The basic step, basic movement, basic pattern, or simply basic is the dance move that defines the character of a particular dance. It sets the rhythm of the dance; it is the default move to which a dancer returns, when not performing any other moves. For some dances it is sufficient to know the basic step performed in different handholds and dance positions to enjoy it socially.
Most traditional partner dances have only one basic step which can be easily mastered. Others, such as West Coast Swing, have multiple basic steps, any of which can theoretically be selected by the leader.
- Lindy Basic, in Lindy Hop
- Salsa Basic, in Salsa
- Mambo Basic, in Mambo
- Box Step, the basic move in some American Style ballroom dances: Rumba, Waltz, bronze-level Foxtrot.
- There are several variants of the Basic Movement in Cha-cha-cha: Basic, Open Basic, Basic in Place. Each of them may also be subdivided into a Forward and a Backward ones.
- Basic step in Zydeco
Famous quotes containing the word basic:
“What, then, is the basic difference between today’s computer and an intelligent being? It is that the computer can be made to see but not to perceive. What matters here is not that the computer is without consciousness but that thus far it is incapable of the spontaneous grasp of pattern—a capacity essential to perception and intelligence.”
—Rudolf Arnheim (b. 1904)