In ice figure skating there are no stops untill the end of there program.They have one advantage over us. They have a great choice of music from a Piano Concerto to Disco and everything in between. And there skating has to fit the music being played. Actually ice skating led me into dancing in both we move to beautiful music.

HEY!! I'm a Peggy Fleming Fan- watched her on Tele when i was a young lad and have her web site saved in my 'favourites'.
The first posting in this thread is so way off the mark i can't believe it. And because Alex Moore didn't mention 'body flight' doesn't mean it doesn't exist.Alex Moore's book is not the bible, as i've said before.
Of course you can soften before the body arrives over the standing foot - it's essential. The angle of the shin (to the ground)doesn't have to be the same as the thigh. You can apply isosceles to claim this only if: 1)the length of the hip joint to the knee joint is the same as the knee joint to the ground, and 2)the line between the point of contact with the floor and the hip joint is nearly vertical. This may be true when "lowering at the end of 3" in slow waltz. But in any case, i don't believe it is knowledge which will improve my dancing.
My best hope for improvement is to maintain my frame at all times and to achieve the body flight i want by appropriate use of leg and foot action. I'm following my coach rather than Alex Moore's book. I'm good at co-ordinate geometry, but i never think of isosceles or even Pythagoras (but maybe Newton!) when i dance.

Phil. I was fortunate enoughto have seen Peggy Fleming skating to Send in the Clowns It was a exhibition and she told the story to perfection. i'll get onto that web-site.
Now to business. Can you find any flaw in this. Get a piece of paper about half inch wide and say six inches long. it can be other sizes. Fold at the bottom about 1/2 inch to your right. 1 inch higher and fold to the left. The same distance fold to the right.With the first fold to the right bounce it up and down keeping the top verticle. To get your body ahead of the imitation knees . What will you have to do. Is this nature at work or isn' t it. This was on this site a year or so ago. But i do happen to know who was using this to illistrate some points. Dorothy Hamel was pretty good also.

"Can you find any flaw in this."

Yes.

"Get a piece of paper about half inch wide and say six inches long. it can be other sizes. Fold at the bottom about 1/2 inch to your right. 1 inch higher and fold to the left. The same distance fold to the right.With the first fold to the right bounce it up and down keeping the top verticle."

Your folding is equivelent to projciting your knees forwards and pulling your hips backwards as you lower. That is acceptable only in outside partner position, otherwise it is FORBIDDEN.

"To get your body ahead of the imitation knees ."

Once again, nobody ever said the body should be ahead of the knees!!!!

Now to get your body ahead of your FEET is simple: fold the ankles forward so the shin is inclined. Fold the knees so that the thighs are vertical direclty over the knees. Keep the hips straight so the body is vertical direction over the thighs. Pieces of cake...

I think there are two ways one could do as you suggest, that is to be able fall onto the next step. One would be to have a bent front knee. The other would be to have a straight front knee that doesn't bend at all. This is very much how the Foxtrot was danced in the distant past. But today there is compression like there has never been before. This isn't for a beginner or a Social Dancer. In the past you would never have seen that rear knee as it moves forward only about 10 inches from the foor and the front thigh horizontal to the floor.The one I am looking at is in the Waltz and is going into a Reverse movement.In the Reverse Turn they seem to rise forever. There is no way the weight is in front of the front foot. Have you ever seen a weight lifter in a lunge with the weights above the head. I for one would not have the strength in my legs thats why I say it is aquired only through practise and working in the gym. maybe. Anyway now you know what to look for why not go and have a look at your videos in slow motion..

"There is no way the weight is in front of the front foot."

Where in the figure were you looking for it?

Do you even remember at what point in the action I said it would occur? I rather doubt it.

No wonder you can't find it. You don't even know when to look for it.

If i stand one pace from a wall. If i take one pace towards the wall i would not expect my head to strike the wall. I would expect my toe to arrive first this is under any situation without any exception.

Hi Anna
What you've said so far is correct. But keep moving (towards that wall) and your body might hit it before your moving foot has reached the standing foot (you may have to start a little further from the wall)

"What you've said so far is correct. But keep moving (towards that wall) and your body might hit it before your moving foot has reached the standing foot (you may have to start a little further from the wall)"

Exactly.

Late in the stride, the moving foot will often be ahead of the body.

But at the very beginning of the stride, the body is ahead of the moving foot - by a huge amount if coming from a previous step, by only a small amount if lowering from having our feet closed.

The situations where the body would hit the wall before the foot are the situations where the wall is so close that the body will hit it before the moving foot can catch up to the body.

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 beleive the part that will arrive at a wall first after taking one pace forward is my toe.
I believe that my nose will draw level only after my foot has arrived.
I beleive that then the moving foot goes ahead.
I believe that at no time will my nose go ahead of my foot or my knee. It will draw level yes , go past no.
I do NOT believe i will try to put my nose the other side of that imaginary wall while my toe is this side.
In a Rumba Walk in Latin.this does happen. In Standard it does not.
I hope this is clear and easy to understand.
To say otherwise is to say the nose is the other side of that imaginary wall before the foot arrives.
It sounds a bit silly when the two are compaired. I dont think the no's have it.