"Anonymous. Exactly which technique book are you reading from. I am not aware of any book which says that the person going backward does not lower the heel to the floor of the standing foot untill the moving foot arrives under the body.
Backward Walk."

Perhaps you would care to cite a technique book which DOES mandate this SPECIFICALLY for a FEATHER STEP?

"Alex Moore Page 13 paragraph 3."

That is describing a walk without rise or fall, NOT A FEATHER STEP.

"If you are the same Anonymous. I remember about two years ago quoting this to you."

And you are still ignoring the fact that what you are quoting is written about a DIFFERENT SITUATION that the one being discussed. You have no justification whatsoever for assuming that the sequence of actions in a feather step is precisely the same as it would be in a walk danced without rise or fall.

The simple reality has always been that the proper timing for the lowering of the heel depends on the SPECIFIC CHARACTER OF MOVEMENT DESIRED. There is no general rule applicable to all situations. Only by examining the entire situation of the dancing desired can you deteremine what timing of the heel lowering would be just right to support that specific goal, because there are many different right answers suiting the many different ways in which great dancers have danced many different figures. The only consistent thing we can say about all of them is that they've chosen what is best for the specific situation at hand, rather than unthinkingly assume that the details of some other situation will apply.

Anonymous . Answer the question and don't be ridiculous. Page 13 is describing a walk Backwards. Being that the Foxtrot has more steps backwards for both the man and the lady. If he had thought that there would be those of hard understanding he would have probably put in in extra chapter or two on understanding. Then the technique book would finish with more pages than Gone With The Wind.
You obviously do not visit Learn the Dances on this site, are you not capable of letting it register on what you see.
Just simply copy word for word what is written under Backward Walks in any technique book if it differs to Alex Moore. Or if you like put it in your own words how you believe a Backward Walk should be done from the time it begins to the finish. Any dance. Stepping to the side is a different story but related, which I am almost certain you do not know the correct technique. You might like to give your version on that also .

"Anonymous . Answer the question and don't be ridiculous. Page 13 is describing a walk Backwards."

Yes, which is to say it is NOT DESCRIBING A FEATHER STEP. Unlike a feather step, it is describing an action with NO RISE AND NO FALL.

Why is this difference still impossible for you to comprehend after so many years?

Anonymouse. There is no difference in a Backward Walk in a Foxtrot or a Backward Walk in the Waltz . The timing is different otherwise both finish under the body. In the Waltz the knee flexes and the next step, step two with the LF, goes to the side if this is the first three of a Natural Turn..
You still haven't given how you think a Backward Walk should be , technique wise. Or anything that can be copied from any technique book. Falure to do this proves that there isn't any.
If you can find your way to Google Marcus Hilton Basic Foxtrot. And can press Pause then move that thermometer type thing you will see right at the beginning especialy on step three by the lady exactly what technique she is doing. If you can get that far, I will point out something else that is worth looking at on the same clip.

"Anonymouse. There is no difference in a Backward Walk in a Foxtrot or a Backward Walk in the Waltz ."

You won't really find a backward walk of the specific sort described by Alex Moore in either dance.

What you will find are VARIATONS on backwards walks that have been MODIFIED by the addition of RISE, FALL, or a body altitude that is different than the one Moore described.

These changes modify the appropriate technique.

You will never understand dancing as long as you persist in baselessly assuming that a description written about one specific situation should apply literally without change to a very different one.

Any video will show that it does not!

Most will show that on the third step of a feather, the receiving foot goes flat not when the moving foot passes, but almost as soon as the moving foot begins the process of moving towards the standing one! This is entirely proper, because that foot needs to be flat before much bend in its knee occurs, and dancers today are bending their knees a lot more a lot earlier, descending further, and creating much larger and more dynamic overall movements.

In both Miro and Pino's basic foxtot On the third step of a feather, the receiving foot is flat before the release of the toe of the back foot from the floor, in fact the toe has not even moved and the recieving foot is flat. CONTINUITY as well as flight is the object.

astaire.If you Google Marcus Hilton basic Foxtrot. The question by the late Harry Smith- Hampshire which was where is the moving foot at the time that the heel of the standing foot lowers to the floor on the third step. It can be clearly seen as being down. But take a look at the lady at the same time on the same step. you will see she hasn't lowered yet. She will not lower untill the moving foot arrives under the body. From there go to the Wave starting on bar 12. Take a look at the lowering by Marcus as he goes Backwards in the Wave. If you want to confirm what you see is not just one mans interpretation. Go to the 06 Foxtrot Final at Blackpool and watch Timothy Howson also in the Reverse Wave. The way to get a good look is to press pause and then move thermometer type thing along a fraction at a time. Cheers

"If you Google Marcus Hilton basic Foxtrot. The question by the late Harry Smith- Hampshire which was where is the moving foot at the time that the heel of the standing foot lowers to the floor on the third step. It can be clearly seen as being down. But take a look at the lady at the same time on the same step. you will see she hasn't lowered yet. She will not lower untill the moving foot arrives under the body."

If you look carefully, you will see that in actual fact many ladies, and Karen Hilton is a good example, usually have their heel flat on the floor well BEFORE their moving foot gets anywhere near it to end the third step of a feather.

They do this because this is what is required by the large dynamic motion they've chosen to create in these situations. It would be awkward to start seriously absorbing the fall in the knee bend as has now been the norm for many years, while still holding the heel up as you propose.

If you are only watching youtube though, you might not see this as the few pixels representing the heel of the lady's shoe often get lost in the video compression. You may be seeing the heel cup above the floor, and unable to see that the heel tip is actually on it.

And that's not to say that everyone does it all the time. I've seen some video of Alessia for example, where the path of descent is such that she can keep her heel up longer.

The only correct answer to Smith-Hampshire's question is that the proper sequence of events depends on the desired character, not of a step in general, but of the interpretation being executed by a given couple in a given instant. As there have been many interpretations, so there have been many slight variations of the details, each perfectly correct for the situation in which they are used and entirely incorrect for some other situation.

Anonymous. You've watched the video clip. Is Karen's heel off the floor on the third step of the Feather or not. And at the same time is Marcus down. Then go to Luca and Lorain , you know how to get there and how to manipulate the speed, and look at the same step. Are they both the same or not. Simple question isn't it. Lets have an answer from anybody . The lesson to be had here is don't listen to people who have been taught incorrectly or just didn't listen.. Look for yourself

"Anonymous. You've watched the video clip. Is Karen's heel off the floor on the third step of the Feather or not."

Karen's heel is flat on the floor while her feet are still quite far apart.

Alessia on the other hand still has her heel up at the eqiuivalent point.

This is quite simply because the correct timing of the lowering of the heel depends on the scale and character of movement desired - there is no uniform right answer.