Yes you can do many things on beat 1, provided it is done intentionally, maybe to interpret the music or to achieve a foot-change by one partner so that both use the same foot at the same time.
The basic text-book figures usually just have the weight transfer on 1 but there are numerous variations that could be danced differently.
You do not say how much dancing you have done. I would suggest beginners stay with standard timings until they fully understand the dance or until their teacher gives them a syncopated variation.
I would add though that you should not 'hold still'. Even when not taking a step we are still dancing. Some part of us, body, arms, head, eyebrows, should still be moving.