Maybe when i called myself an aspiring improver, i mis-lead people to think i'm a novice dancer.
jj, i have no problem with music. I can pick the rhythm in anything. I play music.
Polished: i'm confused, you ask me to forget beats, then you go back to them. My point was that the book indeed talks about steps, doesn't give the relationship between steps and beats, and yet we're interpreting music which is tied to beats (the fundamental time signature is in terms of beats)even though of course, as cdroge says, we don't always dance strictly on the beat. So when you start to rise, or lower, relative to the music, isn't specified.
Actually, i wish i'd never started!! (this thread, not dancing)

phil.samways, I never meant to imply that you are a novice dancer. I thought that you were asking a question about dancers in general.

jj

Phil, when dancing to the music I feel I am dancing to the bars rather than beats. I always have trouble dancing the international foxtrot to the beat but dancing it to the bars of music is a breeze. Like you I am not a beginner and have been dancing for 35yrs and have had lessons in the past with some of the best but, I am still improving thanks to this wonderful website and the kind people who take the time to respond to my questions.

Does anybodyn else believe that the ISTD made a mistake when they allowed the word fall to be used. Should it have been rise and lower.What we most certainly don't do is fall. We lower dont we.

Polished/serendipidy/whatever, it would suit you to pick up the book every now and then and read it.

It clearly defines "Rise and Fall" as ". . . elevation and lowering . . . ." The instructions for the figures use the term "lower."

jj

No matter what it say's in the book, if you wan't to Lilt in the waltz you must also fall with gravity at the start of the lowering proces.

The vagaries of the english language.. semantics et al .

I suspect that the word 'fall' is not liked because it implies no control (as in falling off a cliff). Lowering suggests control. Which is the best way to describe it in dancing.
But i agree, the english language is full of strange things (and i'm english!).

So am I.. it also bares mentioning, that the jargon used in the book, dates from the 40s, and language has evolved in leaps and bounds ( dont ya luv hyperbole ! )

"Does anybodyn else believe that the ISTD made a mistake when they allowed the word fall to be used. Should it have been rise and lower.What we most certainly don't do is fall. We lower dont we."

Ultimately, it is like this:

When you practice, you "lower".

When you dance, you "fall".

To fully dance, you must make use of the full energy of gravity pulling you towards the floor, and do so with abandon, without holding back.

But to do that safely and not bombastically, you must spend a lot of time practicing careful movements to build control, both as a skill and as a physical strength in your muscles.

Therefore - practice "lowering" but when it comes time to fully dance, let yourself "fall" and trust in your practice-earned ability to use that energy.

It's like that "life lived in fear is a life half lived" quote from the movie. You can't go around being irresponsible all of the time. But you also can't fully live without occasionally taking a risk.