Telemark.There is a lot more than that involved in finding the right posture between the man and the lady. The man makes the frame and the lady fits into that frame. It is not the other way around. If the lady is not in the correct position then by the man feeling for the ladies bra strap will mean he has broken his frame to accommodate the partner. As I said it is the other way around. This one is a definite trap for the inexperienced. It should be the very first thing we ever learn. I wonder if Terence remembers George Sturmie's classes of a Sunday morning at the Hammersmith Palais. George every week without fail had each pair stand in the Ballroom hold whilst he inspected every couple. Most times with a hugh class which they always were, it took several minutes to look at each couple. This he did without fail regardless of how long it took. And thats how it should be.

I didn't say there wasn't. The question was about the placement of the man's right hand, and only one answer will satisfy an examiner. The only possible exception would be if there was an extreme difference in height between the couple, or some other physical impairment that would make normal hold impractical.

Telemark.Now you are coming into the real world. If you were to place your right hand below the ladies shoulder blade regardless of the difference in height. In some instances the lady would be lifted off her feet. In others your right elbow would be out of line. With the ladies armpit on the mans wrist that will determine where the hand should be The hand can be pointing down a little or not at all.

I'm firmly in it, I assure you, and teach couples of all shapes and sizes week in and week out.

You are missing a rather obvious point, that if the lady is not well matched to the man for height, the man places his RH where the lady's shoulder blade happens to be. It generally is to be found on her upper torso, well above the legs. I've yet to see a man trying to lift a lady off the floor for the sake of the ideal downward slope of his arm line. Perhaps in your "real world"?

As far as possible, the man's right arm will move, up or down (to find the shoulder blade), with an unbroken line from his shoulder to his wrist (ie the line is not broken by the elbow). The slope of the arm from shoulder to elbow of the left hand should match that of the right (ie the arms go up or down together), With the elbows at the same height, the LH to lady's RH handclasp will always work OK, whatever the height difference between the couple, and only if the difference is extreme, is any adjustment required.

There are all sorts of other issues regarding balance and poise and relative positioning, but the hold is usually quite simple to get right.

That does depend upon the height of the Lady, now doesn't it?

dheun. Something came up on So You Think You Can Dance. One of the judges commented how the lady who was taller managed to hide the height difference by not only coming down through the knees but also by leaning a little more to the side and back. Which made her significantly shorter than her partner. The dance was Quickstep. Their teacher for that particular dance was of course a former champion.

I can see that being a very good idea, especially for Quickstep. Not sure if same theory would work in other dances, but it is worth considering.
My wife is a few inches taller than I, and it's never been a problem, other than maybe if my suit coat is a little tight in the shoulders and I am trying to turn her.
Speaking of that, the great Mickey Rooney was doing a show in our town last weekend, and the TV stations here were showing some of his old movie clips as a promotion. Does anyone remember "Babes in Arms" when Rooney is dancing with a woman like twice his height and he keeps banging her in the head when trying to turn her? Then he decides to leap in the air every time he turns her, and it is just hilarious. If I can find it and download it, I am thinking of showing it to any couple I am teaching in which the female is taller to illustrate that anything is possible!