The Yearning Saunter

(Zig Zag Saunter)

{1919}

Introduction

The Yearning Saunter is an easy Saunter (i.e. Foxtrot) sequence dance composed by Harry Boyle in 1919.

It was nicknamed the Zig Zag Saunter by Richard Powers in 2014.

The Position

Closed position, Lead facing LOD.

The Dance

Part I - Walk and Rock (4 bars): Back the Follow four steps (1, 2, 3, 4), then rock back (5), forward (6), back (7), forward (8).*

* One source has a half-time single rock (back, forward) instead of the double rock [CC63].

Part II - Repeat Part I (4 bars): Repeat Part I (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Part III - Scissors (4 bars): The Lead crosses left over right as the Follow crosses right behind left (1), and touch free foot toward outside wall (2). Then the Lead crosses right over left as the Follow crosses left behind right (3), and touch free foot toward center (4). Repeat the last four counts (5, 6, 7, 8).

Part IV - Zig Zag and Turn (4 bars): Zig zag two-step forward to center (1-and-2), then forward to outside wall (3-and-4). Then a full turn of slow step step (5-and-6, 7-and-8).

Repeat from the beginning.

The Music

Foxtrot music, at 112 bpm [ST50] to 128 bpm [VS50].

The original tune, "Yearning" by Neil Moret, can be heard here:

Sources

VS50 — Victor Silvester. (1950). Sequence Dancing. London.
ST50 — Sydney Thompson. (1950). The Theory & Practice of Old Time Dancing. London.
CC63 — Charles Crathorn. (1963). Old Time Dancing. London.
WW67 — Walter Whitman, Victor Silvester. (1967). The Complete Old Time Dancer. London.

For more dance descriptions, see our three books on dancing:
The Book of Mixers: 100 Easy-Teach Dances for Getting Acquainted (2022) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge,
Cross-Step Waltz: A Dancer's Guide (2019) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge, and
Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living (2013) by Richard Powers and Nick Enge.

For full-length teaching videos, visit: University of Dance.

For help crafting a life you love, visit: Project Quartz.

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