How to Dance the Quickstep:
Quarter Turns for Beginners

Illustration (AI-generated): dancers walking out onto a sunlit ballroom floor.

Quickstep is the fast, happy member of the ballroom family. It grew out of the foxtrot in 1920s England, when bands played so fast that dancers needed something lighter, and today it’s one of the five International Standard dances. Watch it on a competition floor and it looks like flying.

You don’t start by flying, though. You start with the quarter turns, the classic first figures in beginner quickstep. This guide teaches both parts with footprint charts, a count-along video, two practice tracks and a five-minute drill. No partner or experience needed to start.

What you’ll learn

Step 1: Learn slows and quicks

Quickstep is counted in slows and quicks. In its 4/4 music, a slow takes two beats and a quick takes one (Ballroom Pages). Both quarter-turn figures use the same rhythm, slow, quick, quick, slow: six beats each, twelve for the pair.

The two quicks in the middle are a chassé: side, close. The last slow finishes the chassé with one more side step. The round-dance quickstep figure guide gives both figures the same slow, quick, quick, slow timing.

Step 2: Find your hold and your direction

Hold. Quickstep uses the International closed hold the whole time. DanceVision describes it: the leader’s left arm extended, the follower’s right hand resting in it, the leader’s right hand on the follower’s left shoulder blade, and the follower’s left hand on the leader’s shoulder. Keep it toned and still.

Direction. Couples travel counterclockwise around the room, a direction called the line of dance. Leaders, face the line of dance with the outside wall on your right, then turn about an eighth to the right, so you face diagonally toward the wall. Followers face the leader, backing diagonally toward the wall.

Weight. Leaders start with weight on the left foot, followers on the right. Many teachers add a preparation step before the first quarter turn; Amy can show you how she likes to start. Practicing alone? Hold your arms in a light frame and imagine your partner.

Step 3: The leader’s quarter turns, step by step

Start: closed hold, facing diagonally toward the wall, weight on your left foot.

Each figure turns about a quarter, first right and then left, so the pair zigzags down the floor. The Round Dancing figure notes notes the progressive chassé is normally danced after the first four steps of the quarter turns.

Step 4: The follower’s quarter turns, step by step

Start: closed hold, backing diagonally toward the wall, weight on your right foot.

Your part is the natural opposite of your partner’s: when the leader goes forward, you go back. Both chassés travel down the line of dance, to your right and to your partner’s left.

Step 5: Add the quickstep feel

Once the footwork is steady, add the light quality that makes quickstep sparkle. Keep it gentle at first.

• Stay off your heels on the quicks. “Don’t dance flat-footed,” advise Sandi and Dan Finch; use your knees and ankles like shock absorbers.
• Less rise than waltz. The same article notes quickstep figures have less rise and fall than their waltz counterparts. Think light, not tall.
• A steady frame. Round Dancing’s quickstep introduction stresses keeping a strong frame, especially in turning figures, while the feet do the work.

Exactly how much rise to use, and where, is something teachers shape in person. Start soft and let Amy fine-tune it.

Step 6: Put it together

Take your hold and your starting direction. Dance the quarter turn to the right, then the progressive chassé, then start again with the quarter turn. Four sets in a row will take you a good way along one wall. Slowly at first: hold each slow for its full two beats.

Ballroom teaching has long started here. In their notes on quickstep, Sandi and Dan Finch write that the ballroom author and teacher Alex Moore recommended walks and chassés first, then quarter turns, then the progressive chassé. Ballroom Pages lists the quarter turn to right and progressive chassé among the common first concepts.

Watch the count-along lesson (under 3 minutes)

This short video walks both parts step by step, then counts along with you at a slow practice tempo and again at a faster tempo. Press play and dance along; captions are available.

Hear the counts: two practice tracks

These original practice tracks (no music, just tones) play the quarter turns for you. After four count-in clicks, you’ll hear a long, low tone on each slow and a short, bright tone on each quick. Press play, stand up, and dance along. Neither track plays automatically.

