Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 2, 2026

Boston (dance)

The Boston refers to various step dances, considered a slow Americanized version of the waltz presumably named after where it originated. It is completed in one measure with the weight kept on the same foot through two successive beats. The "original" Boston is also known as the New York Boston or Boston Point.

Last revised
Aug 2, 2026
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The Boston refers to various step dances, considered a slow Americanized version of the waltz12 presumably named after where it originated.1 It is completed in one measure with the weight kept on the same foot through two successive beats.3 The "original" Boston is also known as the New York Boston or Boston Point.4

Variations of the Boston include:

  • The Long Boston56 also known as the Philadelphia Boston,6 the Walking Boston7 or the One Step Waltz.67
  • The One-Step.8
  • The Short Boston,.5
  • The Dip Boston,5 also known as Boston dip (steps of the dance were accentuated through a bend of the knees, with the center of gravity "dipping").9
  • The Spanish Boston10
  • The French Boston1
  • The Herring Bone Boston11
  • The English Boston or Three-Step Boston.12
  • The Four-Step Boston or Four-Step Waltz.13
  • The Five-Step Boston2 or Five-Step Waltz.14
  • The Seven-Step Boston.15
  • The Double Boston or Cross Boston or Count of Luxembourg Staircase Valse16
  • The Triple Boston17
  • The Triple Double Boston18
  • The Russian Boston19
References

References

  1. Moore, Arabella E. (1900). The dance, ancient and modern / translated from the French. Philadelphia, Pa.: A. Moore. p. 26.
  2. Swepstone, Eileen (1914). The tango, as standardized and taught by the representative dancing masters of the North American continent. Vancouver, B.C.: J. H. Welch. p. 14.
  3. Kinney, Troy (1914). Social dancing of to-day, demonstrated by Mr. John Murray Anderson; with text, twenty-nine diagrams and fifty-two illustrations from photographs by Troy and Margaret West Kinney. New York, Frederick A. Stokes Co. p. 21.
  4. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 90.
  5. Kinney, Troy (1914). Social dancing of to-day, demonstrated by Mr. John Murray Anderson; with text, twenty-nine diagrams and fifty-two illustrations from photographs by Troy and Margaret West Kinney. New York, Frederick A. Stokes Co. p. 22.
  6. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 83.
  7. Walker, Caroline (1914). The modern dances, how to dance them: complete instructions for learning the tango, or one step, the Castle walk, the walking Boston, the hesitation waltz, the dream waltz, the Argentine tango (3rd ed.). Chicago: Saul Brothers. p. 35.
  8. Swepstone, Eileen (1914). The tango, as standardized and taught by the representative dancing masters of the North American continent. Vancouver, B.C.: J. H. Welch. p. 15.
  9. "Boston [Boston dip]". The Grove Dictionary of American Music. Oxford University Press. 2013-01-01. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195314281.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-531428-1.
  10. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 86.
  11. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 88.
  12. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 92.
  13. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 93.
  14. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 94.
  15. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 96.
  16. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 98.
  17. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 100.
  18. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 101.
  19. Newman, Albert W. (1914). Dances of to-day. Philadelphia, The Penn Publishing Co. p. 103.