Even Step

Street "ballroom" dancers learn the rhythmic structure of a dance beginning with the Even Step. The steps of any dance must synchronize with the music that it is danced to, and the more you learn the more complicated it can get. The steps are correlated with the rhythm of the music, but the correlation becomes more sophisticated than just taking a step on every beat of the music. —sometimes a step is on a beat, sometimes a step is between beats, and sometimes a beat has no step at all.

“Social dancers are not bound by matter, materialism or opinion. They sing, dance and flow on the wind - for they are at one with it. Even space and time does not confine or define them.”

The Even Step is like walking, left, right, left, right and so on. It is used in more than ten thousand dances throughout the world and at any moment the dancer's weight is on only one of their feet. The other foot, without any weight on it, is moving to take the next step. As the dancer takes this next step, their weight transfers from one foot to another. The variety is there. the leader may lean into the follower and step forward and the follower steps back, it becomes a walk.

"Like a Virgin" by Madonna (1984)

The leader may pull back slightly and go backward and the follower will follow. He can go sideways, left or right (Merengue?) Or he can turn slowly to the left or turn slowly to right, half turn, 3/4 or whatever feels comfortable with the music. This can be done to a two count measure - three or even four count measure. Favorite three count even step dance on Oahu is the Waltz. And most night club street dancers learn the Rock Step and the Chassé to flower up their dances. You want more, I know, then you take classes.

"Failure is an event, never a person. The only time you don't fail
is the last time you try anything - and it works."