Anonymous. I have never met anybody who makes as many excuses as you.
Now what are you on about. In the steps under question we are straight and at the same time backing the LOD.
You said that there is no information regarding the direction of the steps
I must be mistaken when it says back down the LOD.
Do you back diagonal to the centre then. Or is it diagonal to the wall. There aren't too many other directions to go is there. Think before you disagree with what a person has written
Tell me which is your choice. It has been said before to you that no, as you call it world class coache , would allow you to dance with the technique you use.

"In the steps under question we are straight and at the same time backing the LOD."

If you had a real teacher, you would know that it is the foot which is backing LOD. The body should still be quite underturned.

"You said that there is no information regarding the direction of the steps
I must be mistaken when it says back down the LOD."

"Backing LOD is not a direction of movement"

Backwards is.

The book gives you two seperate pieces of information - direction of movement of the foot relative to the standing foot. And direction of orientation of the moving foot.

In contrast it gives you only some vague clues about the orientation of the body - most of which do not match what actual dancers who win competitions do or teach.

"Do you back diagonal to the centre then. Or is it diagonal to the wall."

On a reverse turn, yes, the BODY would be underturned and partially backing DW, while the FOOT would be backing DC. That's just the way it's done.

Check the preface to your book - it will tell you that the alignments given are FOOT ALIGNMENTS.

sorry, should be foot would be backing LOD, with the body still udnerturned to back DW

"You said that there is no information regarding the direction of the steps"

Nope. What I said was:

"The direction in which the steps are taken does not provide any information as to what direction the body must be facing when they are taken."

Anonymous. Your teacher must be very aged if this is the way you are taught.The technique book gives exactly where you should be and in which alignment. Then in the early 50's there was a change in the approach to the step and it went away from the book and stayed that way for several years And now they are back to the way it was supposed to be.If you are as you say backing diagnal to the wall you have little or no control of the two quicks, especially the second quick. You will have to take it to catch your body. If you look at todays dancer you will see a very slight lean towards the front. It was explained to me that the feeling is as if you were about to dive off a diving platform. If you look you will see.
The book does give a direction the step should be taken, and the alignment plus a floor plan. Nothing can be any clearer than that now can it.
If backing the LOD is not a direction of movement then what is. If stepping straight down that LOD is not a movement in that direction then what is.
Your second to last paragraph is too ridicules for words. Do you really believe that your body is diagnal to the wall with your foot diagnal to the centre. Its your left foot that has be worried if you don't turn to back LOD you are in a mess. If you do turn to back LOD you are square. Do you get the message.

"Anonymous. Your teacher must be very aged if this is the way you are taught.The technique book gives exactly where you should be and in which alignment."

Review the preface of you textbook, and you will see that the alignment given is in fact the FOOT ALIGNMENT not the body alignment.

At the end of step two of a reverse turn, the foot will be backing LOD, but the body will still be substantially backing DW.

That's just the way it's done.

Actually, a correction.

It turns out that the OFFICIAL FOOT ALIGNMENT for step two of the foxtrot reverse turn is not backing LOD.

It is in fact backing DW.

But the fact also remains that even when the foot has gotten around to backing LOD, the body is likely to still be substantially backing DW. You'll see this on your videos, but if you take lessons with the kind of people that those on your videos take lessons from, you will get an earful of criticism should you be so foolish as to rotate your body square to the direction of travel.

Anonymous. I can see where you are coming from. The foot at some stage will be backing diag to wall. In fact it will point to all points of the compass between. You do understand that I hope.From point 1 the foot will continue turning to backing LOD. We are square to the direction we are going. The third step is back down the LOD. The only thing now which is open to interpretation is the length of the steps. Which includes the first step to the fourth step.
All of this is in accordance with the correct technique which has been with us in a written form since the beginnning.I doubt that I can put it any plainer than that.
If you ever have to do a Teaching Examinationand and are asked to say and demonstrate a Reverse Turn . You had better try a different way to the way you put yours into writting. Before you write. That is only for beginners. I would suggest you think again. And do please look at the moving video clips.

"From point 1 the foot will continue turning to backing LOD. We are square to the direction we are going. The third step is back down the LOD."

This is your mistake. The foot will indeed at some point be backing the direction of travel. However the BODY will not. The body must remain underturned relative to the foot.

"If you ever have to do a Teaching Examinationand and are asked to say and demonstrate a Reverse Turn . You had better try a different way to the way you put yours into writting."

I would certainly fail anyone so foolish as to try to dance their body square to their feet, as it demonstrates gross ignorance of first-year concepts and skills.

*IF* you believe in body to foot neutralization, and I stress the "if", you will of course know that the proper place for it would be between step 3 and the next step 1, not at the end of step 2!