Foxtrot and Slow Foxtrot

The Foxtrot is a smooth, gliding partner dance in 4/4 time, built on long walking steps and a mix of slow and quick counts. In competition it appears as the Slow Foxtrot of International Standard and the Foxtrot of American Smooth, two closely related but distinct dances.

At a glance

Styles

International Standard · American Smooth

Time signature

4/4

Tempo

International Standard:28–30 bars per minute (112–120 beats) · WDSF rules 28 bars per minute (112 beats) · NDCA rulebook American Smooth:30 bars per minute (120 beats) · NDCA rulebook WDSF publishes a range for each International dance. The NDCA publishes one figure for each dance it lists and lets the music director move it by one bar a minute (two for Nightclub dances). Where neither publishes a tempo, the range is typical, not a rule.

Hold

International Standard: Closed hold American Smooth: Closed and open hold

Competition levels

Bronze, Silver and Gold syllabus, then Open and Championship, for amateur, professional and Pro/Am couples

Origin

New York; Slow Foxtrot shaped in England 1914; Slow Foxtrot 1920s

The Foxtrot appeared in New York in 1914, at the height of the ragtime dance craze, and was taken up that same year by the exhibition dancers Vernon and Irene Castle, who helped make it a national fashion.

Accounts differ on how it got its name. It is commonly said that it came from the vaudeville performer Harry Fox, but that credit appears only in newspapers from the early 1920s. Press reports from July 1914 credited the dancers Billy Kent and Jeanette Warner with originating it, and Vernon Castle is reported to have said that African American dancers had done the steps for years before.

The dance crossed to Britain soon after. In the 1920s English teachers split the original foxtrot by speed: the slower, smoother version became the Slow Foxtrot, while faster versions fed into the Quickstep. The ISTD's Ballroom Branch, formed in 1924, gave the Slow Foxtrot its fixed technique, which became the International Standard version.

In the United States the Foxtrot remained the everyday social dance of the big band era. Its American Smooth form grew out of that social tradition, keeping the slow-slow-quick-quick rhythm but adding open figures. See the history of DanceSport for more.

A good Foxtrot looks as if the couple is gliding across the floor without effort. Long, continuous steps, soft rise and fall and sway give it a relaxed, sophisticated feel, closer to walking than to bouncing.

Its rhythm combines slows (two beats) and quicks (one beat), and the music is played at a gentle pace. Because there are no big tempo changes or sharp accents, the Foxtrot shows off a dancer's control, balance and frame more than any trick.

Basic count

slow, quick, quick

Time signature

4/4

Tempo

28–30 bars per minute (112–120 beats) · WDSF rules 28 bars per minute (112 beats) · NDCA rulebook

Hold

Closed hold

The Slow Foxtrot of International Standard is often called the hardest of the Standard dances. It stays in closed hold, and figures flow into each other without the feet ever closing for long: the Feather Step and Three Step drive the couple forward, while turns such as the Natural Turn and Reverse Turn keep the travel continuous.

WDSF rules set the tempo at 28–30 bars per minute. Judges look for long, unbroken movement, smooth heel and toe action, controlled sway and a sense that the couple is floating above the music.

Basic figures

• Feather Step
• Three Step
• Natural Turn
• Reverse Turn
• Closed Impetus
• Feather Finish
• Natural Weave
• Change of Direction
• Basic Weave

Figure names are given as the syllabi write them, in English.

Basic count

slow, slow, quick, quick

Time signature

4/4

Tempo

30 bars per minute (120 beats) · NDCA rulebook

Hold

Closed and open hold

American Smooth Foxtrot keeps the gliding character but uses a slow, slow, quick, quick basic, and couples may open up into promenade, underarm turns, twinkles and side-by-side figures. At Bronze the feet often close at the end of each figure; from Silver up, couples use continuity style, passing the feet so the dance flows like the Standard version.

The NDCA rule book lists the American Smooth Foxtrot at 30 measures per minute (120 beats), slightly faster than the International Slow Foxtrot, and lets music directors vary it by one measure either way. Judges reward smooth travel, musicality and the contrast between open and closed work.

Basic figures

• Forward Basic
• Backward Basic
• Promenade Basic
• Rock Turn
• Sway Step
• Left Box Turn
• Promenade Chasse
• Closed Twinkle
• Cross Body Lead
• Underarm Turn

Figure names are given as the syllabi write them, in English.

The Slow Foxtrot is the fourth dance of an International Standard event, and the Foxtrot is the third dance of American Smooth. Both are danced by amateurs, professionals and in Pro/Am; see how US competitions and Pro/Am work.

At Bronze level, syllabus rules limit the figures and timings, and couples move up through Silver and Gold as they learn more. The levels and categories guide explains how those divisions work.

The Foxtrot is one of the most useful social dances: it fits a huge range of medium-tempo music and works on a crowded floor. You will find it at ballroom socials, studio parties, weddings and swing-era themed dances, usually in a relaxed American social style.

1. Think of walking, not stepping: let each step travel smoothly from heel to toe.

2. Learn to feel a slow as two beats and a quick as one before worrying about figures.

3. Keep the movement continuous; avoid stopping dead at the end of a figure.

4. Start with the basic in your chosen style: the Feather Step and Three Step in Standard, the Forward Basic and Box in American Smooth.

5. Practice to a wide range of medium-tempo songs; the Foxtrot fits more social music than almost any other ballroom dance.

Foxtrot music is smooth 4/4 at a relaxed walking pace. Typical choices are big band swing, jazz standards, crooner ballads and smooth modern pop arranged with a steady swing or straight feel.

• Quickstep

  Quickstep explained: how it grew from the 1920s foxtrot, its WDSF tempo, the basic figures beginners learn first, and tips for dancing it lightly at speed.

• Waltz

  Waltz explained: where it came from, its tempo in International Standard and American Smooth, the basic figures, and how the two styles differ.

• East Coast Swing

  East Coast Swing explained: its Lindy Hop roots, the American Rhythm competition tempo, the triple step basic, key figures and where people dance it.

• Tango

  Ballroom Tango explained: its Río de la Plata roots, Standard and Smooth tempos, basic figures, and how it differs from Argentine Tango.

1. WDSF Competition Rules 2026, Rule E.3 Music (tempo table)
2. NDCA Rule Book, July 2026, Section IX.B Approved Tempi
3. Barry Popik, The Big Apple: Foxtrot (dance), early citations
4. ISTD: History of Modern Ballroom
5. ISTD: Modern Ballroom Professional Modular Examinations Syllabus Outline (2018)
6. USA Dance Rule Book 2026, Appendix B Syllabus Guidebook (American Style Foxtrot)
7. Wikipedia: Foxtrot

What this page was written from. DanceFlow is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sanctioned by any of these organizations.

Last checked against its sources on November 3, 2026.

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