A develope' is an action whereby something is "developed", and can refer to either an arm or a leg. The development being referred to is a sort of unfurling of the arm or leg, from a position inward or close to the body, to outward or away from the body. In ballroom dancing, the term is used almost exclusively for the legs.

The basic action of a develope' of the leg begins with the knee bending, foot lifting off the foor. The knee then straightens, extending the foot outward or forward (depending on whether the legs are turned out). Once the leg has fully straightened, the foot then lowers to the floor with the leg straight.

The opposite action is an envelope', or "envelopment", which is a develope' in reverse, whereby the foot extends forward or outward, then lifts off the floor with the leg straight. Then the knee bends, drawing the foot inward toward the supporting knee, and finally lowering to the floor.

The ballroom develope' is almost always commenced with either a forward or backward step, and extended nearly straight forward, since ballroom is danced mostly without turnout of the legs. The initial action of the free foot begins differently, depending on whether you begin with a forward or backward step.

When begun with a forward step, as with the Promenade Develope', the free foot is left pointing backward. From this position, the toe of the free foot will first draw forward until it reaches the supporting foot. It does so with the foot pointed articulately (in contrast to a normal ballroom walking action, where the heel of the free foot lowers to the floor, to arrive flat when it passes the supporting foot). From this position, the foot draws upward along the inside of the supporting leg, foot pointing toward the floor, knee continuing to bend. Then the foot extends forward to complete the develope'.

When begun with a backward step, as with the Outside Check with Develope', the free foot is left pointing forward. From this position, the toe of the free foot draws backward, and can pass to either the inside or outside edge of the supporting foot. From the inside edge, the develope' continues as it does with the forward-initiated develope' described above. When drawn to outside edge, the foot ends in a crossed position, and then draws upward along the outside of the supporting leg. This version is my personal preference, but only possible on the backward-initiated develope'.

The ultimate height of the foot on the develope' is a common question asked by students. Lady students are typically very concerned with getting the foot/leg "high enough" to be considered acceptable. My answer is always the same: It's not the size that matters, but how you use it. The most important quality to strive for is a buoyancy, and this can only be achieved when the knee maintains its height as it straightens. If the knee lifts too high initially, it will be forced to lower as it straightens, which gives it a saggy or heavy look, like air being let out of a balloon. It is helpful, therefore, to know in advance your own limit with respect to the height of the foot when at full extension.

To determine your foot's height limit, point it forward with the leg straight, then lift it off the floor as high as you can. Hold it in that position for a few seconds. Make sure your posture has not been compromised to achieve greater height. Then retract the foot to the supporting leg while maintaining the knee at that exact height. Notice and memorize the location of the free foot against the supporting leg; This is the position the foot should reach -- not an inch higher -- before extending forward into any develope'.

The classical version of Promenade Develope' is a unique figure in that it does not allow for the lady to increase the height through base shaping. The leg must therefore act entirely on its own while the body remains vertical. As a result, it actually looks more disjointed and disconnected the higher you take it... Much the same way arms look awkward when swung around without being initiated by an action in the body. This is why the Promenade Develope' remains primarily a social dance variation. It's more pleasing to watch when danced in a relaxed manner, without a great deal of height.

Thanks, Jonathan. I think there is probably a video example of this in one of the waltz variation videos. I will keep an eye open for it in the future.

In case you don't need the syllabus version specifically for a test or rigorously invigilated competition, there's a slight variation you can do that allows for a much fuller body shape:

Man steps LF in promenade on 1, then closes his RF and points the LF to side on 2 while leading the lady into what is essentially a same-foot lunge position. This gives him the proper shape and leverage to support her in more of a "layback" position, providing her with the opportunity for increased height on the develope'.

Since he's on the same foot as lady, he will need to fake again to return to opposite foot for the following movement in closed position. The simplest exit is for the man to step LF side, then close RF to canter timing (1,3), while leading the lady to take her normal forward-side-cross action.

The clever thing about this version is that it appears nearly identical to the syllabus version at a glance. In fact, unless you're dancing with a very skilled or sensitive partner, she may not even register a difference by feel, except to notice that you did something that allowed her to take a much fuller, higher develope'.

J

"The man cannot lead that particular move, so it is entirely up to the woman to do this."

That sounds rather dubious

In what sense?

