I've always lowered my feet at the end of 3 with one foot bearing the weight and the other foot under my body, ready to step out. Recently, my instructor changed it slightly by having the non-weight bearing foot much farther out (forward or backward). This significantly shortens my 1 count and sometimes screws up my timing. I don't see others doing this. Is this a standard practice? Your comments are appreciated.

> I just hope nobody sees me doing solo waltz in the middle of the forest<

Well, Rice, I often work on waltz movement in a grassy park in a small, redneck town. Smooth grass slides as well as a ballroom in worn boat shoes, but I leave it to you to imagine the local reactions(ho-ho). I suppose if you could do it in the woods with tree roots around, maybe you could dance on anything - have fun!

Hi Rice - we can keep our humor about the post order(smile). You mhave done well trying to verbalize things, though we can never be as clear or simple as we would like in typed words:

>I am actually referring to American style bronze steps and for discussion purposes I'll use the simple box pattern.<

All Waltz basic movement technique is the same, regardelss of style or level.

>In a simple box, I would be stepping forward on my left foot on 1, commencing to rise near the end of 1, swinging my right foot to the side on 2 followed by weight transfer, feet coming together at the end of 2 while the rise reaches its peak, and recovering and collecting on 3.<

I gently and jovially disagree, though it may be the limits of words here. I would say that you'd step fwd on 1, swing through & release straight ahead (not side, that is regressive)on 2 with your weight split btw balls on 2 (which will turn you left in the process of reaching, arriving *btw feet* (not tranferring all your weight to the reaching foot), then closing your legs together and fully transferring weight on 3 as you recover and collect. This is quite different from what you describe. I would also suggest you don't worry about much foot rise at your level, but only go as high on the balls as you could easily balance on one foot, letting most of your rise come from the fall of your body getting closer to the floor, and dance heavily down into the floor at all times (don't try to rise "up" out of it at all, but "squeeze it away" a bit under you).

>At the end of 3, my feet are under my body with the left foot bearing the weight and the right slightly bent and ready to step backwards for the latter part of the box.<

Just for clarity, if helpful, your left knee has bent slightly (compression) after your left heel has lowered to the floor, and your right heel remains released from the floor, with your right leg ready to be driven back by your left thigh.

>Instead of having my right foot slightly bent under my body and ready to step back at the end of 3, I now swing my right leg/feet farther back without transfering weight at the end of 3.<

Only a guess, but it sounds as if someone is trying to teach you a better toe lead by having you reach back with your toe (not ball) - one of the many things we learn as we advance in our walking. One way you might reduce or eliminate you timing confusion, is to think of the 1 count as a relatively long time that can be broken down into smaller intervals, and beginning your reach back on the early part of 1 versus "3 1/2" - even though they may actually be the same timing.

It also may be more helpful to train your walks (like this toe lead) in walking excercises instead of trying to put them into your dancing first. ("Walking-in") There are many things we continually add & refine to a walking step, and a good private trainer will be able to see what part(s of the walk mechanics you are ready for, and show you how to excercise them & get them into muscle memory before you use them on your dancing.

While we are talking timing, on of my first thoughts is that we cannot invite (lead) the next step until our follower has fully arrived and collcted anyway - no matter what the music s doing - and often she will be "late."

Frank, Jonathan, and Melissa -

Thanks for all the response. It would probably take me sometime to digest these, so I printed all of it for further review when I have free time in my field work. I just hope nobody sees me doing solo waltz in the middle of the forest. Thanks again.

Frank - Thanks for the response. I am actually referring to American style bronze steps and for discussion purposes I'll use the simple box pattern. In a simple box, I would be stepping forward on my left foot on 1, commencing to rise near the end of 1, swinging my right foot to the side on 2 followed by weight transfer, feet coming together at the end of 2 while the rise reaches its peak, and recovering and collecting on 3. At the end of 3, my feet are under my body with the left foot bearing the weight and the right slightly bent and ready to step backwards for the latter part of the box. Instead of having my right foot slightly bent under my body and ready to step back at the end of 3, I now swing my right leg/feet farther back without transfering weight at the end of 3. This is like syncopating the 3 count with the 3 consisting of lowering both feet eventually resting on the left foot and the "&" part for swinging my right leg backwards. This right leg will travel a shorter distance in the next 1 count and sometimes messes up my timing especially if I am not hyperalert. Essentially after closing on 3, which ever foot that's ready to stepout on the next 1 count must have swung out a third of the way already without bearing weight. Again, this is made possible by using the 3& count. It's a little bit difficult to describe but I hope I clarified it. Thanks.

Rice,

It's always difficult to criticise a teacher's methods when one doesn't know the whole situation. Such is the case here... I don't know all of the factors involved, so I can't tell you definitively that your teacher is guiding you in the wrong direction. The technique as you described it doesn't sound correct, but it may be exactly the thing you need to fix some other problem, and your teacher may be exactly right: This is what you need right now.

That being said, I can still help you by describing the ideal technique, and then leave it to you to explore on your own.

In theory: In a normal walking step, the foot and body should always be in motion at the same time. However, they need not be moving at the same speed (and actually, they rarely are).

