68 THE QUEENS COURIER • DANCE • AUGUST 31, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
dance
Trotting into history
BY TRESA ERICKSON
Th e year is 1910 and ragtime music is
in full swing. During this period, a new
phase of ballroom dancing develops.
Partners dance close together, ad-lib to
the music and have a good time. Dances,
like the Bunny Hug, Turkey Trot and
Castle Walk, are all the rage. Out of this
period comes a vaudeville actor named
Harry Fox and a dance called the Fox
Trot.
Although stories vary regarding its
origins, most dance historians agree
that the Fox Trot originated in New
York City in 1914. While appearing
in several vaudeville shows in New
York City, Harry Fox met Yansci
Dolly, one-half of the famous dancing
team known as the Dolly Sisters.
With her twin sister, Rozika, Yansci
performed on Broadway and later in
films. In April 1914, Yansci and Fox
were married. Later that summer, the
New York Theatre was converted into
a movie house. Hoping to bring in
more money, the theater’s management
team turned the rooftop into
a dance spectacular called Jardin de
Danse and added vaudeville acts downstairs
between movies. The team hired
the Dolly Sisters to perform on the
rooftop and Fox to perform downstairs.
It was during one of his performances
downstairs that Fox began doing
trotting steps to ragtime music. The
audience loved the new dance and
began referring to it as “Fox’s Trot.”
Before long, the American Society of
Professors of Dancing standardized the
steps of the Fox Trot and hired choreographer
Oscar Duryea to introduce
it to the public. Duryea thought the
trotting step was too complicated and
replaced it with a smooth glide. His
new version, a rolling smooth glide that
moved in large steps across the room,
was a hit, and dancers all over the
world began doing the Fox Trot.
With its combination of quick and
slow steps, the Fox Trot gave dancers
more freedom and flexibility in their
movements. They could glide across
the floor or stay within one area if the
dance floor was crowded. American
dancer G.K. Anderson liked the Fox
Trot so much that he began performing
it with his partner, Josephine Bradley,
in competitions across America and
London, further increasing its popularity.
Variations of the dance, including
the Peabody, the Quickstep and the
Roseland Fox
Trot, have
cropped
u p
throughout
the
years. Dances,
like the Lindy
and the Hustle,
are also due in part to
the Fox Trot.
Today the Fox Trot
is as popular as ever.
Many couples learn it
in their ballroom dancing
classes, while others
become masters
of it and display
their Fox Trot talents
in competitions
across
the country.
Our 31st Year of Fun-Filled Classes
The Exciting 2017 Fall Season
Begins September 11th