Can anyone remember when they saw an Heel Pull danced? Also, the beautiful original Hover Cross, and not this left side check, which is now called, the Hover Cross.

taught both in the very recent past ( hover cross overturned, one of my faves )heel pull.. usually just a reference and demo.

lluv2Dance. By Heel Pull do you mean the action of pulling the heel all the way back untill it becomes a ball under the body. Or do you see the heel becoming a ball much earlier. The later is more in keeping with the modern trend. Its all to do with not becoming back weighted.
Hover Cross. A Hover Cross by any other name is still a Hover Cross.

Hi DH,
Thanks for your reply. Don't recall reading your messages previous to the past week. If not, welcome to the message board.

Just has Telemark writes. I was referring to the Heel Pull as a figure in its own right. Even Jonathan drops it for a 'side and brush step'.

Regarding the Hover Cross. Where is the Hover in today's so named figure?

Will always remember the beautiful sweeping up action danced by Harry & Doreen, into the cross.

"Side & brush" wouldn't do for me, I'm afraid. The man's pull action is really backwards - after all this is a heel turn in which the feet don't close. The width of the part-close varies widely too: the widest would be the QS Natural Turn with Hesitation, and the other QS use, the Natural Turn at a Corner very nearly closes altogether. The next step there is LF fwd (so no possibility of a brush), and it is interesting to observe the absence of undivided turn for lady, linked to the impetus of the man's action in his turning step being reduced by the width of his 'almost close'.

The figure is usually badly danced, with the wrong weight distribution between the feet, and in particular, the absence of correct pressure using the heel of RH when 'scribing' the heel in an arc back from its previous forward position to end to the side.

You misunderstand me.

The QS Natural Turn has a H Pull on Step 5 where the RF almost closes to LF - it is the narrowest close of the family (QS Natural Turn with Hesitation being the widest). I agree that there is no sway.

In general, a heel pull is very closly related to a heel turn. As Howard writes by way of definition:



The width of the step ending to side determines whether the follower's turn is divided, or not, and in the case of a QS Natural Turn, it is, because of the 'almost close'.

Surely the Heel Pull is a very common figure: the action occurs in Quickstep (Natural Turn at a Corner & Natural turn with Hesitation), Waltz (Hesitation Change) and Foxtrot (Natural Turn). I dance all of those figures regularly, and use the Hovercross too.

As mentioned Heel Pull and Hover Cross are not new names. They were in the Bronze Level of International Standard. I started taking lessons 25 years ago with Julius Kaiser and Norman Martin with my partner Olliva B ochem, from Pre-Bronze to eventually reaching the status of Open Gold in Standard and Latin. We knew all the figures and was more interested in perfecting the Technics. I am sure you have never heard of us because we have never gone into any ameteur competion. Reason; we felt we have not perfected our technic of the ten dances. We did do Show Case (as it is called today)and we danced at Heather Osman's formation team. Every other year we went to UK for a Champion to coach us. My partner and I choreograph our own amalgamation. Unfortunately my partner passed away ten years ago, and since then all I did was social dancing. sad to say no practice. Occassionally I get to dance International,few and far between.