West Oahu Looking Good

The famous Rock step (also called the break step) will always be with us and many social dancers are well aware of it. The name refers to the rocking action during the move, the weight is transferred from one foot to another and then back. It is a very basic move to music and used in most dances in the world. Very probably evolved from the original even step. left, right, left etc. Then in changing direction to step backward, there was noticeable dance move. The Rock Step.

“Social dancers find that the dance moves are theirs. They make the moment important,

vital, and worth living. They listen to the music and do not let it slip away unused.”

Most often it is a two-step dance move executed in two beats of music. There are two basic versions, rocking back and rocking forward. They may start with any foot. In rock back, the dancer steps backwards with full weight transfer then transfers the weight back to the front foot while keeping it in place. In rock forward, the dancer steps forward with full weight transfer then transfers the weight to the back foot while keeping it in place.

"Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (1981)

Submitted by Maile Yagi

No truth to the rumor of a keg of beer.

In some dances, such as East Coast Swing, the partners rock from opposite feet in opposite directions. The leader rocks backward, the follower rocks backward, both doing the basic step sequence: "rock step, slow step". And in some slower dances they will do a chasse instead of the slow step. There you have the most basic dance moves in perhaps 1000 dances. More than that? I wont argue. The most important thing is to enjoy moving to your favorite music.

Book, not recommended: "I Was Prepared" by Justin Case