Suomynona you said.
In ordinary walking ,the standing leg sends the body,not the moving foot. The moving Foot arrives only as a result of the movement of the body. I agree ,but then the moving foot will then arrive before the body and it is at this point when the heel of the moving foot hits the floor to catch the weight of the body that we count one the body arriving over that foot slightly after. Please read what I say more carefully and don't jump to conclusions of your own. Thanks Dave

Sorry .by one I am not refering to the foxtrot. It could be the first step of the NT. In the foxtrot it would be on beat two (RF)

"it is at this point when the heel of the moving foot hits the floor to catch the weight of the body that we count one"

Dave, what does it mean for you when you count "one" in a waltz or foxtrot?

I would hope you answer would be very different from you answer for a rumba or jive or sousa march.

One in the Waltz I would break into two parts .The first part being a foot position. the second a body position,my body in flight arriving over the foot with the knee
of the free foot along side or just passing the standing foot.
In foxtrot at the end of the feather step the first ONE would be at the point where my right heal lowers drawing my left knee and then foot through the untill at full stride my left heel will be on beat(two) ready to receive my full body weight on 2& .

You asked me where my ONE is.,but in foxtrot as in all dances I dance my body to the rythem and melody and not to the beat,in fact I would find it vey difficult to dance the foxtrot to the beat . The best I can do is count the prep and first step after that I just let my body FLOW.

Guys. If you were teaching a toddler to walk they would become a mental cripple.Up and down the floor either solo or with a partner in an extended hold to a Foxtrot all slows is the way to go. With a beginner the thing to watch for is nodding. With an advanced they should be analizing what is happening. Where are the collection points. Are you recharging your standing leg. And always bear in mind it is the rear leg that is seen the most. So make it look good by standing on it longer.But still in time. Rumba Walks , Cha or Samba all need to be practiced in a simular way to Standard.

John. I know absolutely nothing about the American Foxtrot. Do you have special music for that style of dancing. Won't any Foxtrot do . Reading your writting it would seem not.

I thought 'american' foxtrot had a faster tempo - about 40BPM. I bought a 'foxtrot' CD some years ago, and all the music was 40BPM

Don. I thought it was the lady's that like to show of their legs, but by all means if you'v got it Don flaunt it.
Sorry I don't normaly dance social foxtrot. The point I was making is that international foxtot music has a continual flow to it which makes it better for dancing on the second beat. Very few Teachers in the USA take this into consideration or just don't know the difference that is one reason why you see so many competitors on TV at the Ohio Star Ball wondering between the first and second beat. You don't see this in Europe unless it's intentional. Unfortunatly more and more American style foxtrots are being played every where so why dance the slow foxtrot on the second beat. It,s hard to buy a foxtrot that's not vocal,some vocal foxtrots do have the SF Rhythm.

"I thought 'american' foxtrot had a faster tempo - about 40BPM. I bought a 'foxtrot' CD some years ago, and all the music was 40BPM"

Social american foxtrot. Post-bronze competition should be about the same as international, perhaps a tiny bit faster preffered by some. I would complain strongly at anything over 30mpm. This is really a better tempo for beginner competition too, as it rewards the couples who are learning to fill up the full action of the slow, over those who are simply "busy".