When dancing international standard with tall women (just 1 to 2 inches shorter than me), when making a big forward step in a closed position the woman's right thigh may sometimes reach my crouch. Is this normal?

The only way I can think of to avoid this is to make smaller step or to increase the distance between us. Either one would make the dancing look bad.

So, I assumed it is normal/unavoidable but I want to be sure.

p.s. for some reason I cannot select a specific forum

I doubt that your problem has anything to do with the Lady's height, but sounds as though you have taken hold with her too far to your right side, and/or that you are using CBM so strongly on your forward step as to distort the track of the LF on or across the line of your RF (and so stepping in CBMP).

If you have Lady's thigh in your crotch, it may also be a fault in her backstep, in that she has not allowed her toe to slip back for the full extend of your stride (as indicated by your lead), but has shortened her own backstride by lowering to ball of foot early. This will have the effect of preventing any further backward movement, while you are still moving forward, with the inevitable coming together of the bits in between.

Of course, someone would need to see your movement to be certain.

The problem is that the woman is not lowering enough. When I dance with a man who is shorter I bend my knees more and I also bend at the top of my legs, like I'm sitting on a motorcycle, but without my rear end sticking out. The woman should adjust her position if she feels herself coming dangerously close to your crotch. Most social dancers are far too upright.

It sounds like you are talking about all tall women. If that is the case. I would think you are doing something wrong.

I am tall, so I have not had this experience. However, there is some touching, that happens every once in a while, that is just part of learning to dance together.

I find that if you dance well together, the woman knows that these things happen, and she doesn't give them a second thought when they do. (I don't even think our faces turn pink anymore.)

I can still remember the first time I danced with a trained lady dancer. I thought she must be some kind of tramp. (Good thing I did not say it out loud.)

While private parts should not touch often, it is funny how comfortable having almost constant stomac contact gets. I really do enjoy the feeling of this touching. (Not sexual exactly, but more of like caring and almost loving feeling.)

Hesitation. I would first of all check to see if i have the correct setup with my partner. Are you are aware that the right area of the chest of both are in contact. Some cheeky teachers say right nipple to right nipple. Which means you could swing a brick at the pelvis area and not touch a thing when standing normaly. A simple look at any top dancer you will see this. You might start by looking on this site. Do you see the right area of the chests in contact.

Forward steps of the right foot commencing right turn (and also ones into outside partner position with or without turn) must be made primarily by projecting the body away from the standing foot, and only secondarily by swinging the right leg, relatively late in the action. Getting the bodies moving by rolling through and pushing off from the standing foot means that the moving leg can swing more into the space being vacated by the partner, and less into collision with the partner.

It is interesting to examine tango by comparison. Tango generally has more of a reachy foot before body character - but then tango makes almost no use of full size right turning inline steps of the right foot, so that problem is avoided. When tango does go outside partner with the right leg, a more body-bringing foot character of movement is required.

As you probably know, there is NO "swing " in tango.. being a " pick and place " action, it has little or no comparisons with the " swing " styled dances .

There are some for whom the touching is no accident. I think it happens most at social dances. (I and other men where I dance have had this happen to us by the same woman, and we didn't appreciate it.) It's a form of frotteurism, or touching for sexual arrousal, and it can be very slight to obvious. We should all be aware of those men and women who might do this and avoid dancing with them.

Body contact among Social Dancers is almost none existent.

That depends upon the location and who is teaching dance.. its the first thing I explain to all my new beginners.. dance is a contact "sport", social or medal test style ( Standard and Smooth )