Travel Steps Study Guide 6.3: Step-Together Travel

Step, Step-Together & Push; Step-Together, Step & Pull; Chassé

Walk through a step, step-together pattern:  start with feet together, then take a step out with your right foot; bring your left foot alongside your right foot, then step in place on the left.  Continuing with this footwork pattern, move forward, back, and to the right.  Switch to lead with the left foot, and travel forward, back, and to the left.

Walk through a step-together, step pattern:  start with feet apart, then step your right foot in to bring the feet together; step out with the left foot, widening your stance, then step the right foot in.  Continue with this footwork pattern, initiating with a step in.  Travel forward, back, and left; then switch to lead left, and travel forward, back, and right.

Allow one or both feet to slide along the floor and add a subtle timing emphasis to create either a “push” variation on step, step-together, or a “pull” variation on step-together, step. 

Try push footwork first.  Leading again with your right foot, step out on count 1, then slide your left foot into meet it, and transfer weight left on count two.  Continue by stepping out on the right foot on count three, and sliding the left foot in to transfer on count 4.  Travel forward, back, and right.  “Push” the feet apart on count one, then pull the feet back together.

Travel right, and add a hipwork layer to the push:  take your step out with a lifted heel, and a right hip lift to the side.  The left foot slides flat along the floor in coordination with your hip lift. Keep a continually lifted right heel and a flat left foot as you continue the movement.

Switch to lead left, and push forward, back, and left.  Travel left with push footwork layered with a hip lift on the left side.

Switch back to lead right, and push right with a different hipwork layer—a lift of the left hip.  As you reach out with the right foot, lift the left foot’s heel and push side with the left hip.  As you transfer weight onto your flat right foot, release the hip and slide the left foot in. As you continue the movement, keep working with a flat right foot and a lifted left heel.  Change and lead left.  Move left with a flat left foot, lifted right heel, and a hip lift on the right side.

Depending on how you interpret the feeling of the hipwork layer, you may feel more “pulling” than pushing in at least one of these movements.  The “push” is a descriptor of the separation of the feet that initiates the footwork pattern, danced in coordination with the first count of a musical phrase.  Working with music, dance through step, step-together footwork, taking care to match the timing of your movements to the phrasing of the music.  Step out so that feet are apart on count one, then bring the trailing foot in so that feet are together on count two.  Practice leading with both your left and right foot, and try adding different hipwork layers (pushes, lifts, drops, circles, twists) over both the leading and trailing foot. 

Continue with the same movements, but vary your timing to create pull footwork relative to the music.  Begin with feet apart, step in on count one, then separate the feet on count two.

Working with music, alternate between push and pull phrases.  Here is one exercise to practice timing:  

·         Start with feet together.  Wait for the beginning of a musical phrase, and start the exercise so that you take your first step on the first count of the music.

·         Push to the right for seven counts, and hold on count eight:  R-L, R-L, R-L, R [hold]

·         Continue to move to the right, but switch to a pull.  Your left foot now leads:  L-R, L-R, L-R, L-R

·         Change and travel left.  Continue leading with your left foot, but change to a push:  L-R, L-R, L-R, L [hold]

·         Continue to travel left, but switch to a pull. Your right foot now leads:  R-L, R-L, R-L, R-L

Even though this exercise moves to both the right and left, to build the strongest brain-body connection it’s still a good idea to continue on with some run-throughs that lead from the left.  Start with feet together, wait for the beginning of the musical phrase, then push left.  Continue travelling left with a pull.  Switch and travel right, first with a push, then with a pull. To increase the difficulty of the exercise, add one or more layers to each segment.  Another variation is to shorten each segment to four counts or even to two counts.

Using either simple or layered steps, dance through a chassé footwork pattern:  right-left-right, left-right-left.  Try travelling forward and back, both in a straight line and on alternating diagonals.  Vary the speed of your steps.  Working at a slower speed, step on the beat, on counts one, two, and three, and hold on count four.  Working at a faster speed, count the music with an “&” marking the timing between beats.  Take three steps in coordination with “1 & 2.” Hold on the “&” between counts two and three.  Take another three steps in coordination with “3 & 4.”  Try varying the timing—for instance:  hold on “1” (perhaps with an upper body accent layer) and step in coordination with “& 2 &;” hold on “3,” and step in coordination with “& 4 &.”

→ Next in the Travel Steps Study Guide: Step, Cross-Behind 

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