The quarter turn to the right is the basic quickstep figure: a quarter turn with a chassé. Posture, timing and typical mistakes explained clearly.
The honest answer to “What is the quarter turn in quickstep?”: It is the basic figure of quickstep – a quarter turn to the right with a chassé (a closing step to the side). With it you learn the three ingredients that make up quickstep: fast tempo, light feet and turning.
Quickstep is the sprinter among the standard dances. You feel it: in a study of a competition simulation, the highest heart rate always occurred in the last dances – for standard dancers in quickstep [1]. In another measurement, standard couples’ load averaged about 71–76 % of peak oxygen uptake with lactate values around 6.5 mmol/l [2] – high endurance pace, but not a sprint.
What does that mean for you? You need fitness, but above all control at speed. A beginner who can dance the quarter turn slowly and cleanly has the basis for everything else.
Realistic: You learn the sequence in one or two evenings. Dancing cleanly at tempo takes weeks (experience value, not a study finding).
Your teacher will show you the exact footwork; it differs by textbook.
Walk in time with the music and keep the hold. Milestone: You walk 16 steps at quickstep tempo without rushing.
A chassé is a closing step: step, close, step. Practise it alone first, then in dance hold. Milestone: The chassé stays in hold without the shoulders bobbing.
The turn starts from the trunk, not the feet. In top waltz couples the movement started at the pelvis or rib cage [3] (TRANSFER). Milestone: You dance a quarter turn without stumbling.
Even at speed the back stays upright. Dancers develop a flat lumbar lordosis over years [4] – another reason to learn the posture cleanly early. Milestone: In the side video you see an upright, calm line.
Raise the speed in small steps. Milestone: You dance the figure four times in a row cleanly at target tempo.
Quickstep is fast and stresses feet and ankles. A survey of 97 international competitors found on average 1.7 injuries per 1000 hours, about one injury per 600 training hours; 72 % did no additional dance-specific exercises [5]. Warm up, raise tempo gradually and stop at pain. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Dance the figure first at half speed and raise the tempo in 10 % steps. If posture breaks at the faster tempo, go back one step. This protects against errors that become habits.
Your weekly plan (practice suggestion, not a study finding): Three short sessions of 15 minutes per week beat one long one at the weekend. Session 1: walking in quickstep time, 16 steps slowly. Session 2: chassé alone, then with the quarter turn. Session 3: quarter turn with a partner, tempo in 10 % steps, with video. Before each session do five minutes of light warm-up (walking, ankle and hip circles).
Video check in three points: (1) Does the posture hold at faster tempo? (2) Is the turn really only a quarter? (3) Do the steps stay equally small? If two of the three points are right, the rest is usually a matter of repetitions. Ask your teacher which foot you start on in your school.
When do you move on? When the quarter turn sits cleanly at target tempo, go to the progressive chassé.
A basic figure with a quarter turn to the right that ends in a chassé. It is the basis of many quickstep sequences.
A common guide is about 50 bars per minute (practice standard).
Yes, but above all control. The load is in the high endurance range [2].
Eyes on a point in the line of dance, keep the head calm, do not turn too fast.
Progressive Chassé in Quickstep: Sideways and Forward