You still have this fixation which you find hard to circumnavigate. Read my lips. At the end of the step if this is the Waltz you will flex your knee more than you will if you are going straight on in the Foxtrot. Again after the step is completed there will be a flexing of the knee. which will be flexed even more to get the second drive spoken about and demonstrated by Richard Gleave on his video. If it is the rest of the Feather Step you will rise lifting your left hip and swaying to the right. Don't try to do any of this this before you get there will you.

"You still have this fixation which you find hard to circumnavigate. Read my lips. At the end of the step if this is the Waltz you will flex your knee more than you will if you are going straight on in the Foxtrot."

Your distorted words, not a quote. Sure, it resembles what's in the book, but you've mixed it up and confused the original meaning. Specifically, the original comparison is between the softer knee actions - waltz turns and to a degree feather steps, vs, the more braced leg actions, which are the heel turns (confusingly called 'open turns' in the book).

"Again after the step is completed there will be a flexing of the knee."

After the foot is placed, but long before the "step" is complete!

"Don't try to do any of this this before you get there will you."

What you are missing is that the obvious difference occuring after the foot is placed, will on a skilled DANCER be FORESHADOWED BY A RELATED CHARACTER IN THE MOVEMENT THAT PLACES THE FOOT.

To a novice such as yourself, you simply place the foot in a generic way and then modify the arrival, or maybe even only the rise, to suit the figure. But a true DANCER is moving with the character of the figure in clear intent from a well before the the PREVIOUS FIGURE is completed!

Confusingly called an Open Turn. So how do we work this one out. We know that the lady on a Reverse Turn is Closed and not Open. We also know they were not stupid when the book was written. We also know that the mans steps do pass. So the conclusion is that a heel turn for the lady is part of the open passing steps for the man. So when it is written that the Heel Turn is the backward part of an Open Turn it is correct. Which is confirmed by the step descriptions if they are read correctly. Not bad for a Novice such as myself don't you think.

"Confusingly called an Open Turn. So how do we work this one out. We know that the lady on a Reverse Turn is Closed and not Open. We also know they were not stupid when the book was written. We also know that the mans steps do pass. So the conclusion is that a heel turn for the lady is part of the open passing steps for the man. So when it is written that the Heel Turn is the backward part of an Open Turn it is correct. Which is confirmed by the step descriptions if they are read correctly. Not bad for a Novice such as myself don't you think."

Congratulations.

Now have you figured out the important part, which is that this is an example of how there are different types of forward heel lead steps? Brace the leg and you had better be trying to lead a heel turn. Soften the knee, and you will get something more like a feather or a waltz turn.

Because the knee is straight untill the body and leg arrive the flexing of the knee can happen only as everything is in place at the balance point. At the end of step one.

"Because the knee is straight untill the body and leg arrive"

It usually IS NOT!!!

This would only occur if you were leading a heel turn, in which case the knee really wouldn't flex even on arrival.

"the flexing of the knee can happen only as everything is in place at the balance point. At the end of step one."

Wrong, wrong wrong! The knee naturally flexes as the body moves onto the foot. If it didn't you'd generate the characteristic rise that leads a heel turn. For anything else - waltz natural, feather, etc, you want the softer rise that comes from letting the knee absorb a lot of the shortening of the body-to-foot distance - otherwise the lessening of that distance would all come out in characteristic heel turn rise.

BTW, on the open turns thing. The reason I said "confusingly" is that if you ask someone to dance an "open turn" they will probably do something like a quick open reverse or an open natural or a running finish, in which both partners pass their feet. These most assuradly DO NOT use the bracing of the legs type of rise - instead, they use a rise even more gentle than that of foot closure waltz type turns. Technically the heel turns are classed as open turns, but the y have a unique leg-bracing arrival rise which DOES NOT APPLY to the other open turns.

Anonymous I don't know about you but whist I am at the full extention there isn't to much that I can do with my knee untill the front foot lowers and the moving knee is about level with the heel of the now supporting foot. And here we go again. The weight passes from over the heel to the ball of the foot just as it says on page 10. You will note it says on 10 from a closed position. which is exactly where we are on the above on arrival.

