The Seaside Saunter is an easy Saunter (i.e. Foxtrot) sequence dance composed by Marjorie Wantling in 1951.
It won first prize at the Blackpool Autumn Dance Festival in 1951.
It's not to be confused with the later Seashore Saunter (1962), although the first five steps of the two dances are the same.
The version described below is based on a description by Cecil Ruault around 1952.
Closed position, Lead facing LOD.
Part I - Walk, Twinkle, Repeat (4 bars): Back the Follow two steps (1, 2), then step back (3), close (and), forward (4). Repeat on the other foot, still backing the Follow (5, 6, 7, and, 8), and turning 1/4 right into promenade position at the end.
Part II - Crossing Wave (4 bars): Promenade two steps along LOD, left, right (1, 2), then replace back left against LOD (3), take a small side step against LOD (and), and cross through against LOD (4). Then repeat opposite, i.e., on the other foot, against LOD (5, 6, 7, and, 8).
Part III - Pointing Promenade (4 bars): Promenade one step along LOD (1), point through along LOD (2), step through along LOD (3), and close outside foot to the leading side (i.e., further along LOD) of inside foot without weight (4). Repeat (5, 6, 7, 8).
Part IV - Promenade Rollaway and Cross-Steps (4 bars): Promenade two steps along LOD (1, 2), releasing hands. Then swivel on the balls of both feet to face against LOD, Lead turning left and Follow turning right (3, 4), ending with weight on Lead's right, Follow's left. Taking inside hands, step forward against LOD with inside foot (5), then side, close (6-and) against LOD, taking closed position. Finish by crossing through along LOD (7) and closing without weight, turning 1/4 to the left to regain original orientation (8).
Repeat from the beginning.
Saunter (i.e. Foxtrot) music.
The original tune is "Seaside Saunter" by John Hardy (also known as Jack Hardy).
© 2018 Nick Enge
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.
For full-length teaching videos, visit: University of Dance.
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