Don:

"The ladies knee is touching the side of the man's leg and is behind. So you would say the feet are in a closed position."

The minute you said 'behind' it sounded like you were describing a promenade foot position not a closed one. But the proof would be in the orientation of the feet - antiparallel to partners = closed. Anywhere from perpedinduclar to parallel to partner's = various interpretations of promenade.

Promenade is not so much about opening up, as it is about achieving a workable orientation that is a compromise between the sideways progression of the couple, and the need of the feet and legs to work at least partially in the direction of travel.

Ballroomlady:

"Actually the question was, how and when has the weight to be shifted from one foot to the other not how to stand in promenade position. I just chose the PP as an example."

When it's time you won't have a choice - the movement will force you to do it. But of course you have to set up the right movement.

Anonymous. There you go again. Leading off without researching first.It should be hard for a bright person to look at some photos. Go to dancesport uk.com and find your way to the International results. And look at photos 104308 Timothy Houson and Photo 104186 of Jonathon Wilks in the Professionals. Then come back at tell us where the ladies knees are front and back in relation to the man. And on the end of that leg there is a foot. Where is it and what part is on the floor. Ballroom Lady I suggest you get a print of these, there are many others to choose from.

"Anonymous. There you go again. Leading off without researching first.It should be hard for a bright person to look at some photos. Go to dancesport uk.com and find your way to the International results. And look at photos 104308 Timothy Houson and Photo 104186 of Jonathon Wilks in the Professionals. Then come back at tell us where the ladies knees are front and back in relation to the man. And on the end of that leg there is a foot. Where is it and what part is on the floor. Ballroom Lady I suggest you get a print of these, there are many others to choose from."

Can anyone read any sense into this rant?

I must confess I haven't a clue what don is trying to say.

"And look at photos 104308 Timothy Houson and Photo 104186 of Jonathon Wilks in the Professionals. Then come back at tell us where the ladies knees are front and back in relation to the man."

104308: ladies feet slightly behind mans, all feet/knees approximately 45 degrees to intended direction of travel, which is to say intersecting partner's. Pretty much the textbook promenade I described.

104186: Katiusha's back foot is not properly aligned - it is turned out when it should be turned in so that her knee can act in the direction of promenade. as I said, an exceedingly common error!

"104186: Katiusha's back foot is not properly aligned - it is turned out when it should be turned in so that her knee can act in the direction of promenade. as I said, an exceedingly common error!"

I should add though that we cannot be entirely sure from a still photo that they are prepared to move literally in promenade (where this foot position would be an error) and not simply striking a promenade-resmebling line, where it would not necessarily be wrong.

Anonymous Soale and Gioia picture 104082. Being that Soale's partner Gioia's back foot is in exactly the same position as is Jonathan Wilkins partner Katusha in picture 104186. Would you like to be pointed in the direction of some other pictures, or is that enough. The perfect position would be with both feet on an equall angle. But being that the photos where taken in rapid succession there it is more likely that we have an unfinished foot position. That is beside the point which was not going into promenade too early, which is a very common fault and should be looked at carefully. I think I am right in saying that in the Tango more than any other dance foot positions have got to be near perfect. The judges can see them much clearer than for instance a Quickstep.

"Anonymous Soale and Gioia picture 104082. Being that Soale's partner Gioia's back foot is in exactly the same position as is Jonathan Wilkins partner Katusha in picture 104186."

If that is true, and if their intention is to step from there into promenade then it is WRONG.

Wrongness does not depend on who you are or what you have won. It depends on the practicality of what you are attempting to do - and such a turned out orientation of the back foot is not beneficial for movement in promenade. It goes against all history of teaching, too!

"The perfect position would be with both feet on an equall angle. But being that the photos where taken in rapid succession there it is more likely that we have an unfinished foot position."

Since you now seem to be agreeing with me that the proper foot position would be self parallel, and this is clearly not that, then either we are seeing mistakes, or the foot position still changes before the movement. Both are possible.

Ballroomlady. Your question was shifting the weight from one foot to the other. I doubt if it can be put into print. It can only be learnt from a good Tango dancer who would be able to pass on the feel of the Tango. We have knees veered in. We use inside edges of the foot sometimes on some steps. The Tango curves to the left and the feet are picked up and placed. This is what I was told. The Tango was danced in public often on a dirt floor at a market place. If the feet had been dragged there would have been a cloud of dust around. It goes circular because when a crowd form they form a circle or oval and not an oblong. Makes sense to me. As I said . Find a good teacher, don't try to learn this dance on your own especially how to walk backwards. Also listen to the music and what it is saying.

Ever notice how few of those "tango was..." history statements by ballroom people are supported by what the argentine tango community dances today? Wonder who is remembering wrong... us or therm.

Anonymous. The dance originated in the West Indies . The Tango was introduced to the New World by Spanish settlers. Eventually coming back to Spain with Black an Creole influences. When it became a ballroom dance was in the clubs in the Argentine where again it had the circular motion and much tighter groups because of the space problems. They were able to dance around and in between the tables Modern Tango is not considered to be a Latin dance as it doesn't show the Cuban motion.