I've been getting mixed instruction on American FT rise and fall. ballroomdancers.com states:

"movements are similar to Waltz, but with a more moderate rise and fall,
and more length-wise action"

What is "length-wise action"? Do I use sway, like but more moderate than in Waltz, too?

Thanks,
Bill

Not necessarily more moderate sway, but that depends on the movement.

"Length-wise" movement means that you're trading in vertical lift for horizontal progression.

Here's a great example of this idea: Imagine a string of a certain length, laid out on a table in the shape of a sine wave. When you pull on the ends of the string, two things happen: (1) The distance between the two ends of the string increases, and (2) The amplitude of the sine wave decreases. Like the string, the longer your movement, the more subtle the "amplitude" of your rise & fall sine wave.

Rise, in a sense, turns momentum which would otherwise contribute to progression upward. The more you rise, the less you progress until ultimately the direction of movement is straight up... meaning no progression at all. This is the concept behind a Waltz Box. You being with pure progression and end with pure rise, causing your feet to close. With Foxtrot, the rise is more subtle and therefore the progression is more continuous.

I hope this helps, at least in concept. You'll need a live teacher to turn the theory into something more concrete.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson www.ballroomdancers.com