Can you compare the rise (and fall, I guess, too) in Slow Waltz, QuickStep, and Foxtrot for me, please? And, if you are going to use any term like "foot rise", could you tell me what that means, please. I dance American style in waltz and foxtrot, and none of my teachers have ever defined foot rise or body rise or xxx rise for me.

When I look at the smooth variations on this website, Johnathan looks like he is fairly high on the toes on the 2 and 5 steps of a foxtrot. (I'd give an awful lot for my dancing to look like his.) So, if possible, let me know if you can use that as a yardstick.

TIA
Jerry

Hi Jerry
jonathan would be a good person to answer this. I'll be watching this space with some interest. Anyway, here's some of what i know about it.
The vertical movement in slow waltz is the greatest. Each slow waltz beat lasts 2/3 second, and since the rise (in, say, a natural turn) lasts from end of step 1 to the beginning of step 3, you have the most part of 1 second to complete it. (but, interestingly, only about half that time to lower). In foxtrot, each beat lasts half a second, and the rise occurs over just one of these, and so is more abrupt, and less pronounced. Slow waltz is meant to be an undulating dance, whereas foxtrot is smooth, continuous flowing around the floor.
Jerry, i'm sure you know what foot and leg rise is really, however, try this - stand with your feet flat on the floor, bend your knees, and then straighten them slightly. That's leg rise with no foot rise.
Now straighten your legs, and go up on your toes. That's foot rise with no leg rise. Real rise is a combination of both, but it's important when rising up on to the ball of the foot, or even the toes, NOT to straighten your legs completely by locking them as this 'hardens'the action. (i asked a question myself about this a little while ago).
When you see a dancer in a photo right up on his toes, this probably isn't a static position. What i mean is, he is only momentarily in this position. Dancing is a dynamic activity and linear energy of movement is constantly being converted into height (potential energy) and back again. If you have good body flight and then halt it, you can go up high on the toes. the trick is to control this perfectly of course.
OK - now a question of my own which i hope someone more knowledgeable than me will answer. Body rise... exactly what is this?
An experiment - i sit on a chair, and keep my upper body in a good dance frame position. How do i get body rise? i can't rise at all (nor indeed lower, without losing good posture). So is body rise just another name for leg rise?
You'll notice i've said nothing about quickstep. !!

Phil. This has been on before. According to Steven Hillier, I was at the lecture. He said that I stay up to come down. and stay down to come up. He went on. If when lowering I lower my body it will beat the knees every time and my rear will stick out. Try it.

I meant to add another thing - if you think about the undulating appearance of a slow waltz, it becomes clear that the degree of rise and fall and the amount of travel (what i call 'flight' though that may be a misleading name) go hand in hand. If you do a lot of rise and fall, but little travel, you'll be bobbing up and down - doesn't look nice. Though i've seen people win beginner and novice comps doing just that

Thanks for a very clear answer. So LEG rise is really extending (straightening) the knees, and FOOT rise is moving from foot flat on the floor to up on the ball of the foot or maybe onto the toes. (roughly, roughly)

Now- what about QuickStep? What kind of rise and fall should I be looking for there? I dance American style in FT and Waltz, but there is no American QS. I'd like to know what my target should look like in QS. About like Foxtrot? Less? More? More Leg rise, less Foot?

Jerry

Jerryblue. This I have been told. Quickstep International Style. Work the Slows and rest or ease off on the quicks. Not the same intensity on both.
Could be called light and shade. I like to think of letting the slows take me through the quicks.

Jerryblu,

My best advice to you is to view rise & fall as reactions and not actions. Phil allures to this in his post and I iterate that one should not try to deliberately create a rise or a lowering intentionally. I've spend many months and perhaps even a year or two, when 1st started, 'sitting down' and 'popping up' and I have no doubt I looked like a complete idiot on the floor doing all these contrived rise & fall actions because that is what I thought I champions were doing to rise & fall. I hope that we can save you from the same. As an old buddist saying goes 'you will find what you seek when you stop looking for it'.

Having said that rise & fall is real and does happen. And there are characteristic rise & fall patterns in each of the swing dances. However it is also important to know that it is not uncommon to deviate from the norm to create variation and effect. Rise & fall comes from a intent in ballroom swing dances to progress in space with swing and musicality. You will Rise & fall properly once you learn how to progress with swing and musicality. The difference in the rise & fall (reactions) that have mentioned comes from the adjustments you will find yourself making in your progression with swing and musicality to match the music of the particular dance.

Rha

Anyone feel brave enough to answer my question about sitting on a chair/body rise?

Phil,

Body rise is leg rise. In dance terminology it more common to refer to that type of rise as body rise.

Rha

Thanks Rha. I was getting worried i might be missing something!