That's almost an axiom that you can memorize... Always at the same, but rarely at the same speed. Keep it in your back pocket. Pull it out when necessary.

As a general rule, you can think of the foot as always moving twice as fast as the body. Your foot starts moving when your body starts moving, but it moves twice as fast. So at any point during the walking step, your body is exactly half-way between your feet.

Now this is only a way of thinking of it; It's not what's actually taking place. If you were to truly have your weight split 50/50 at all times, your foot pressure to the floor would be enormous, and you would feel like you were dancing in the tarpits. In reality, you must favor your weight slightly towards the standing foot, in order to give the moving foot freedom to swing, etc.

Also, you have to realize that the division of weight is not constant. You begin 100% on one foot, end 100% on the other, and land in mid-stride 50/50. From beginning to midstride, you shift gradually from 100/0 to 50/50, going through 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40 etc. The actual speed at which this transfer takes place is not constant... it probably begins slow and then speeds up exponentially, or something like that. And it's different on different movements... think of the difference between a Quickstep run and a Waltz drag.

And there is one more factor that bears mentioning: Your partner. If you stand in dance position with your partner, feet and knees closed, and then try to lower, you'll notice something: You won't get very far because your right knee keeps bumping your partner's right knee. Somebody has to move! And that somebody happens to be the person moving backwards. So when you lower, the person who is to take the back step must make sure to allow the foot to slide backwards so that the knee of the free foot moves slightly backwards instead of forward as they lower.

So even though the foot and body are in theory always in motion at the same time, as you can see there are exceptions that either slightly bend or absolutely negate this theory. I would guess that your teacher is either addressing one of these exceptions, or trying to fix something in your dancing through overcompensation (a teaching tool I use a LOT, by the way).

For example, if your foot is stuck underneath your body and not swinging out, your stride is too short, stifling the movement. Your teacher may be using overcompensation as a teaching tool to get your to learn how to swing your leg back and out of the way. Once that is accomplished, you can further refine your technique by swinging your leg back more slowly, so that it doesn't swing all at once, but so that it does ultimately reach all the way back by mid-stride.

Your teacher may also be bumping knees with you, in which case he or she is trying to get you to slide your foot far enough back to clear room for the knees. Or, it could be something else entirely, that I haven't thought of.

The point is: Trust your teacher. I can explain the theory here, but I can't actually see you and know what your individual problems are. We're all working towards the same ideals, but sometimes the approach is different. And as it should be... every student is an individual, and should be taught differently. Aren't you glad that you're not on an assembly line?

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

Sincerely,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

Hmmmm!!!

Something is wrong with the sequence of response. My second post should be under Frnak's response.

Hi Rice - I'm not sure how your timing is changing, no matter where your unweighed foot is being placed, can you clarify a little?

If we are walking through count 1, swinging, reaching & releasing through count 2, arriving between feet, and recovering & collecting through count 3, our feet could theoretically end anywhere - such as a lady doing a double-rev spin, for example (she ends in a Viennese cross, one foot behind the other), or in A-silver, where we often collect without closing feet. All three motions should be the same regardless of where our feet end up. Did your instructor see your problem?

A W/A guess pending your clarification - perhaps you are tranferring too much weight on count 2 too fast?

One way to develop good swing and reach without getting on the foot too fast, is to train on a real crappy floor or a parking lot where you cannot slide, and are forced to swing and release properly & arrive fully between feet before count 3.

Hi Rice!

After reading all the responses, I hope to clarify things a bit further by throwing in my two cents.

I agree, (from what I can tell), with what your teacher is teaching you. Lowering with your feet together is fine to start out, but is not truly the most correct or effective thing to do, for two reasons:

First, as Jonathan said, when you're in body contact, it's not possible for both partners to lower with their feet together. (Try it. It can't be done. No room for your knees.) Therefore, as the man, if you want to move forward you would lower normally, causing the lady's foot to slip back, and if you want to move backward you would slip your own foot back as you lower, allowing the lady's leg to stay under her.

(Notice I used the term "slip" to describe how the foot moves back. You should not "reach" back as you lower. That would likely cause you to transfer weight too quickly and get ahead of the beat. Your thigh should remain mostly under your body. As an excersise, stand on the ball of one foot, and with your knees together point your free foot behind you. (Remember, even in an Up position your knees are still flexed.) Keeping your knees together, lower to a flat foot, allowing your free foot to slide back naturally. As you lower beyond that point, your knees will no longer stay together.)

Second, lowering straight down, even when your feet are together, is incorrect. We refer to it as "dropping your center". Think of lowering in two parts: 1) anchor your weight by lowering straight down into your heel. 2) as you continue to lower further into your knee, begin to move your center in its new direction. While you are lowering, this initiation of direction is very subtle, but think about what Jonathan said in his post: Your feet have to move twice as fast as your body. Therefore, even a tiny movement of your center in any direction should cause your free foot to move twice as far. Hence, as you lower to move forward, your foot will slip forward slightly, and as you lower to move back, your foot will sliip back slightly.

I hope this is helpful. As you work on this action, make sure you are keeping your weight connected to your standing foot, and you should have better control of your timing.

-Melissa Atkinson