Yes. Very true

"I find your CBM action in a reverse turning movement intriguing. Can you describe in a little more detail how you produce this action, hips rotate 1st, topline rotates later? tx"

It takes a little while to get the hang of (and can easily get forgotten out of your dancing again) but at the extreme at which you would practice it to set the idea in your muscles it works something like this: Stand with a very strong whole body left side lead, such as if you've just finished a feather and not completely neutralized. Now, without letting the topline rotate one bit, send your right hip forward by moving through the standing right foot. This will cause your entire body to travel, but there is still no rotation. As the standing right leg propels you, you will feel your right knee tuck in behind your free left knee. Then as you get closer to arriving on your left foot, your topline can join in the turn. It won't be this extreme in use, but practice it that way to develop the sequence of actions, then back off to what fits the dancing.

Another way of looking at it is that it is quite commonly recognized that the man's left elbow must not be allowed to travel backwards in a reverse turn. At most, the left elbow is stationary in space and his body dances around it. In effect, that means that you cannot rotate the upper body early in a reverse turn. Some go around literally saying that reverse turns have no CBM, because the turn (of the top) is so late that it doesn't count as CBM. But that isn't right either - something has to rotate as you move into the step, to commence/indicate that this is indeed a turning figure. And that something is the hips.

"Stand with a very strong whole body left side lead, such as if you've just finished a feather and not completely neutralized. Now, without letting the topline rotate one bit, send your right hip forward by moving through the standing right foot. This will cause your entire body to travel, but there is still no rotation. As the standing right leg propels you, you will feel your right knee tuck in behind your free left knee. Then as you get closer to arriving on your left foot, your topline can join in the turn."

Ok, I been messing around with your action, I see what you're doing. If it works for you then fine though my body says 'I don't like this'. It talks to me you know .

I don't want to get into a general twist or not to twist debate. I'm taking about a very specific sequence of actions or type of movement. Here's how I commence a reverse turning action:

As a result of the previous action, I commence with the side that I'm going to body swing, back (ie. left side lead, like your action). I commence my body swing from my standing right leg, my CBM is developed very gradually. I feel the rotation of the entire moving side mostly from the ankle of the standing leg. I place the moving leg in CBMP (or almost) and continue my body swing with the receiving leg, however now I feel the rotation of the hips & torso/ shoulder mostly in the hip joint.

So, in a nutshell, the key points are that I develop the CBM gradually over both my sending and receiving legs, place my receiving leg in CBMP and dance my moving side as one whole when using CBM in a reverse turning action. Note that I don't lock anything or force my moving side to stay as 'one' (if you know what I mean) throughout this movement. It seems to be happy and has made up its own mind to stay as 'one'.

I don't know if there are others who dance it like I do but I'd be eager to know if this way of doing it hits the spot with you. Let us know.

Rha

One important point that I omitted. At the time I've just placed my receiving leg, my moving or left side is still 'behind' even though it is travelling faster. In other words it has body swing but it's still behind at that point. As I said my CBM is very gradual.

Rha

Appologies, typo, I mean't to say:

One important point that I omitted. At the time I've just placed my receiving leg, my moving or RIGHT side is still 'behind' even though it is travelling faster. In other words it has body swing but it's still behind at that point. As I said my CBM is very gradual.

Rha

"One important point that I omitted. At the time I've just placed my receiving leg, my moving or RIGHT side is still 'behind' even though it is travelling faster. In other words it has body swing but it's still behind at that point. As I said my CBM is very gradual."

Actually, to be CBM, it needs to occur before the moving foot is placed. That is why many say that reverse turns do not have CBM...

However, something should have gotten in advance by then, and that something is the lower right side of the body. Not the right side of the topline of course, but the lower right corner.

You already mentioned that you have the moving foot in an almost CBMP position, which as it should be. But how did it get there? Not by moving across I hope! Rather the standing hip should have rotated forward and to the left, causing the standing knee to tuck behind the moving one.

