Foxtrot

What Is Foxtrot?

The foxtrot is a ballroom dance performed in 4/4 time at a moderate tempo. It is characterised by long, gliding steps and a smooth, continuous flow around the floor. It emerged in New York around 1914 — popularly credited to vaudeville performer Harry Fox, whose "trotting step" in the Ziegfeld Follies gave the dance its name, before Vernon and Irene Castle smoothed it into the style that spread through ballrooms worldwide.

Unlike the waltz family, foxtrot is a "walking" dance rather than a rotary one — it travels around the floor in long steps rather than continuously turning. The International Standard Foxtrot features a distinctive combination of slow and quick steps (slow-slow-quick-quick), creating a characteristic rhythmic pattern quite different from the waltz's steady 3/4.

In the 1920s, the ISTD split the original foxtrot technique into two branches: the smooth, measured Slow Foxtrot familiar today, and a faster version that was developed further into what became the Quickstep — making foxtrot, technically, the quickstep's direct ancestor.

Foxtrot vs Quickstep

Foxtrot and quickstep share the same technical roots — quickstep developed directly from a faster branch of foxtrot in the 1920s — but they feel like genuinely different dances today.

Benefits of Foxtrot

Who Is Foxtrot Suitable For?

Learning Foxtrot in London

Foxtrot is a staple of ballroom dance training in London and is taught at virtually all ballroom studios and academies. Its smooth, musical quality makes it one of the most enjoyable ballroom dances to learn.

Flow Dance Nine Elms is unusual in distinguishing "American Foxtrot" from "International Foxtrot" explicitly in its programme — a distinction few London studios make. Zoltan's Ballroom and Latin, led by former Hungarian formation-team champion Zoltan Szalontay, teaches foxtrot within a full Standard and Latin syllabus. First Dance London, run by elite Latin American dancers Bogdan and Anna, offers foxtrot as a wedding choreography option alongside waltz, with private lessons filmed for practice at home. Arthur Murray Dance Studios, part of a franchise dating back to 1912, describes foxtrot as "the ultimate in movement and polish", already introduced at Bronze level.

Foxtrot classes in London are available for all levels within standard ballroom dance programmes. Beginners learn the basic step pattern and hold before progressing to more complex figures and musicality.

The dance is highly adaptable to different musical tempos and is considered one of the most musical of the standard dances.

Foxtrot FAQ

• What is the foxtrot and how is it different from waltz or quickstep? +
  Foxtrot is a moderate-tempo "walking" dance in 4/4 time with long gliding steps, unlike the rotary waltz or the fast, bouncy quickstep — which actually developed directly from foxtrot technique. See our Quickstep guide for that comparison.
• Is foxtrot hard to learn as a complete beginner? +
  It's approachable — the moderate tempo and walking-based steps make it one of the more forgiving Standard dances to start with, usually taught alongside or shortly after waltz.
• What's the difference between American Foxtrot and International (Standard) Foxtrot? +
  They're related but distinct syllabi — International Foxtrot follows the closed-hold ISTD/IDTA technique used in competition, while American Foxtrot allows more open positions and variations. A small number of London studios teach both explicitly.
• What is the basic foxtrot rhythm? +
  The core timing is slow-slow-quick-quick, danced across four beats — distinct from the steady three-beat waltz timing.
• Do I need a partner to join a foxtrot class in London? +
  Not for most group classes — many ballroom schools welcome singles and rotate partners during the lesson, though private lessons typically expect you to bring your own partner.
• How many lessons do I need to foxtrot confidently for a wedding first dance? +
  A short course of 4-6 private lessons is typically enough for a simple, confident foxtrot to one chosen song.
• What should I wear to a foxtrot class? +
  Smart-casual clothing that allows free movement, plus suede-soled ballroom shoes once you're training regularly — they make the long gliding steps noticeably easier.
• Where in London can beginners take foxtrot classes? +
  Foxtrot is taught at most general ballroom academies as part of the Standard syllabus, alongside dedicated wedding-dance specialists who offer it as an alternative to waltz.