The two-step is a very easy dance at its core, but there are a number of things that you must master before you can execute it properly. The most difficult thing is understanding that the tempo of the music determines the speed of the dance. There are slow two-steps to slow songs, and quick two-steps to fast songs. You can even mix the two by going fast when the song is slow, or slow when the song is fast.
The basic idea is that you must insure that you are in step with the music. To do this most effectively, you should focus on the drums in the music. This will give you the most commonly considered tempo to dance your two-step.
To do a proper two-step, you must first be in the right position. The man should begin by standing with feet together and completely upright. The female should face the man in the same position. The man then places his right hand on the female's waist. The female places her left hand on the man's right shoulder. The left hand of the man and the right hand of the woman are joined out to the side.
There should ideally be about two feet of space between the two dancers, although this space is closed a bit when you are doing a slow dance two-step. When dancing a quick two-step, it is important to keep this distance between you to keep from bumping feet or tripping.
This is the framework of the entire two-step.
Now that you have the frame of the two-step, the rest comes rather easily. While maintaining the frame in section two, you should stand straight up with a slight bend in the knees. The two-step is an opposing dance; that is the man and woman are doing the opposite of one another throughout the entire dance.
The man starts on the left foot while the woman begins on the right. The steps of the two-step are based on a simple tempo. The tempo is often called as "Quick, Quick, Slow...Slow," and those words are actionable. For the man, he will take a quick step forward with the left and then right, and then two long slow steps with the left and right. The woman will take a quick step back with the right foot, then left, and then two long slow steps with the right and left.
This tempo is the baseline for the entire two-step. The key is to stay on the tempo of the drums, and to not lose that count. The man has to take the lead with the two-step, and should set the tempo for the entire dance. While the basic starting position of the two-step has the man going forward, it can switch throughout the dance as you learn spins, turns and various tricks.