Hi Anon,
Thank you for an excellent explanation of why a rise is rarely wise on step one of the backward lock.

Latin shoes position the weight more forward. But standard heels are designed to allow the weight to travel the full length of the foot. Many social dancers never put weight in the heel, to the obvious detriment of their smoothness of motion.

luv2dance. One important thing is not being spoken of concerning man's step four Reverse Turn International style Foxtrot. And that is the foot always moves twice. Once on the extension and again on the push off the left foot. Any other way will be like dancing with a brick wall. Whether this might have some bearing on this argument or not I don't know. I still believe that the proof lies in the pudding. And to quote the great Len Scrivener if it isn't comfortable it is most likely wrong and needs to be changed. Let us not forget that in the beginning there were some fearful and in public arguements over some parts of the technique book. At one stage it got quiet personal. I was there.

The free foot doesn't move twice, that would imply there was a hesitation in between, rather it's movement continues both while the body weight is moving through the standing foot, and while it is moving off the standing foot.

Dear Nod,
Thanks for your good advice : gravity takes care of that with the lenght of step.
Yes, just let it happen naturally, maitaning my length and correct head position , then follow the man's center swinging up on 2...

Returning to the issue of the presence or abscence of foot rise on step four of the man's reverse & feather finish, it seems like any rise there must not be so great as to prevent the lady from getting her right heel down and weighted on step five by the time her left foot is passing it to move into step 6. Given how often ladies lower their heel late or not at all, my guess is men are likely to be using too much foot rise and upswing on step four, not too little.

DanceFad. I will go one further here and say that if I danced the Fourth step of the Reverse without foot rise you would not pick it. Unless you were at ground level with a micrometer. So in your examination just quote from the book. Her is another for you. Same steps, same dance. Sway on two and three. No sway on four. Sway to the right on five and six. For me CBM on four creates a sway, not much but never the less a sway. And I tell you what , you would have difficulty picking it. I just find it feels better for me and my partner if it is done that way.

This is a mistake. Functional (as opposed to fake or decorative) sway comes not from CBM alone, but as the final result of the combination of SWING and CBM. As such, you shouldn't have sway until you have been swinging for some amount of time - which is to say about a step after you begin the upswing. Since you begin a new upswing on step 4, you shouldn't have sway until step 5.

Don't forget it is always forward and up, not just up. Important to stress the forward movement to prevent lifting our bodies out of the floor.