Cajun Jig - Basic Step

Basic Step

To begin:

• Start marching one-two, one-two, left-right, left-right: in place, sideways, forward, backward.
• Now pretend that to have a nail in one boot that hurts your heel, so that this foot steps on a toe, and you march in a limping way. This limping also gives you this slight bob-bob-bobbing up and down. It doesn't matter which foot limps; you can freely switch during the dance.
• When stepping on your toe, you push a little bit up on count "One" and on "Two" simply drop onto the second, flat foot.

Note that this description creates an exaggerated hobble often seen with newer dancers. The effect of the step is not to avoid stepping down, and not to appear as if one is stepping up, but to provide more weight on a "planted foot", allowing the other to move freely. For the man, the weighted foot is the right foot/leg; for the woman it is the left. This weighted-stepping pattern facilitates turns and swirls, and swing-outs, due to the freedom attributed to the unweighted leg; as well, it does not impede the traditional Cajun dance patterns.

These traditional patterns include those in which partners hold hands, and turn or move in concert or in opposition, including: the cuddle (sweetheart), (hammerlock), tie pretzels, turn inside out from face-to-face to back-to-back, or just simply walk around each other for a change in any of dance positions.