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Two-Step

The two-step is a partner dance that is made up of a repetition of 6 counts. Once the basic steps are learned, dancers can learn various turns, spins, and other stuff to spice up the dance and have a ton of fun!

To start, the man and woman face each other with the man facing the line of dance(the way you want to be going). The woman is then going to be dancing backwards. The man's right hand should be placed on the lady's left shoulder. The woman then places her left hand on the man's arm. The man then puts out his left hand so the palm is up. The lady then puts her hand over it. The two hands should not grasp though. Now you should be in the correct dancing position.

The man (who always leads) starts out stepping with his left foot and woman with her right. Feet should slide across the dancefloor, not a strict step. It should look smooth and not "bouncy". This dance is continuous in that the dancers will keep moving forward around the outside ring of the dance floor.

A single basic step pattern goes to 6 beats of music and contains 2 quick steps and 2 slow steps. The quick steps take 1 count and the slow steps take 2. Here's the basic pattern:

Count Type Audible Count Man's Steps Woman's Steps
1 Step Quick L R
2 Step Quick R L
3 Step Slow L R
4 Hold   - -
5 Step Slow R L
6 Hold   - -
The audible count is how you would say it...the pattern is "Quick, Quick, Slow, Slow"

This basic pattern is repeated over and over around the dance floor.

Try watching "Wildhorse Saloon" or "Club Dance" on TNN to see people dancing the steps. Adding spins and turns also use the same pattern of steps.

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