I believe the dances should be taught correctly from the word go. I was in a place were this was not being done. There was no mention of Heel Leads and that the second step of the Waltz on the Closed Change was a toe with no lower. This one person in particular, a fairly heavily built guy put all his weight onto the floor on that second step. After he closed one foot to the other he couldn't move, so he kept trying to pass with what should have been a closure. He managed to get into a Whisk and on the Progressive Chasse again he got stuck. All he needed was to be told the correct footwork. I believe that if you hang a sign outside your door. We will teach you how to Waltz. Then that is what should be taught, and correctly taught.

I think you opinion is the minority opinion, but I agree with you. We had quite a few different teachers because of turnover at FADS. In a few dances, they were nice and let us get by with poor basic technique. Overcoming that was much harder, than the challenge of doing it right in the beginning.

Apparently you are not well versed in the Amer. style -- there is not a Whisk in social Amer.Br. ( or Silver ) they dance " twinkles " .

If schools are teaching it in that genre, then the students are going to have a dufficult time dancing socially outside of their environment ( the u.k. could be an exception--I still teach silver twinkle in social beg. ).

As far as techn. is concerned-- it has much to do with the type of class one is teaching= the old adage " teach technique, but dont teach technically " has to be observed .

The obsession with extended movement for beginners, unless one is involved in medal work ( even then, moot ), should not be #1 priority .

99 % of beginner students cannot handle technique from the get-go. This is not because they are incapable of doing it, but because learning how to dance is like learning how to walk again. Once you are comfortable with some basic movement and you're not thinking constantly where your feet are going, then your teacher will introduce the proper technique. You cannot expect to do rise and fall and correct push off in your first few lessons. These techniques take years to develop fluently, and it takes practice and patience. A good teacher will teach in layers so you're not overwhelmed. There is a 'method to our madness' as teachers. I understand not every teacher is good enough to recognize when their students are ready to move to the next level, but there also needs to be more trust from the student. Teaching a student to take small steps in the beginning is also a way to ensure that they learn correct balance, weight transfer, moving with the body instead of the feet, as well as proper control