There is a good chance that your lady partners are backleading - which is always tiresome, but indirectly, the original fault lies with the men that have collectively failed to lead such ladies properly in the first place.

A question for you to ponder. Without seeing you dance, no one here can begin to answer it. When you place your foot, on the beat, has your body moved first, as it should have? A common fault is for the foot to be placed, and for the body weight to follow (a bit like being dragged over the standing foot). When moving (forwards, in particular) the body should move first: the foot is swung as the point of imbalance is reached, making the movement inevitable. A follower will feel the movement, from the upper body, though the hold, before the foot moves an inch. If that lead never comes, she has to choose whether to stand still (and get her feet trodden on), or to anticipate the movement, as best she can.

Of course, I appreciate that this fault may not be apparent in your own dancing, but it is very common that men, knowing that they SHOULD be leading, have no idea at all HOW to do it.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Especially the one by Telemark. That is something I will carefully have to consider.

Jerry. If i were to write a book on dance steps i would try to omitt the word lead. I think it can be misleading for the beginner by conveying to them the misconception that they have to be led. Just think if we open a door for a lady we dont then push or pull her through do we. Opening the door indicates that we wish her to go through. When we dance in the closed hold by moving our side out of her way that should be all that is needed to show we want her to move into that cleared path. I was always told that the person moving forward, wether it be the lady or the man, becomes the one who is in control on that particular movement untill they are now moving backwards where the roles become reversed. In short the lady is doing 50 percent of the work and are not being dragged around the floor by their partner. Its ironic that the word lead is also the word for a very heavy type of metal.

The " Inviter " and the " Invitee " ?

Ballroom dancing is very much more like Argentine Tango than many would realise. I don't mean the embrace (hold), of course, although we should be well used to having our weight very forward in our balance, but in the nature of lead and follow.

Geoffrey Hearn writes "the Man suggests the movement, the Lady dances the movement and the Man follows the Lady".

He also writes "When the Man truly dances himself into an action with perfect balance, rhythm and shape, the Lady will have no choice to react to the Man's requirements and will perform with absolute security".

I never suggested that the body should be in front of the moving foot (although from a standing start, it will be).

To quote Geofrey Hearn again (in connection with movement and swing) "Head weight commences movement". Change your mind, and expect to fall flat on your face.

Richard Gleave has a different "take ".. he states the first thing to move, is the knee.. check it out in a simple walk from a standing position ...an old theory, but a true one ..

In the sense that I need to release the heel of the foot to swing it, I would agree that the knee is the first part of the leg to move. But I'm not going to move my leg at all unless I have commenced a body movement: and this is no more than standard technique (the body moves first), and when I move the leg, it will swing from the hip.

The Q was, WHAT moves first.. and your preaching to the choir !!

I still say the body, then. Why would I move my knee at all, if I'm not moving?