Beyond the quarter turns: what comes next

Beginner quickstep builds on the quarter turns with figures like these, best learned with a teacher:

Common mistakes and quick fixes

Your five-minute practice

If finding the beat is the hard part, read why some songs make the beat hard to find.

Music, clothes and where you’ll dance it

The steps are only half the picture. Here’s what to play, what to wear, and where quickstep will come in handy.

What music works for quickstep?

Quickstep is danced in 4/4 time to bright, upbeat music: swing, big band, jazz and show tunes (Ballroom Pages). It’s fast. The World DanceSport Federation’s rules set 50 to 52 bars a minute, about 200 to 208 beats, and Ballroom Pages’ quickstep music guide lists 50 bars (200 beats) for NDCA events. Full tempo is advanced, so learners practice slower.

From the quickstep lists of RPI Ballroom and Ballroom Pages. Tempos vary by recording, so test yours: count “slow, quick-quick, slow” along with it. If the slows still feel like two calm beats, it will work. The practice tracks above are a good warm-up first.

What should you wear?

Skip flip-flops, rubber soles that grab the floor, and loose or chunky heels. Lower heels are steadier while you learn (Capezio’s heel guide), and many competitions require heel protectors on high heels (Rutgers competition rules). You don’t need special shoes to start; ask Amy before you buy.

Where will you dance quickstep?

• Competitions and showcases. Quickstep is one of the five International Standard dances (World DanceSport Federation). It isn’t part of American Smooth, which has waltz, tango, foxtrot and Viennese waltz (DanceVision). Curious about competing with your teacher? See Pro-Am and competitive dancing.
• Ballroom socials, galas and big-band nights. When a fast swing or big-band song comes on, the quarter turns let you travel around the floor with everyone else. A limited version of quickstep is taught and danced socially in some American venues (Wikipedia). Find Twin Cities nights on Where to Go Dancing in the Twin Cities.

Quickstep travels, so floorcraft matters: move with the line of dance, keep your steps small on a busy floor, and look where you’re going. Thank your partner after the song.

Next steps

Sources & Further Reading

• Round Dancing: Quickstep Figures. Quarter turn and progressive chassé footwork, alignment and slow, quick, quick, slow timing.
• Round Dancing: Phase IV Figure Notes. Progressive chassé danced after the first four steps of the quarter turns; backward on the right, side and slightly forward on the left.
• Round Dancing: A Few Notes on Quickstep (Sandi and Dan Finch). Alex Moore’s teaching order; not flat-footed; less rise than waltz; same hold as waltz and foxtrot.
• Round Dancing: Quickstep, An Introduction. Closed position and a strong frame; SQQS rhythm; history from the faster foxtrot.
• Ballroom Pages: Quickstep Dance Style Guide. Slows and quicks; character; common first concepts.
• Ballroom Pages: Quickstep Music and Timing. NDCA 50 bars (200 BPM); practice below full tempo; songs to test.
• Ballroom Pages: Ballroom Music Tempo Chart. Quickstep tempo range 48–52 bars a minute.
• World DanceSport Federation: Competition Rules (2012, PDF). Quickstep tempo of 50–52 bars a minute.
• World DanceSport Federation: Dance Styles. Quickstep among the five Standard dances.
• DanceVision: American Style vs International Style. International closed hold; American Smooth dances.
• Wikipedia: Quickstep. 1920s English origins, 1927 standardization, closing feet in chassés, social dancing in the U.S.
• MasterClass: Quickstep Dance Guide. Alternative account of the dance’s New York roots; slow, quick, quick, slow.
• Roundalab Quickstep Standards (PDF). Quarter turns and progressive chassé as standardized figure names.
• RPI Ballroom: Music. Practice songs.
• Rutgers Ballroom: Competition Rules. Costume rules by level; heel protectors.
• Capezio: Ballroom Shoe Heel Height Guide. Lower heels for stability.