Ballroom Guide

Floorcraft is one of the most important skills to possess. If you find yourself on the competition floor and somebody is blocking you from continuing your routine, having a plan of how to adjust will keep you looking smooth and graceful. On the other hand, if you get flustered, freeze up, or get into a collision, the judges will all look somewhere else, and you may lose your spot in the next round. In a previous BGBB article, we talked about some basic figures in each dance that could be used to avoid collisions (called dodgers), but today we are going to go in depth into Foxtrot and give you Syllabus-legal dodgers for every situation you could find yourself in.

Also, check out Syllabus Waltz Dodgers, and Syllabus Tango Dodgers.

What are Dodgers

When an obstacle on the floor interrupts your routine, the best course of action is to curve your routine to avoid it, without changing the routine itself, however, sometimes that is impossible. In this situation, the routine must change to avoid colliding with the obstacle. A dodger is a single figure or short combination of figures that you can use at a point in your routine to avoid collision, which then returns you to that same point in your routine. Dodgers should be practiced so that when the Man uses one all of a sudden, the Lady is familiar enough with the pattern that she can follow it without hesitation.

You should have a dodger for each of the following situations, which are the most common:

Natural Figures Moving Forward
1) Forward on the RF, facing DW
2) Forward on the RF, facing DC

Reverse Figures Moving Forward
3) Forward on the LF, facing DW
4) Forward on the LF, facing DC

Natural Figures Moving Back
5) Back on the LF, backing LOD
6) Back on the LF, backing LOD, Lady OP

Reverse Figures Moving Back
7) Back on the RF, backing LOD

Figures Commenced in PP
8) In PP moving DW
9) In PP moving DC

Below you will find multiple options of what to do next for each of the 9 situations listed. Choose only one and practice it, so you can fall back on it without thinking when the time comes.

Ballroom Guide's Choice: Top 3 Foxtrot Dodgers

You may will notice many of the same figures being used over and over. These figures are invaluable for floorcraft, due to their versatility, and being comfortable with them will allow you to get out of any situation. In particular, become familiar with the Weave (both the Basic Weave, and the Natural Weave), the Outside Swivel, and the Curved Feather.

1. Forward on the RF, facing DW

You have just danced a Three Step, and you would like to dance a Natural Turn, but there is an obstacle in your way.

Option 1 (Bronze): Natural Weave, followed by a Three Step to continue with your routine

Option 2 (Gold): Curved Feather to Back Feather curved around the couple in your way, followed by a Feather Finish, followed by a Three Step to continue with your routine

2. Forward on the RF, facing DC

You have just danced Change of Direction ended facing DC, and you would like to dance a Feather Step, but there is an obstacle in your way.

Unfortunately, there is no Syllabus figure appropriate as a dodger in this situation. If you cannot curve the Feather Step around the obstacle, the best choice would be to wait before taking the final step of the Change of Direction, or if that step has already been taken, to recommence with a Prep Step. There are more advanced ways of dealing with this situation, but none are found in the Syllabus.

3. Forward on the LF, facing DW

You have just danced a Feather Finish, and you would like to dance a Three Step, but there is an obstacle in your way.

Option 1 (Bronze): 1-4 Reverse Turn to end backing Wall or even DW against LOD, followed by a Basic Weave to continue with your routine

Option 2 (Silver): Top Spin turned 1/2 to end facing DC against LOD, followed by Top Spin turned 1/2 to end facing DW to continue with your routine

Option 3 (Bronze): Change of Direction to end facing LOD or DC, followed by a Feather Step, followed by a Reverse Turn & Feather Finish to continue with your routine

Option 4 (Silver): Hover Telemark, followed by a Feather Step, followed by a Closed Telemark, followed by a Feather Step to continue with your routine

Option 5 (Silver): Hover Telemark ended in PP, followed by a Feather Ending, followed by an Open Telemark, followed by a Feather Ending to continue with your routine

Option 6 (Silver): Outside Swivel & Feather Ending to continue with your routine

N.B. Option 6 will bring you 2 beats off phrase. For more about Musicality and Phrasing, click here.

