"AS THE RF PASSES THE TOE OF THE LF THE LEFT HEEL WILL BE RELEASED FROM THE FLOOR. Dont blame, me blame Alex. I am only quoting from his book."

Yes, but you are quoting the DESCRIPTION OF A DIFFERENT ACTION!

A step forward in the Foxtrot is no different to a step forward on the heel in the Waltz . It is at the end of the step where there can be a difference. If this is a Feather at the end of the step we rise. If this is the Waltz we commence to rise. I t might be worth pointing out and quoting Richard Gleeve who says . In the Waltz there are two driving steps over the three steps. One is at the comencment of the first step. The other is after step one has been taken and we step to the side. Most people drive on one and get a very unintersting step two. This can be a turn or just a change Step. This now brings us onto an interesting point. Does the lady at the end of step one also drive. There we have NFR. for the lady. It has also been said that no two people drive at the same time. So the answer seems to be no. If the lady did drive and got foot rise what happens to the remainder of the Natural Turn taking into considerataion the the man is on the outside of the turn and has the greater distance to travel and the lady is on the inside of the turn. This now brings into the arguement that people who think there are no slight pauses in dancing have n't got a clue. Interesting isn't it.

"A step forward in the Foxtrot is no different to a step forward on the heel in the Waltz."

Wrong!

And for homework, you are assigned to report on the differences that Alex Moore comments on throughout his book.

And don't forget the differences between the various sorts of forwards steps on the heel within each dance itself.

"This now brings into the arguement that people who think there are no slight pauses in dancing have n't got a clue. Interesting isn't it."

Seeing as how NO PAUSE ACTUALLY OCCURS, they are the ones who do in fact have a clue! You may have some odd feeling that you are pausing, but if you are in fact pausing, then you are doing somevery very wrong.

If you can explain how if two people can take the same length of step at the same time and one can rotate around the other then be my guest. Anticipating that your answer will be they take smaller steps. Well that is correct. What would you say that was doing exactly. You really need John Wood's tape who touches this subject.
Correct my homework by letting me know from any technique book where it says there is a difference in one step forward on the heel from one dance to the other.To quote a Shakespeare. A step by any other name is still a step.
Oh Dear. Are there not pauses in the music. Do we not tarry a while on an Open Telemark. Do we not somtime get to the front of the music and say to ourselves Let us tarry a while and let the music on yon lute catch up. As my friend Will would say. Dont be such a twit.

"If you can explain how if two people can take the same length of step at the same time and one can rotate around the other then be my guest."

Nobody ever said they should. So quite CHANGING THE TOPIC - every time you get into a tight spot, that's your first instinct, isn't it.

"Correct my homework by letting me know from any technique book where it says there is a difference in one step forward on the heel from one dance to the other."

You obviously haven't been reading with much care. Reread the ENTIRE THING and report back.

"Oh Dear. Are there not pauses in the music."

Not usually.

"Do we not tarry a while on an Open Telemark."

Different situation - you are risen there. But you still mistakenly believe on a pause somewhere around the slow in the feather, DONT YOU.

"Do we not somtime get to the front of the music and say to ourselves Let us tarry a while and let the music on yon lute catch up."

I'm sure YOU DO. And I used to often myself in my first year or two of dancing. But then I learned not to move too fast in the first place. Once you learn to aim your actions with more care in TIME AND SPACE you will not have to wait for the music to catch up with you any more. In fact, sometimes you will let it get ahead of you (by moving slower, not by stopping) and then artsistically catch up.

I suppose we have to define a pause first. To me a pause is not a stop. Not like our DVD player where a pause is actually a dead stop. To me I take the other meaning a rest to be lengthened by an unspecified amount. This is now being taught. On a Feather there is a gathering of weight or if you like a balance point or a neutral position, a neutral position which means that the body is squarely over the feet. There is one at the end of the preperation step. There is also a balance point at the end of the first step and at the end of the Feather which is counted four and, and this continues throughout the dance. Don' t blame me I am only quoting John Wood.
If I come over to your way of thinking. I would have to pause my feet if as you say the body goes ahead of the feet. And as we all know by now that the feet naturally move twice the spead of the body. It wouldn' t do any harm to recognise that dancing is not a science. That's why we see a books called. The Art of Ballroom Dancing. I've never seen one called. The Science of Ballroom Dancing or ever will.

