Nightclub 2 Step Vs Nightclub Slow Dance
02.01.07

Beth's Corner

In our upcoming workshop series, Shawn Swaithes is coming to town to teach our area the slow, sensual, flowing dance called Nightclub Slowdance (also known as Smooth Nightclub). This differs from the popular dance of NightClub 2-Step, developed by Buddy Schwimmer around 1965. I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss the fact that these are fundamentally two very different dances, with different rhythm patterns, foot placements and essence.
 
Night Club 2-step is a 4 –beat pattern dance that is danced with the rhythm pattern of“Triple-Triple”. The essence of this dance is the pulsing of the upbeat on counts 2 and 4 with a subtle lilt of the body on every single beat of the music, (movement unit is “up & up”). It is danced to music with tempos between 70 and 85 beats per minute. The step pattern call is “Back and Forward Side- Back and Forward Side” “Once someone experiences the lifting lift of stepping back on count 1 and pulsing the upbeat, it is difficult to imagine dancing this dance any other way” “ Skippy Blair”
 
Unfortunately there are many slow pieces of music that are NOT designed for NiteClub Two Step. Some where in the mid 1990’s because of the slow tempo of some the contemporary country music, NiteClub Two-Step entered the country scene in a different form. The sound is different as well as the dance.
 
The patterns of NiteClub Slowdance have a kinship to many Rumba patterns consisting of 8 beats of music instead of 4. It does not lilt upward but instead consists of long smooth steps to the side with the other foot gathering in next to the first, rather than stepping back. It is danced with the rhythm pattern of “Double-Single-Double-Single-”
 
In Country competitions this dance is danced very slowly to tempos ranging from 50 to 60 beats per minute. Nightclub Slowdance travels, sweeping across the floor with a flowing smoothness while Niteclub Two-Step was developed to be danced to faster music and danced in small spaces such as a nightclub, with a more natural arm positioning as in street dancing.