Quickstep

The quickstep is a light-hearted member of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the twenties in New York and was first danced by Caribbean and African dancers. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.

History

The quickstep evolved in the 1920s from a combination of the foxtrot, The Chase G Chug, Charleston, shag, peabody, and one-step. The dance is English in origin, and was standardized in 1927. While it evolved from the foxtrot, the quickstep now is quite separate. Unlike the modern foxtrot, the man often closes his feet and syncopated steps are regular occurrences (as was the case in early foxtrot). Three characteristic dance figures of the quickstep are the chassés, where the feet are brought together, the quarter turns, and the lock step.^p126

Quickstep (steamboat)

Quickstep was a steamboat that operated from 1877 to 1897 in coastal, inland waters and rivers of the Pacific Northwest. This vessel should not be confused with a number of other vessels with the same name, some of which operated in the same area about the same time.

Career

Quickstep was built at Astoria and completed in 1877. The vessel ran on the lower Columbia River for some time. There were many owners and operators of Quickstep and the vessel was run on many different routes.

In July 1883, Quickstep, under Capt. Thomas Doig, was brought north from the Columbia River to Puget Sound. Apparently Quickstep had been returned to the Columbia River after that, as it is reported that about 1885, under Capt. George A. Whitcomb (1854-1939), a member of a prominent maritime family, the vessel was running between Astoria and Grays Harbor.

Quickstep is reported to have been transferred to Puget Sound in 1887, or as early as 1885, by being purchased by Capt. J.J. Hansen (later to form Hansen Transportation Company, who had moved from Minnesota to Tacoma, and decided to enter the steamboat business, with Quickstep being his first vessel.