"I suppose we have to define a pause first. To me a pause is not a stop. Not like our DVD player where a pause is actually a dead stop. To me I take the other meaning a rest to be lengthened by an unspecified amount. This is now being taught."

If you mean a slowing, then say so. Don't say pause when you don't mean an actual pause!

"On a Feather there is a gathering of weight or if you like a balance point or a neutral position, a neutral position which means that the body is squarely over the feet. There is one at the end of the preperation step. There is also a balance point at the end of the first step and at the end of the Feather which is counted four and, and this continues throughout the dance. Don' t blame me I am only quoting John Wood."

But you are misunderstanding his purpose! When someone brings out a pause there, they are doing it to show the pieces of the puzzle. The actual action, when "really dancing" will be smoothly blended. It will have changes of speed, but no pauses, and no HESISTATION when lowered, only when up.

"If I come over to your way of thinking. I would have to pause my feet if as you say the body goes ahead of the feet."

Most of us pause the foot we are standing on! It then has to catch up to the body. If the body passes over the standing foot slightly before the moving foot has caught up with it - which is a quite common aspect of how the best dancers project their centers into the movement - then the body is briefly going to be ahead of BOTH feet.

"It wouldn' t do any harm to recognise that dancing is not a science."

Nothing is a science. Science is a formalized study of something else, which works all by itself. The science of dancing is the study of how dance works, just as the science of astronomy is the study of the dance of the heavans. But the science is only the explantion, it is not the act of doing the thing being explained.

"That's why we see a books called. The Art of Ballroom Dancing. I've never seen one called. The Science of Ballroom Dancing or ever will."

99% of what is in the book is watered down science. In fact, a lot of what would be in any "art class" is going to be science like. The "art" you mostly have to add yourself.

A beginner might ask how with the body in front of the foot. How do the feet once again get in front of the body. It must happen otherwise we will fall over. Something has got to give. Is it possible the body pauses for a mocro second.
Just bye the bye. I had a look at the new Alex Moore's book. On the front paper cover it has a couple of Argentine Tango dancers pictured which take up most of the page. Everything else seems the same except it is a bigger book with larger print

Quickstep
I don't think it's difficult to see how the body can move ahead of the feet. Not for a long time, but it can happen. The flight of the body is controlled by the standing foot and the dynamics of the movement. I believe i do this on waltz natural turns, maybe also in some tango movements (i'm not certain - must check with a video camera someday).
Nothing has to give and the body doesn't stop for any length of time.
We would fall over if we tried to stop with the body in advance of the feet, of course. Sprinters coming out of the blocks don't fall over, yet their body is well in front of the feet. Same with racket players moving quickly to play a shot.
How fast the feet move is not a real issue. The legs and feet do what's necessary to move the body. That's what counts.

Phil. I agree with most of what you say. I would change the word feet to foot. The body will go ahead of the standing foot. Not the moving foot. It may draw level, but I can find nowhere where the body is in front of the moving foot. I have looked at the Reverse Turn Waltz and the Feather Step on this site in the Learn the Dances.. I think we can take the Ladies backward steps out of this. It would be ridiculace to suggest that the ladies body is in front of the moving leg as it moves to its position to the rear. If it can be pointed out where and in which dance the verticle body which is being carried by the legs is in front A sprinter is not a good example unless we look after the start and before they dive at the finish. A better one to watch is an 800 metre race and watch how the body which is flying stays between the legs and appears motionless. If I understand correctly the technique in running is to keep the body from wavering and the head still. If you went right back to the beginning I wrote it is not a good idea to tell beginners to send there body ahead of the feet to a positi0on of imbalance and to fall onto the supporting foot. The lady also. The actuall words written were I insist on it.
To carry on a look at the still pictures of a Forward and Backward Walk at this Learning Centre. If you were to read Alex Moore' s description which says from a standing position the weight of the body is moved from the heel to the ball. If you look at picture number one and two that is exactly what you will see. This is where the foot moves twice the speed of the body which has been calculated as being so.
If we get back to the sprinters. If their feet was not going faster than the body they would never stand up would they.
Going back to square one. The movement of the body from two standing legs is from the heel to the ball this is where the foot travelling faster than the body occures. Look at the pictures. This is exactly what Alex Moore wrote all those years ago.