Gentlemen,is it part of the lady's responsibility to help keep a couple on time, whether she is a social dancer, competitor or instructor?
Ladies, what do you think?

no, because there are a variety of possible timings.

Annie, Both couples must know the timing and dance in time. In Latin in particular where some moves are performed apart from each other. A knowledge of the timing is a must. If you have a male who is dragging you off time, then sit them down and play a disc and teach them how to count each bar of music untill you are sure that they can hear the beat and can count,, this is any dance. I used to count a Foxtrot putting a tick on a peice of paper every four beats right to the end of the disk., then add them up. Don't be suprised if you finish with a different number at first, especially if the disc has a singer on it.

The man may be able to put the lady into a line but she is the one that has to time the extention and coming out even though he may indicate with his hand or frame that it's time to come out,he can't just pull her out. There are also many places where the couple wait for each other to move first,how can the lady do this if she does not help with the timing. How can she dance with feeling if she is not constantly aware of and keeping time.

The lady's action in a line is an amplification of smaller actions in the man's body (which an untrained observer will not see) - hence he's still responsable for the timing.

Of course he can't lead an exit if she's lagging behind him in the evolution of the line.

and if the woman is too fast or light?

Also the woman's weight has to be in the right position at the right time in order for her to follow the man's lead and she can only do that if she is also responsable for her own timing unless the man does not let her dance and just carry her around the dance floor as many men are apt to do.

"Also the woman's weight has to be in the right position at the right time in order for her to follow the man's lead and she can only do that if she is also responsable for her own timing unless the man does not let her dance and just carry her around the dance floor as many men are apt to do."

If you define responsable for her own timing as insuring that her body matches his timing, then sure.

An ordinary person would define it as making her own decisions based on the music, something that can be quite problematic in partner dance.

I sure don't want to match a partner's timing if he is dancing with total disregard for the music. It is usually very unpleasant to dance off time. I can't believe it's that much fun for the gentlemen, either. I think a good follower can match the man and still invite him to dance on time.

"I sure don't want to match a partner's timing if he is dancing with total disregard for the music. It is usually very unpleasant to dance off time. I can't believe it's that much fun for the gentlemen, either. I think a good follower can match the man and still invite him to dance on time."

Maybe early on. Later in development, being off time in some ways is an important part of the character of some of the dances. Get in the habit of forcing your partner to a timing, and at best the dance will look very mechanical, at worse it will look uncoordinated.