CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
EN/FR
Search
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Feather step

dance figure

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 3, 2025
Entity authorityQ5439574 ↗
Source-derived summary

The feather or feather step is a dance figure in the International Style foxtrot. Depending on a syllabus, it consists of three or four steps (man stepping basically forward), with the third step (right foot) done outside the lady (lady on the right side) with a slight turn in the body position to the right.

The step was first introduced in 1920 by G. K. Anderson.

The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) syllabus considers the fourth step that aligns the man with the lady into a normal dance position to be part of the feather step variation, while the International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA) syllabus does not.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Feather step” as dance figure. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Feather, step and dance.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1920—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Feather, step and dance providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Feather step”, the useful work is to connect “dance figure” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 3, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5439574. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1920.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Feather step”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Feather step primary sources, Feather step archive and Feather research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Feather step”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Feather step” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.