Begin by facing each other. The leader places his right hand on the upper left-hand portion of the follower's back, and the follower places her left hand gently on the left shoulder of the leader. The leader then extends his arm out to the side at about shoulder length and the follower places her hand inside his hand.
The leader begins by taking a step back with his left foot on beat one of the music, and then shifting his weight onto his right foot as he steps forward with his right foot on the "and of one," meaning the eighth beat of the music following count one. This is known as a rock step. Keep in mind the rhythm one-and-two, three-and-four or "quick-quick-slow" as you do the basic steps.
With his weight now on his right, forward foot, the leader--who is still facing his partner--now steps to the left roughly two feet and places his left foot on the ground, shifting his weight onto the left foot. The follower--mirror imaging the leader--steps to the right approximately two feet and places her foot on the ground, shifting her weight to her right foot.
The leader will now do another rock step, except this time he will step back with his right foot, making a quick weight shift onto the right foot, then stepping forward again onto the left foot. The follower will rock step with her left foot back with a quick weight shift onto her left foot before stepping forward again with her right foot.
The basic two-step is completed as the leader takes a step back to the right and shifts his weight back onto his left foot. The follower copies the leader by taking a step back to the left and shifting her weight back onto her right foot