22/06/2026
Learn‑to‑Dance #7 — The Evening Three Step
The Evening Three Step we dance today is the professional ballroom version, not the simplified social variant. Its smooth glide, clean timing, and elegant shaping all come from the formal ballroom technique that was adopted in Australia early on — and the story of why is one of those delightful old‑time dance quirks.
A Little History — And a Lot of Confusion
When the original notes for the dance arrived from England, they were written using ballet foot positions. That was perfectly normal for English Old Time teachers of the era… but completely baffling for the Australian instructors who received them.
The script was so hard to decipher that a respected teacher, Alber Boal, stepped in to rewrite the dance in a format local dancers could actually understand. His rewritten version became known as the Evening Three Step, and that is the version that spread across Australia.
It originally came from the Eva Three Step, an English Old Time dance
Over time, the dance was adopted into the New Vogue repertoire
So although its roots are firmly in English Old Time, the version we dance today is the polished, professional ballroom interpretation that grew from Alber Boal’s clarified notes.