Just surprising that you would feel it's not leadable

Actually, I made that statement, mostly from what I figured was common sense, but also in one of the steps descriptions on this site, it indicated this is not a move that the man triggers through his lead. Because it is a graceful move out of promenade that the lady does, but not in tandem, per se, with what the man is doing, I almost view it as a little extra "flair" that can be added -- if the lady wants to add it.
I suppose the man could say something, like "do a promenade develope" and it's possible that kind of "leading" takes place on shows like Dancing with the Stars and such. In any case, I will be interested to read Jonathan's take on this.

The exact wording we used was, "...the man cannot easily lead the lady to do such an action", which I admit leaves some room for interpretation.

I don't mean to say that a Promenade Develope' absolutely cannot be lead on some level, but it would be very difficult to do without restructuring the technique in some way. Our aim with our syllabus is to reflect as much as possible what people actually do, and so our interpretation and subsequent description is a reflection of the prevailing theory amongst those who dance this figure -- mainly social and casual hobby dancers -- for whom it is generally considered an interpretation by the lady.

According to this theory, the lady can choose to lift the leg (or not) much in the same way she has control of the artistic interpretation of many aspects of her dancing -- arm styling, for example. It doesn't change her shape, or her weighted foot, or anything else that might be considered a "hijack" (which, incidentally, is another technique considered acceptable in certain social dance circles). However, she does need to be aware of how it affects her balance, which is another good reason not to attempt to lift the leg too high when social dancing.

So if you accept the idea that the follower has room for interpretation when it comes to her legs and feet so long as it doesn't interrupt the leader's intentions, then it doesn't actually matter whether or not it is leadable... The fact is, it's doable.

That being said, it would still be interesting to explore the topic of leadability with respect to the develope'. I will tread lightly here, because I've witnessed many heated debates over the years regarding what makes something "truly leadable", and it can wind up being pretty philosophical. But here is a point or two to consider:

People have different standards of leadability. The strictest interpretation is that only the actions that can be directly caused by the leader without any cognitive interpretation by the lady, such as weight changes, can qualify. The most liberal interpretation would be one that includes anything you can make your partner do by any means, such as standing 3 feet away and saying "turn to your right!" Most people's opinions fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

Since a develope' is not a directly-caused action, it requires at least some degree of cognitive interpretation, based on principles agreed upon ahead of time, typically some combination of shaping and elevation. This puts it on the "liberal" end of things, since there's nothing inherent in the man's movement that suggests she do anything other than shape and elevate equally.

If your interpretation of acceptable lead-and-follow includes that, then you would be one who would describe a develope' as leadable. But even if that's so, the syllabus version of the Promenade Develope' will still be more difficult to lead than other develops, specifically because when taken exactly as written, there is little you can do with your shape or elevation that would indicate to the lady that she should lift her leg. An advanced dancer would be more likely to modify the interpretation to allow for more shape and therefore leadability, as in the version I described in a previous post.

Regards,
Jonathan

dheun's original statement didn't include the "easily" though I guess your version did.

I would propose activity of the center in relation to the standing leg as the leading mechanism.

Criterea for leadability of a figure which requires some "skill" would probably be something along the lines of - can a skilled leader get a skilled follower familiar with the possibility but not aware that it is at the moment the subject of an "experiment" to do a hesitation with or without the develope, soley by the details of his body usage?

And no, the "pregnant pause" until she guesses something is missing doesn't count.

Not particularly in disagreement with anything Anymouse has said. I just had some additional thoughts on the subject...

You can do just about anything you like to shape yourself and the lady, the question is really what can be done to actually cause her to lift her leg.

A skilled follower will have the experience to know what types of body actions are commonly used as signals of the man's intentions (e.g. lift, shape, activity of the center in relation to the standing leg, etc), but the bottom line is, they're still signals. There's nothing about the lead that physically causes the lady's leg to lift; She must feel the shape, interpret it as a signal to lift her leg, and respond accordingly.

I'm not being critical of signal/response leads, I'm just pointing out that this is one of them. And as with any signal/response, we can decide just about any criteria we like to determine what the signal and response will be, (e.g. 3 taps on the back means I want you to flick your left foot). To that end, I could propose that the Promenade Develope' be lead very easily by deciding that the appropriate signal is for the man to apply slight pressure with his left pinky. That way, any couple who have been taught this signal and response could lead and follow with accuracy.

What separates the signals we designate as the skills of learned dancers from the signals one might think of as a trick or a cop-out, such as the silly examples I proposed above?

I have a few criteria of my own, but I'm going to withhold them in a shameless attempt to stir up more activity on the message board. :)

J