Top honours cut back in a series of steps (5)
I believe the answer is:
polka
'a series of steps' is the definition.
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
(Other definitions for polka that I've seen before include "Dance originally from part of 1 across" , "An originally Bohemian dance" , "Dot may be associated with this" , "Lively dance, originally from Bohemia" , "a merry dance?" .)