The Foxtrot is the only other dance, aside from the Waltz which has actually had a major influence on the development of technique of modern ballroom dancing.

History 
The Foxtrot first made its appearance in the American ballroom scene a month before World War I, the summer of 1914, and in England, by spring of 1915. Many believe that it was a musical comedy star named Harry Fox who started and introduced the Foxtrot, when he performed a series of fast walking steps to music on a vaudeville stage in New York.
      It is more likely however, that it was named after the gait or pace of the horse, known in the West then as a ‘fox-trot’. Its immediate forerunners were the Horse Trot and the Fish Walk of the preceding year, which both featured the canters and trots very fashionable in those days. As a dance, the Foxtrot is the direct off-spring of the One-Step and the Rag. 
      Between 1914 and 1916, the Foxtrot was the rage of the ballroom. Dance had become the most popular pastime of the young American soldiers on leave from the war in Europe. But most of them were almost fresh from school, had no dancing experience, and had no time to learn the intricacies of the Waltz and the Tango. 
      They were fascinated by the lilting tunes of the Foxtrot; and the informal and simple dance steps appealed to them, and to their relatives who joined them during these precious social occasions. 
      As a real “go-as-you-please” dance, the Foxtrot originally did not have any definite steps, so many of the patterns then were taken from the established dances at the time -- the One-Step, the Hesitation Waltz, the Maxixe, and the Tango. 
      Only after years of contention among the circles of the dance teachers, fleeting experiments on different music tempi (resulting in Slow Foxtrot and Quick-time Foxtrot), and competition with other dances, did it finally prove its worth as a lasting dance with its own technique. In fact, a greater part of the technique of modern ballroom dancing has been formed out of the Foxtrot. Together with the Charleston, the Quick-time Foxtrot gave birth to the Quickstep, which is also now a competition dance.

Rhythm
The Foxtrot’s original rhythm, with its tied notes after the second beat, can be traced from the black people of New York. At that time, black communities in the United States had started to influence the white communities with the highly powerful movement and rhythm of Negro Jazz. 
      Today, the Foxtrot is danced in medium tempo of 4/4 time, more or less 28-36 bars of music. Varying tempos are often used in Philippine ballrooms, thus we have the Slow Foxtrot (Nightclub Foxtrot), and Quick Foxtrot (Trot Rhythm) which develops a rhythmic bounce. 
      The basic rhythm pattern of the dance is composed of single rhythm (slow) and double rhythm (quick) units.

Count	1      2	3         4
Rhythm Unit
Rhythm	Single	Double
Verbal Pattern	"Step (Touch)	Step  Step"

Basic Movement
Following the basic rhythms, the basic Foxtrot movements are what is known in some dance circles as the Walk and the Three-Step, the Slow and Quick-Quick, the Single and the Double. All the basic figures are built up from these two movements. 
     With the pre-occupation of many local dancers for variations and amalgamations, it becomes difficult to determine what the real basic patterns are. Thus we are sharing the few basic step patterns in this book, plus a few common amalgamations. 
      Readers however are encouraged create their own amalgamations after they have mastered the basic patterns.  Please note that many steps come from the Tango, and the Waltz, as they did during the Foxtrot’s early days. The dance is still mainly a go-as-you-please dance, in spite of the developments it has gone through. 
      The Foxtrot is above all things a smooth dance. The movement should be flowing, the weight of the body traveling continuously. The single and double rhythm patterns should blend in an unbroken movement, without stops or jerks. Both dancers should be relaxed but perfectly controlled at the same time. (Review the ABCs of dance for body control.) Each pattern starts with the man’s left foot free, and the lady’s right foot free.

The Hold
The Foxtrot is danced almost entirely in Closed Hold, though some figures will require shifts to Promenade or Conversation Position as well as Cradle Position.

Body Sway
A body sway smoothens the dance figures and helps the dancer maintain good balance during the turns. 

Rhythm Variations
All of the above patterns may be put together to form mixed rhythms. First practice the individual two-unit, three-unit, and four-unit patterns until they become comfortable to execute. Make sure you understand what you are doing. Combine this knowledge with those of the previous chapters on movement and leading, and see if you can combine your own pattern amalgamations, that is, combinations of patterns. Soon you can choreograph your own sequences. 
      Twelve-beat, 16-beat, or longer amalgamations may be combined from the patterns. Just make sure they can fit into the music and phrasing. Also count the beats out in increments of 8, to facilitate keeping track of the patterns and timing.

Links 
To join the various rhythmic patterns together to make them flow, or to make them phrase to the music, or to return to a different free foot, one-unit links of 2 beats may be used. These include:

• Walking Steps - forward or backward steps in single 
  rhythm. 
• Trotting Steps - forward or backward double rhythm 
  units. 
• Chassés - “Side Together” double rhythm steps. 
• Checks - a double rhythm unit stepping forward and 
  then back. 
• Oversways - alternating side steps with body sways to 
  single rhythm. 
• Pivots - double rhythm or single rhythm turning either 
  Left or Right in 4th foot position.
  

Learn more about the Universal Unit System from Ms. Skippy Blair's
 DISCO TO TANGO and BACK PLUS