The Festival Two-Step

(London, 1920)

General Description

This is a satisfying early English sequence two-step composed by H. G. Roscoe, which won first prize at The Winter Gardens, Blackpool Dancing Festival in 1920.

The Position

Side-by-side in half-closed position, both facing LOD as in the Military Schottische.

The Dance

Part I - Promenade and Rollaway (4 bars): Two two-steps forward (1-and-2, 3-and-4), then rollaway from each other with three steps (forward along LOD, back along LOD, back along LOD), hands on hips.

Part II - Repeat Opposite (4 bars): Repeat Part I on the other foot traveling against LOD.

Part III - Pas de Basque and Skip (4 bars): Pas de basque away from partner (1-and-2) and toward partner (3-and-4), then skip (i.e. step-hop) four times along LOD (5-and, 6-and, 7-and, 8-and).

Part IV - Turning Two Step (4 bars): Four bars of turning two-step (1-and-2, 3-and-4, 5-and-6, 7-and-8).

The Music

There's an eponymous tune composed specifically for the dance by Ronald Franklin, but any square, early 20th century two-step in 6/8 time will work nicely.

Sources

H. G. Roscoe. (1917). The Festival, Novelty Two-Step. London.

Thanks to Richard Powers for providing several helpful suggestions to improve this page.

(Click to expand)

Historical Descriptions

The Festival (Roscoe, The Festival, 1920):

For more dance descriptions, see our three books on dancing:
The Book of Mixers: 100 Easy-Teach Dances for Getting Acquainted (2022) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge,
Cross-Step Waltz: A Dancer's Guide (2019) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge, and
Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living (2013) by Richard Powers and Nick Enge.

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