Actually, now that I think about it - the moving foot is not placed into CBMP, because it moves due forward rather than diagonally forward. Instead, the standing knee is rotated into a CBMP like position behind the moving one. It's the standing leg's fault, not the moving leg's - which means it is not formally CBMP. Hence the book doesn't call for it, despite that being what you would probably name it if you saw a picture taken at the point in the action where it is most pronounced.

Whoever. I wonder if anybody knows what to twist the spine actually is. From the man's steps. If we get into the third step of the Feather with CBMP our spine is not twisted. Our naval is pointing in the direction we are going which is diagnal to the centre. Full steam ahead. If we pull our shoulders back anti clockwise we have twisted, we now have a naval pointing more to down the floor, Full steam ahead Is that the direction we want to go. So your feet will be going one way and the rest of us trying to go in a different direction. The feet will win.
If I am wrong tell me. Go to absolute Basics using the correct alignments, Quarter Turn ,Progresive Chasse. I will finish diagnal to the wall ready to do a Lock Step. My Left shoulder is leading. I simply step across my body outside partner CBMP. Do you know what. My spine my naval are moving in the direction I want them to go. Let you Belly Button be your guide. If it is pointing in another direction something is wrong. For the lady it is pointing in the direction you are moving along. Is there a better way of explaining something that shouldn't need to be explained. On the Lockstep just keep an eye on those feet also. You guys who try to bring physics into this . Do I really need to know how many pounds per square inch pressure there are in my left knee.

"Our naval is pointing in the direction we are going which is diagnal to the centre."

You seem to have missed those little words, "left side leading"

A CBMP step is not a step square to the body - it is a step that moves at an angle across the body - specifically the same angle across the body as was present in the previous, side leading step.

"So your feet will be going one way and the rest of us trying to go in a different direction. The feet will win."

No - you completely misunderstand. Your feet and your body are moving in the same direction, but because the figure has side lead, your body is not oriented square on to the movement. The movement of body legs and bods is instead diagonal to the orientation of the body.

"Go to absolute Basics using the correct alignments"

Yes please study these with a qualified coach!

"My Left shoulder is leading. I simply step across my body outside partner CBMP. Do you know what. My spine my naval are moving in the direction I want them to go. Let you Belly Button be your guide. If it is pointing in another direction something is wrong."

In the case you have just mentioned, your belly button is rather obviously not pointing in the direction in which you are moving. You said yourself that you took a step across your body, which means that your direction of travel is across your body... hence the direction of travel cannot be the same as the direction your body is oriented to.

Anonymous. When I have completed my Progresive Chasse I am diagnal to the wall. The first step of my Lockstep is diagnal to the wall, and the last step will finish diagnal to the wall.
I all ways say a quarter of a turn to the right. Then on the Progresive Chasse a quarter turn to the left. Hold that line for the Lockstep. Hold the same line for the first of the next movement which in this case is a Natural Spin Turn. All of that with my spine driving along that line. No twisting needed. If you start too close to the edge of the floor you will then more than likely twist your spine to keep outside your partner on the CBMP. Then you have a great show of hips in full view.
You'r not trying to take your Lockstep anything other than diagnal to the wall are you. I don't know what qualified coach you had, so maybe you should take a look at the manual. I learnt this as a Bronze Medalist.
I dont understand your last paragraph at all.
I will have my left shoulder leading into the Lock during the Lock and after the Lock. My navel will be on a line with my feet which is on the same line as my shoulder. In other words everything is travelling in the samr direction . If we can use a wall as a guide. Not travelling with my right hip on the wall along the floor.

"Actually, to be CBM, it needs to occur before the moving foot is placed. That is why many say that reverse turns do not have CBM..."

That may well be the case about how CBM is generally understood and interpreted, as an action developed from the standing leg only. Therefore I prefer the concept of 'body swing' which is a much broader concept that also incorporates CBM.

"You already mentioned that you have the moving foot in an almost CBMP position, which as it should be. But how did it get there? Not by moving across I hope! Rather the standing hip should have rotated forward and to the left, causing the standing knee to tuck behind the moving one."

Yes, not by moving across. One as the distinct feel on the sending leg and the receiving leg being one track as one receives the weight.

Rha