ie, one foot in one pattern that isn't affecting the look) will not usually have an effect on the rest of the dancing.

The other thing to keep in mind is that by the time someone has enough dance experience to be a World Champion, they know and understand why things are done certain ways and what the effect is of changing them. They aren't doing alternate footwork out of ignorance or laziness or inability to pull it off or because it's somehow not that important, but rather because they've made a conscious choice based on what they know about dancing and about how they dance together.

Interesting. I used to have lessons with Wally Fryer. I never struck this one on the three Step. I also have something which is a collectors item that is a book on How to Dance written by Wally. The Three Step as written in the book on the step in question is down as a heel. Having said that I would not be suprised if he did change the footwork to suit. For those interested Wally Fryer was the first teacher and demonstrator to teach that the lady needed to be more to the mans right side. Up to that point the lady was more in front of the man. Another bit of trivier is that Wally also had a "Perfect Tempo Dance Orchestra". Recording for Decca.

Hi Don,
If Wally felt at that particular time that the footwork was toe then you more than others would know that is what he would do! I had the book, 'The Wally Fryer Book', priced at 7/6 post free. Silly me, I loaned it to a friend who swore he gave it back to me. Needless to say I never saw the book again. There are lots of new dancers who are interested in the history of English style and it's people such as you who can supply a little bit of history from your own personal experiences that they will never read in a book. Keep them coming, Don. Merry Christmas.

There is a lot of history by Victor Slvester in his book Modern Ballroom Dancing first published in 1977 and again in 1993 there might have been more. In it he takes you from just before World War1 1914 through the 30's to the time of the last print. I myself attended two lectures given by Frank Ford the first ever Star Champion ( a competition sponsored by the Star a London news paper which ran from the late 20's till the mid 50's. The British at Blackpool started in the early 30's) . This guy was well past his dancing days and very old, but his lectures were great, after all he was there. His story as I remember it on how the Modern tango came into being. differs slightly from some versions.It got away from almost a fox trot soft action when a German appeared at Blackpool with a stacato action never seen before. He got absolutly nowhere, but the next day was inundated with requests to demonstrate his Tango through the length and breadth of the country. Frank Ford was there.

lluv2dance. Back on this history of dance thing. Reciently i saw a demonstration of how Henry Jacques would have done the Foxtrot way back in 1934. How things have changed over the years. At first I thought with their top line they were about to do an Argentine Tango. The left arm was so low
and the right was way around the lady, and the lady was very central. Are you going to Blackpool this year ?.

Hi Don,
Been in Blackpool today with a R'n'R candidate. A successful exam for the UKA. I'm also going to Blackpool to the UKA congress which starts on the Friday which is Pro Ballroom night. I managed to get a ticket last year to see the British. Don't have a ticket this year.