"Anonymous. 45 degrees is the amount mentioned."

Yes, but if 45 degress is or isn't the PROPER amount depends entirely on the situation, which WAS NOT MENTIONED.

Of course you won't understand that, because you worship heroes and details, while having not a clue as to the substance of what you are talking about.

"Heres another you wont be able to do."

Says who?
"The farther it goes the lower to the floor it gets ,untill the tip of the toe touches the floor. The only way you could get any further extension is to lean forward and we don't do that. This is about where you should be on the count of three (and)."

No, absolutely wrong. You must never try to position the free foot like that with the body weight still stationary over the standing foot.

It is the body, not the feet, which dance.

"Don't forget . To the tip of the toe."

Don't forget, ONLY if you body has moved far enough to justify that. Otherwise going to the tip of the toe is a fatal error.

"The person going back extends . The person in front doesn't. On one the person in front moves his leg forward leaving the tip of the rear toe on the floor. Do you notice there are no legs to push or clash.At this point we have two beautiful leg lines one in front the other behind."

Yes, that it a worthwhile point. But it is a static exercise, and NOT DANCING which you have described. Real dancing will include this to some degree, but only when there is substantial body movement.

The feet do not dance, the bodies do.

Anonymous. Where on earth did you learn that we never position the free foot whilst the body is still stationaly over the standing foot. As a lady where are you on the count of
( and )that is three ( and ). And where is the man who has verticlly lowered.

So Phil. Were the excercises the same as I tried to describe. I beleive he sees the same mistakes wherever he goes. That's why he gets right to the Basic actions. My teachers have been a pupil of his for many years. They meet up in Hong Kong usually and regularly. Hong Kong is an extremly busy place with European dancers who make their base from there. In the future keep an out out for Chinese dancers. A couple of them have already climed into the highest ranking in both Modern and Latin. Good luck

""The farther it goes the lower to the floor it gets ,untill the tip of the toe touches the floor. The only way you could get any further extension is to lean forward and we don't do that. This is about where you should be on the count of three (and). """
I assume we're still talking slow waltz here.
Surely we lower on 3&. On a natural turn, on 3& i would aim to have just lowered my right heel and be softening my right leg further of course. But on this 3& my left (moving foot)would no way be extended fully back to the tip of the toe. This happens on the next 1. On 3& my left foot is just starting to move and is about 9 inches away from the standing foot. I try to do this because it's what Sinkinson does (on his teaching tape, anyway) .
also, by the time my left leg is fully extended, my body is moving back and committed to the movement onto this left leg (step 4 of a natural turn).

i just got a back injury and it is stopping me from doing my dancing and i am so disapoinet i hav a competation exams presenttaion nd my school varity show all coming up before christmas and i just want to dance not rest dancing really makes me happy x

"Anonymous. Where on earth did you learn that we never position the free foot whilst the body is still stationaly over the standing foot."

Don, approximately as Phil said the foot moves only as the body also moves. You should never try to position a foot on its own.

Yes, in a backwards action you develop the foot slightly behind the body before you begin carrying it with the moving body - but that slightly behind is a small fraction of its ultimate position.

Sure see a lot of students getting this wrong. I'm sure you will recognize the look. Standing with the weight in the ball of the standing foot, reach the moving leg back to the tip of the toe, still with the weight in the ball of the standing foot, then slowly shift from foot to fit with a lenghty split weight time. So fatally wrong! So absent any idea that dancing is about moving the body - with the free foot coming along for the ride.

CAn i just say quickly that the emoticon that appears next to my last posting isn't the one i meant to select.I also thought i'd selected 2 emoticons.
sorry

Hi superstax
Sorry about your injury.
One question though- are you sure?? Have you had a scan done and been advised by a back specialist.
i injured my back 6 years ago (prolapsed lumbar disc - not deadly serious but very uncomfortable)and found that dancing helped it considerably. the god posture and all that.. Driving was a problem. I would often go to a practice session in some pain - do the practice esentially pain free, and then drive home, still pain free.
you'll all be delighted that i'm as good as new now

If you have a sore back. If you sneeze make sure you bend forward legs wide apart and sneeze all you wish. Other than that I read an article by Martina Navratolova former tennis player. She said the worst thing a person can do after a match is to sit down for a while and get up suddenly, that's where the injuries occure. Don't we do that all the time. We dance all night then get in the car and have a half hour drive home. Hop out of the car. Bang goes a muscle. We must slowely warm down. I stayed behind and watched the teams come out after a soccer match. It was something to see. They took longer on the warm down than the warm up at the beginning of the match.I have another article by a spine expert. His is the same story. I did my back in gardening.It was after the gardening that your back went, Sitting down, and jumping up to answer the phone did it..
Have you tried one of those back plasters from the chemist that you stick on and leave it there for a few days.

Phil. As it has been mentioned before. All steps are not the same size. The man will not do as big a step on step four as he will do on step one of a Spin Turn . The whole idea of the excercise we did was the action at the end of the third beat which we split and called three ( and ). On three ( and ) if the lady hasn't got her foot back to the toe right there she will get pushed off balance if her feet are together and the man drives on one. So on the count of ( and ) the man's feet will be together, or rather side by side. On that same count the lady will have already extended. If the man is going backward then he does what the lady has just done. If you can imagine the lady right to the toe behind and the man at the same time right to the toe of the foot that is behind. Two leg lines. Imagine again. The lady is only part way back and the man is fully extended. Or the other way around. This is something to watch for on a DVD. On one are both the man's and the ladies toes on the floor right to the tip.