Just looking at the images that are sometimes in the top left hand corner. Looking at the man's rear foot and the ladies LF the position looks to be as if comencing into a Throwaway Oversway. The angle that the photo was taken can be deceiving. The man's left hand apears to be low, but a line drawn across puts it at about eye level with the man about to arch his back, which we all know the Throwaway is the only step that this will happen on. I doubt that it is a Contra Check or a Travelling Contra because the legs are too far apart with the man's rear toe pointed. Which after all that leads me to believe it is not suitable to be used as an example for poise or posture.

"Just looking at the images that are sometimes in the top left hand corner. Looking at the man's rear foot and the ladies LF the position looks to be as if comencing into a Throwaway Oversway. The angle that the photo was taken can be deceiving. The man's left hand apears to be low, but a line drawn across puts it at about eye level"

Eye level is a very poor reference, as it depends on body proportions that are by no means constant from individual to individual. Much better is that both of the man's elbows must be at the same height (except perhaps in tango).

Anyway, part of the reason the elbow looks low is that this left side is too open/back/away from the lady, which gives us an odd perspective on that elbow.

"with the man about to arch his back, which we all know the Throwaway is the only step that this will happen on."

Wrong on some many counts... Arch is absolutely to be avoided in all situations, especially the throwaway. Most of what you see in a good throwaway originates lower in the body - the actual shape in the back is small. In general, presented stretch is good and lines have more of it that moving positions, but the throwawy is not exactly unique in that regard.

"with the man's rear toe pointed."

Maybe he's trying to hard to dance to the very tip of the toe

On the Throwaway Oversway the man arches his back and looks over the top of the ladies head. This is the only step where this happens. Please look and all will be revealed.

Part 2. If the man's elbows are in the correct position and the length of the arm from the elbow is normal the height of the hand will be at about eye level, and should be midway between the two people.

"On the Throwaway Oversway the man arches his back and looks over the top of the ladies head. "

You are right in that this is what it LOOKS like he does, but it is NOT what he actually does to accomplish it.

Instead, the shape is mainly created by the way that his hip folds "into" his left groin. Most of the shape comes from this positioning of the torse relative to the legs, NOT from arching the back, which is always a VERY BAD IDEA!

The arching of the back is to counter balance the action of the lady.

"The arching of the back is to counter balance the action of the lady."

Well first, she's not really supposed to be arching her back either, but we know she will.

More importantly, the "counterbalancing" is visual, not physical. There is no need to counterbalance her weight. And because of that, all we need to achieve is the visual effect.

To an inexperienced observer, it may look like the man is arching his back (and an inexperienced man may well be doing so) but what is actually happening in a good dancer is that the vast majority of the position is created in his lower body. His upper body continues to grow out of this with a fairly straight torso - it's just that the position of the legs and hips makes the torso look much more curved than it actually is. On a good dancer... a bad one of course will break at the waist!

Throwaway Oversway. What was once told to me was. Think that I had my hands grasping a ships old fashion steering wheel and turn it clockwise untill the hands are at 10 to and 20 past Then if we atarted facing the wall we would have turned our body to about diagnal to the wall. If you watch closely you may see the right toe moving slightly to widen the base. This explanation never fails to convey the feeling of a Throwaway Oversway. There is a fair bit of pressure on the inside of the right toe. If this move is done with the hips only it will look incomplete and all of the music will not be used up. We must use every part of the music ,always. All of the above is for the swing dances. The Tango is different in our attitude and technique..

A lot of that appearance of arch is the torso vs the back leg, not an arch in the back itself.

Another part of it is a TWIST of the back - again, something that looks like arch until you really analyze what you are looking at.

As for using up all the music, the solution to that is not to OVERSHAPE, but to PACE YOURSELF so that you don't run out of movement before you use up the time.

I don't think so. If you were looking at the tape I have been looking at both the man and lady have a complete arch in the back. The lady more than the man. This is done over three different dances not only to music, but with two slow teaching counts on each different dance.