Quickstep, posing as "Anna", wrote:

This depends how we look at it maybe. I believe the furthest thing to the front on my upper body if i am a man is my nose."

I should certainly hope not! Doing it properly, the most forward part of the body would generally be the lower to middle of the sternum, depending on stylistic preference.

"I beleive the part that will arrive at a wall first after taking one pace forward is my toe."

When the moving foot first becomes the moving foot, it is starting out from a position BEHIND THE BODY. As a result, if the distance to the wall is small, the body will hit the wall before the moving foot can catch up.

The foot would only hit the wall if the distance to the wall was large enough that the foot had time to catch up with the body and pass it before the body reached the wall.

"I beleive that then the moving foot goes ahead."

Eventually - BUT NOT UNTIL IT HAS HAD TIME TO CATCH UP WITH AND PASS THE BODY.

"I believe that at no time will my nose go ahead of my foot"

It starts out ahead.

"or my knee. It will draw level yes , go past no."

Look at the position at midstride, which is to say when the moving foot first becomes the moving foot. Obviously, the body is ahead of the new moving foot there, and in this case you also have one of the rarer situations where it would even initially be ahead of the new moving knee. The later point is not really worthy of much though... you'll never try to put your body ahead of the moving knee, but it is a situation where, as a result of declaring the standing foot to now be the moving foot, it's knee does find itself behind your body.

Absolute garbage. Do as the technique book says and you won't be far wrong.If the book says your body goes ahead of you feet then you go ahead and do it. But if it doesn' t say, then you must be wrong. Its as easy as that.

"Absolute garbage. Do as the technique book says and you won't be far wrong.If the book says your body goes ahead of you feet then you go ahead and do it."

And it does say so.

From a closed position, it says that you should feel the body scommence to move before the foot. Therefore there is at least some time when the BODY IS MOVING BUT THE FOOT IS NOT MOVING. Any logical person would realize that this means the body will initially get slightly ahead of the foot, BEFORE the foot will have a chance to catch up with and pass the body.

From a non-closed position, the body IS ALREADY A HALF STEP LENGTH AHEAD OF WHERE THE MOVING FOOT STARTS at the time when the moving foot becomes the moving foot!

Not if your moving foot passes your standing foot and only then when the heel of the moving foot is level with the toe of standing foot will your heel of that standing foot begin to leave the floor. Try that with your body in front of the feet.
Another little test for you is to dance slowly from foot to foot.Lifting your moving foot from the floor after you arrive.
Something more to think about.When this former Blackpool Champion told you to get your weight in front of the foot. Are you sure you know which foot he was talking about. Were you one of those who pulled their shoulders back and stuck their chest out which put their weight behind the standing foot. Need i say more.

"Not if your moving foot passes your standing foot and only then when the heel of the moving foot is level with the toe of standing foot will your heel of that standing foot begin to leave the floor. Try that with your body in front of the feet."

Doing exactly what you have just described, the body will indeed be a few cm in front of the feet when they pass.

OR at least it would be unless you PURPOSEFULLY HOLD YOUR BODY BACK.

If you fail to use any standing leg action, which is to say fail to PROJECT YOUR BODY, then it might not be. But in that case, you'd look rather silly anyway, reaching your foot out while your body goes nowhere.

What do your think it means to DRIVE FROM THE STANDING LEG, anyway??

Answer: it means that your standing leg DRIVES THE BODY AWAY FROM IT. If it's driving the body away from it, then rather obviously the body will no longer be over the standing leg. The weight will still be ON the standing leg, but the body will be PAST the standing leg.

"Something more to think about.When this former Blackpool Champion told you to get your weight in front of the foot. Are you sure you know which foot he was talking about."

Yes - because he was talking about BOTH of them. And then he demonstrated, projecting his body AHEAD OF BOTH FEET.

If your teacher actually got to a position forward of the body he must have had a straight leg. What has happened to the compression. The only other way is not to have had a stright leg at the end of the stride in the first place. You've been very quiet about the straight leg at the extent of the sride just lately. Have you found out it is a neccesary part of the correct technique.
If you find you are falling forward over a straight leg, then that is where your problem lies. This does not comply with the correct technique as laid down in the technique books. If you have any writtings that say any different, then feel at liberty to write and tell me. If you can't I would suggest you shut up. Change your technique and consiquently become a better dancer. This includes keeping in contact with the floor, keeping the feet straight, turning or rising at the end of the step only. Stay on the supporting step longer. Use all of the foot front to back. And listen to the music, it is your master. In degrees of importance music is right at the top.
To go back to the beginning. If you are on a straight uncompressed supporting knee as your moving foot arrives then you are wrong. The knee should not be straight. If you are a Social dancer don't worry this is not for you.
What we are discussing is the correct technique as laid down in the books which you should know if you wish to do well in competitions. Question after a Progressive Chasse what is the correct alignment for the Lock Step in the Quickstep..I ask this because this is one of the most miligned steps, and its only an absolute beginners step.

"If your teacher actually got to a position forward of the body he must have had a straight leg. "

Who said anything about a position "FORWARD OF THE BODY" ?

What does that mean anyway?

The teacher in question demonstrated how you should move through a point where the BODY IS AHEAD OF THE FEET. As he did this, his KNEES WERE BENT.

You've said it again. He projected his body ahead of his feet.
You have written that the teacher in question demonstrated how you should move through a point WHERE THE BODY IS AHEAD OF THE FEET. As he did this his knees were bent. Are you sure he wasn't over his knees standing verticle in a balanced position. His knees being the most forward of himself. That is where we will all ultimately arrive. We have to as we progress forward. We will move through every inch between one step and the other which includes midpoint. I think all your teacher was trying to show you was that your foot will not move with out your body. And you got it all wrong the next day by moving the body without the feet.

"You have written that the teacher in question demonstrated how you should move through a point WHERE THE BODY IS AHEAD OF THE FEET. As he did this his knees were bent. Are you sure he wasn't over his knees standing verticle in a balanced position."

He was vertical over his knees, but

THE KNEES (and thus the body) WERE ENTIRELY FORWARD OF BOTH FEET.

It was not a balanced position. In fact, he asked me to hold him up so that he could stay in a position which you can ordinarily only move through - because it is in fact unbalanced.

"His knees being the most forward of himself. That is where we will all ultimately arrive. We have to as we progress forward."

Progressing forwards means progressing the BODY. The knees will move to enable that, but sticking your knee out while keeping your body balanced over your foot IS NOT PROGRESSION. It's just bad dancing!

"And you got it all wrong the next day by moving the body without the feet."

Moving the body without the feet is PRECISLY WHAT WAS BEING DEMONSTRATED.
Granted, that is only a brief phase of the action - soon the feet will be moving to. But it is an IMPORTANT PHASE and this teacher was taking the time to point out its characteristics.

As it is written. There is nothing wrong with having the feet well ahead of the body so long as they don't move too quickly into position. If you stay approximately half way between your feet, and never allow the foot to move without the body you will be reasonably close to correct. The moving foot gets out ahead of the body observing the rules as above. This will in no way contradict the technique book.