"Anonymous I don't know about you but whist I am at the full extention there isn't to much that I can do with my knee untill the front foot lowers"

Fine, as you've said yourself you think that should happen immediately. So it's over and done with, and you are free to start softening your knee as your body moves towards your front foot.

"and the moving knee is about level with the heel of the now supporting foot."

That's abosulutely not required, and most certainly UNWISE. If you try to keep your front leg straight as you come onto the receiving foot, you will pop up in a way that is appropriate for leading a HEEL TURN, and a SEVERE MISTAKE FOR ANYTHING ELSE.

"And here we go again. The weight passes from over the heel to the ball of the foot just as it says on page 10."

And the mass keeps right on going. Or are you going to expect us to believe that dancers STOP THEIR BODY, AND HOLD IT STATIONARY OVER THE STANDING FOOT until there moving foot has had time to get into position? Anybody can see that there is no such body pause in actual dancing!

The body keeps moving, but the pressure remains in the standing foot. That means you are now off balance, because your center of mass is ahead of your center of pressure. But you'll move onto the receiving foot faster than the imbalance causes you to fall, so all is well.

And as you are arriving on the receiving foot, your center of pressure is ahead of your center of mass. Here you are also off balance, but your flight is carrying you forwards onto the foot, so while you are "falling backwards" the magnitude of the falling is so much less than the magnitude of the forwards movement that the "falling backwards" simply comes out as a very slight slowing of the forwards movement.

Swing the RF forward with the ball of the RF touching the floor, and then the heel skimmimg the floor with the toe slightly raised. As the RF passes the toe of the LF, the left heel will be released from the floor. If that is what you are doing you are correct. If not you are wrong.
The knee will be flexed at the beginning of the step. It will be straight at the full extension of the stride with the heel in contact with the floor. The foot will lower imediately , and as the body arrives the supporting knee will bend.At the same time the weight which is over the heel will move to the ball.There the foot takes over once again.
It is required that the knees be straight on the full extension of the stride that is the only way the body can be supported by the heel of the front foot and the toe of the back foot and have the weight midway. Licorice legs look awfull. Do you truly bend your front knee. Even though every video you see. Even the stills on this site say no. Really.

"Swing the RF forward with the ball of the RF touching the floor, and then the heel skimmimg the floor with the toe slightly raised. As the RF passes the toe of the LF, the left heel will be released from the floor. If that is what you are doing you are correct. If not you are wrong."

It's only correct if you are executing a n INLINE WALK AT MEDIUM CONSTANT ALTITUDE WITH NO RISE AND NO FALL.

Since this sitation essentially NEVER OCCURS IN ACTUAL DANCING, most often that is not exactly the correct way to execute actual dancing.

It's a starting point, a generic introduction, and an exercise. But all actual DANCE ACTIONS WILL MODIFY THE DETAILS TO SUIT THEIR UNIQUE NATURE.

"It will be straight at the full extension of the stride with the heel in contact with the floor."

Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on the size of the step in relation to the body altitude and dancer's leg length. If the body is relatively high and the step long, the legs may be straight. If the body is low, and the step is not superhumanly long, then we get what we usual see on champion competitors using championship rise and fall - never quite two straight legs, always at least one a little bit bent.

"as the body arrives the supporting knee will bend."

Yes, the knee is bending during the time when the body is moving closer to the front foot. That's a substantial period of time. It doesn't bend after the arrival is over, it bends gradually during the entire process of arrival.

"At the same time the weight which is over the heel will move to the ball."

And then beyond... because the body and thus its mass NEVER STOPS MOVING during a series of progressive actions.

"There the foot takes over once again."

UTTER NONSENSE. The body keeps right on moving, before the foot starts moving, while the foot is moving, and after the foot has stopped moving.

"It is required that the knees be straight on the full extension of the stride"

Nonsense. There is no such requirement in any text. There's a description of it in a single exercise, where it would indeed be likely to occur given the relatively high body alititude described there, but no REQUIREMENT.

"that is the only way the body can be supported by the heel of the front foot and the toe of the back foot and have the weight midway."

That's geometrically IMPOSSIBLE. To have the body center (and thus the weight) halfway between the feet, it is GEOMETRICALLY REQUIRED that the back leg be bent more than the front, to compensate for the difference in ankle height from the back foot relative to the front foot.