"cdroge. Interesting. Are you doing the same footwork that you would be doing on a normal Three Step. Also sometimes a lot of the blame belongs with the lady on steps like this. If they step straight back under their body it helps. It's all about Basic Technique."
The curved three step does not have the same footwork as a normal three step.
Counting from the man's left foot, which is the logical place to start for this figure (if not for the normal three step), it would be HT, T, TH
I would also disagree that the first two steps are straight. The first step maybe, but the second step already shows some curve. If you try to take it straight, the figure will get "pinched" and that could cause some balance problems. Think instead of the three steps creating a gentle arc of 3/8 to even half a circle. There's a skill to develop in letting the left foot brush the right one on a curved path in the second step. It's even more of a skill to do this on the back half (it's worth learning both the curved three and the back curved three - they are nice in combinatino)
This is all in marked contrast to normal figures where the first two steps do continue the direction of movement of the preceding step with only body rotation. Here we actually have a change of path by the second step, rather than only after the second step as for most other figures.
