... or its simply less skilled folks mugging for a camera and not exactly doing any of the line figures
That was my immediate impression at a glance. If I had to wager, I'd be pretty confident with all of my money on static pose in the photography studio.
Still, there is another possibility that has not yet been mentioned: In a couple of the old school American syllabi, there was a Viennese figure (I think Arthur Murray called it "Turns & Curtsy") that alternated between this and the Throwaway position. It was a four-measure pattern, as follows:
m.1) Man steps fwd RF between lady's feet in a manner similar to leading a Rudolf Ronde. The lady begins a Ronde action, but quickly curls the leg into a back attitude position.
m.2) Lady lowers her R toe to the floor and straightens leg to a fully extended point, while man sweeps his LF forward in a quarter-ronde. The resulting position is the one seen in the photo. The position is recovered to closed in the second half of the measure.
m.3&4) Man steps forward on LF and leads the same action on the opposite side. The resulting position is similar to a Throwaway Oversway, albeit a poorly executed one.
I may have the order mixed up, but you get the idea. Would I ever recommend it to anyone? Nah, but that doesn't change the fact that it was popular for years in American style studios, and you can still see it occasionally today if you look hard enough. And I do think it is the most likely source of inspiration for this photo, since it's the figure with the posiest/most static usage of the line.
Regards,
Jonathan