Notable Mention:

The Change of Direction is an amazing dodger, perhaps one of the most useful and certainly the simplest. The problem is that this dodger does not allow you to recommence your routine with ease, which means if you use it here, you will have to find a good place in your routine to continue from.

4. Forward on the LF, facing DC

You have just danced a Feather Step, and you would like to dance a Reverse Turn & Feather Finish, but there is an obstacle in your way.

Option 1 (Silver): Top Spin turned 1/2 to end facing DW against LOD, followed by Top Spin turned 1/2 to end facing DC to continue with your routine

Option 2 (Silver): Outside Swivel & Feather Ending to continue with your routine

Option 3 (Gold): Treat the Feather Step as if it had been a Curved Feather without any curvature, allowing you to follow with a Back Feather, and then another Feather Step to continue with your routine

Option 4 (Gold): Treat the Feather Step as if it had been a Curved Feather without any curvature, allowing you to follow with a Closed Impetus and Feather Finish (step 1 Lady OP) to continue with your routine

Option 5 (Gold): Treat the Feather Step as if it had been a Curved Feather without any curvature, allowing you to follow with a Open Impetus (step 1 Lady OP), followed by a Feather Ending to continue with your routine

N.B. Option 3 will bring you 2 beats off phrase. For more about Musicality and Phrasing, click here.

5. Back on the LF, backing LOD

You have just danced 1-3 of a Natural Turn, and you would like to continue with 4-6 of the Natural Turn, but you are unable to dance the remainder of the figure because another couple is standing there.

Option 1 (Bronze): Closed Impetus and Feather Finish, followed by a Three Step to recommence from step 1 of the Natural Turn

Option 2 (Gold): Change the Natural Turn into a Natural Twist Turn with Weave Ending, followed by a Three Step to recommence from step 1 of the Natural Turn

Option 3 (Gold): Change the Natural Turn into a Natural Twist Turn with Closed Impetus Ending, followed by a Three Step to recommence from step 1 of the Natural Turn

N.B. Options 2 and 3 will bring you 2 beats off phrase. For more about Musicality and Phrasing, click here.

6. Back on the LF, backing LOD, Lady OP

You have just danced 1-3 of the Natural Weave, and you would like to continue with the remainder of the figure, but there is an obstacle in your way.

Option 1 (Silver): Dance steps 1-2 of the Outside Swivel and Feather Ending, ended Lady preparing to step OP, to continue with the remainder of the Weave

Option 2 (Gold): Outside Swivel, followed by a Curved Feather to Back Feather commenced in PP, followed by a Feather Finish in place of the Weave

Option 3 (Gold): Outside Swivel, followed by a Curved Feather to Back Feather commenced in PP, followed by a Closed Impetus & Feather Finish in place of the Weave

N.B. Be aware that Option 3 will bring you 2 beats off phrase. For more about Musicality and Phrasing, click here.

7. Back on the RF, backing LOD

You have just danced 1-3 of the Reverse Turn, and you would like to continue with the Feather Finish, but there is an obstacle in your way.

Option 1 (Bronze): Dance step 4 of the Reverse Turn, followed by a Basic Weave making no turn over steps 1-2, moving around the obstacle to continue with your routine

8. In PP moving DW

You have just danced an Open Telemark, and you would like to dance a Feather Ending, but there is an obstacle in your way.

Option 1 (Gold): Curved Feather to Back Feather commenced in PP, followed by a Feather Finish in place of the Feather Ending

Option 2 (Gold): Curved Feather commenced in PP, followed by a Closed Impetus with step 1 taken Lady OP, followed by a Feather Finish in place of the Feather Ending

9. In PP moving DC

You have just danced an Open Impetus, and you would like to dance a Feather Ending, but there is an obstacle in your way.

Unfortunately, there is no Syllabus figure appropriate as a dodger in this situation. If you are unable curve the Feather Ending around the obstacle, it is unlikely any Syllabus figure would suffice, in which case the best choice would be to close the feet, wait for the obstacle to pass, and resume the Feather Ending from PP. There are more advanced ways of dealing with this situation, but none are found in the Syllabus.