Dance Magic Review: Soul Two Step

Soul Two Step is a way of dancing two step, especially to Soul Music, that is characterized rhythmically by syncopated triple steps and on a feeling level by a soul connection with one's partner and the music. I begin by making more clear what I mean by some of the key words and phrases in this characterization of Soul Two Step.

soul	essence, animating principle, the spiritual principle embodied in all beings the quality that arouses emotion "breaking through pretense and getting to the heart of the matter" -- Aretha Franklin
Soul Music	music that expresses strong positive, intensely sensitive & emotional feelings, especially as performed by Afro-American artists music that has soul examples of performers: Aretha Franklin, Boyz II Men, Regina Belle
step	in dance, a shift of one's weight from one foot to the other e.g. in a triple step there are three weight changes so there are three steps
two step	our definition: a dance based on repeated repetitions of either 3 steps every 2 beats or 3 steps every 4 beats examples: nite club two step, old time two step, salsa, rumba, bolero older definition: a dance to music in 2:4 or 4:4 time based on the pattern step, close, step (in this sense of step, there are 2 steps in the pattern) This definition isn't useful for our purposes since it would exclude the original Nite Club Two Step and would also exclude Soul Two Step
triple step	a sequence in which 3 steps are taken in 2 beats as in night club two step, and as in 6 count steps in West Coast Swing and Lindy
step	in dance, a shift of one's weight from one foot to the other e.g. in a triple step there are three weight changes so there are three steps
rhythmical sequence	a repetitive pattern of sound or movement (especially steps) e.g. a regular pulse beat by a drum on each beat: 1 2 3 4 e.g. a person stepping in the pattern 1 & 2 - 3 & 4 - as in night club two step ( - means no step, here and throughout this article)
syncopated	a variation from an established rhythmical sequence in dance, the variation generally has to do with the rhythmic movement of the feet always relative e.g. relative to a regular 1 2 3 4 pulse, Nite Club Two Step, which is characterized by a 1 & 2 - 3 & 4 - pattern of steps, is syncopated

Some Good Music for Soul Two Step

Here are some good examples of Soul Music, with a CD each is on, and it's speed in measures per minute (mpm):

Performer	Song/CD	mpm
Boyz II Men	On Bended Knee (on Boyz II Men II)	15
Aaron Neville	Everybody Plays The Fool (on Warm Your Heart*)	23
Janet Jackson	That's The Way Love Goes (on Janet)	25
Trisha Covington	Why You Wanna Play Me Out (on Call Me)	22
Regina Belle	Passion (on Passion)	22

* Note: If you are looking for a single CD with many good two steps on it, this one has at least 5.

Although Soul Music is associated with black performers, here's an example where the vocalist is not Afro-American:

Performer	Song/CD	mpm
Joe Esposito	Lady, Lady, Lady (on Flashdance)	21

And while all the music listed above has strong vocals, an instrumental can also have soul:

Performer	Song/CD	mpm
Young-Holt Unlimited	Soulful Strut (on Rock Instrumental Classics vol. 4 Soul)	23

While soul music is especially good for dancing Soul Two Step, it can also be danced to a wide range of other music (with varying degrees of appropriateness). Songs that work for Nite Club Two Step usually work, for example:

Performer	Song/CD	mpm
Chris de Burgh	The Lady and Red (on Into The Light)	19

Speed of the Music

The speed of the examples given above ranges from a low of 15 measures per minute (mpm) to a high of 25. If you prefer to think in beats per minute that would be roughly a range from 60 to 100 beats per minute. The actual range for social dancing is, for me, only slightly greater than that.

Syncopated Triple Step

In Night Club Two Step the rhythmic sequence for steps is: 1 & 2 - 3 & 4 -
For many other two steps the sequence is: 1 2 3 - 5 6 7 -
So there is a norm in two step of quick quick slow, quick quick slow
where the slow takes up two quicks.

Soul Two Step is syncopated with respect to this norm. Let's consider the song On Bended Knee (mentioned earlier as an example of Soul Music suitable for two step). It's very slow and has some fairly clear sounds that support our dancing it differently from Nite Club Two Step. If you listen to On Bended Knee, you'll generally hear a distinctive click on 2 and 4 and a sort of bump bump around 1 and 3. The actual rhythmic pattern is a1 - 2 - a3 - 4 -
It's not so important to identify that the pattern is a1 - 2 as opposed to (say) 1a- 2
What's important is to hear (or feel) the syncopation and to dance to it - whatever it is.

The very-quick does not allow of much traveling, but is plenty long enough for a pivot. The two slows both allow for stepping out.

If you dance to the aspect of On Bended Knee that I've described, the feel and look of the dance will be different from Nite Club Two Step. The syncopated triple is characteristic of Soul Two Step.

Comparison to Nite Club Two Step

*Note: In this article references to Nite Club Two Step will mean the dance created or formulated by Buddy Schwimmer and not the off-shoot sometimes taught by Studios under the same name in which one steps to the side on count 1. The difference is not trivial, but will not be explored here.

Some Differences

Nite Club Two Step	Soul Two Step
1 & 2 - 3 & 4 -	the triple step is syncopated e.g. a1 - 2 -a3 - 4 -
cross over step is characteristic	cross over step is inhibited and can be awkward
tends towards rounded step patterns	linear traveling steps (similar to waltz) work really well
the most characteristic music tends to flow	the music may be flowing, but often is not. very strong swing like rhythm is not unusual.
swing like moves are possible but not characteristic	swing like moves are natural for some music

The similarities between Nite Club Two Step and Soul Two Step are considerable, and you may want to think of Soul Two Step as a variant of Nite Club Two Step. Then again some of the differences (such as the syncopated triple) are considerable, so you might want to think of them as separate dances.

This comparison may be useful in bringing out distinctions. However when actually dancing, it works well to focus on one's partner and the music, and allow the movement to arise from one's connection with them.

Steps

Nite Club Two Step	the basic steps generally work well e.g. the basic and the inside and outside turns
Waltz	many in place steps work well linear traveling steps including Viennese turns (The very-quick is great for pivots)
Lindy	single Lindy swing outs work well as well as some other 8 count steps some 6 count steps can be adapted

Summary

Soul Two Step is a way of dancing two step to slow to medium-slow music, especially Soul Music. It is characterized by syncopated triple steps and a feeling connection with one's partner and the music.

Dance Magic Review November 1998

Soul Two Step