This is about a step forward. Any step forward. We are not talking Latin where there is a turnout of the feet.
This is the Standard Style International Ballroom Dancing. The step being questioned is the first step of a Natural Turn in the Waltz. It wouldn't matter if it was the first of a Reverse Turn in the Foxtrot. There is no shaping of the foot and the weight must reach the ball of the foot before turning otherwise we would be off balance. We would be trying to raise our heel before we arrived. Maybe you are not raising the heel at all before stepping on step two.

"This is about a step forward. Any step forward."

Actually, not, you are responding to posts that are about a step that is across in CBMP and PP, in the unique situation where an immediate turn of the man's foot follows a whisk. This is not a common occurrance, but the point of this thread is that this type of action is required on figures such as the weave from promenade after a whisk.

"The step being questioned is the first step of a Natural Turn in the Waltz."

No. Both the posts you are responding to and this thread itself are about the weave from promenade after a whisk. Go look at the first message and every other that you have responded to in the thread - are they about the natural turn? No, they are about the weave.

Your comments about more typical forward first steps such as ordinary natural and reverse turns are marginally accurate (which is why I have not been arguing with their application to such steps), but they are not the subject of discussion here.

Anonymous. Can't you get it into your head that there is only one type of step forward. It doesn't matter whether it is in Promenade or not the weight of the body must be over the ball of the foot otherwise it would be impossible to lift the moving foot from the floor, which we should be able to do to demonstrate balance. It can not be done if the weight does not arrive over the ball of the foot Done correctly we will then raise the heel from the floor. That is why the book says H.T.... In some steps, a Wing for instance, where there is no rise a H. is written . This doesn't mean that the step will in anyway be different regarding the arrival of the weight over the ball of the foot.

"Anonymous. Can't you get it into your head that there is only one type of step forward."

Of course I cannot, because it's simply NOT TRUE. One would have to willfully ignore most of the fundamentals of of dance technique with all of the variety that they demonstrate to believe something so ignorant.

At the very least, you must address seperately steps inline with the right foot, steps with the left foot, steps with the right foot outside partner into CBMP, and steps with the right foot across in CBMP and pp. All are variations on the general concept of forward, and each has unique technical requirements.

"the weight of the body must be over the ball of the foot otherwise it would be impossible to lift the moving foot from the floor"

The weight of the body must obviously not be resting on the foot that you are trying to move at the time you are trying to move it, but that does not mean that it must be located over the ball of the other foot.

The reason for the difference is that the body can be, and often is, supported by a foot that is not directly under it but is instead offset from it. In this situation, the act of supporting the body will necessarily also accelerate its motion.

More more important to the subject at hand, at the time when the man's moving right foot is turned while placing the first step OF THE WEAVE FROM PROMENADE AFTER THE WHISK, his weight is still being supported from his standing left foot.

Let's keep this very simple. There is no turn in the first step of almost any figure; first step is straight. Posts talk about you commence to turn in a particular step and so on.
My coach keeps it simple, if you are turning to (or commencing to turn to) any direction, take the whole frame with you. This whole business of turning on the first step has gotten very convoluted. If you are turning left or right, do it with the frame and foot. Simply do not let one go and break from the other.
I hope this helps………….r.

"Let's keep this very simple. There is no turn in the first step of almost any figure"

There is not turn on the first step of MOST figures, but this thread was specifically about the fact that there IS turn on the first step of some, such as the weave following a whisk.

"first step is straight."

This is where it gets interesting. Even in the weave after a whisk, the direction of movement is relatively straight. What is turning at that point is only the alignment of the foot, not the direction of travel which will not change until later in the figure.

"My coach keeps it simple, if you are turning to (or commencing to turn to) any direction, take the whole frame with you."

That's the usual situation, but not all figures commence their turn by turning the body. In the case of the weave after the whisk, the fact that he is coming from promenade position means that the man's body is already well towards the alignment it will needs to have for the first step. But what does have to change by about 45 degrees is the alignment of his foot, and so that is what the technique book says turns 1/8 between the preceding step and step 1.

Body turn, foot turn, and change of direction are three fully distinct factors. Most commonly they occur sequentially one leading to the next in the order that I just named them, but sometimes as in the weave after a whisk, it works differently.

And don't forget there is a ballroom dance using an 1/8 turn between the preceeding step and 1 all the time: Viennese Waltz.

For my medal (not competition) dancers I teach: Slow Waltz, Slowfox, Quickstep step 1 straight, Tango with its own CBMP-technique and V. Waltz as above.

With straight I mean that the foot doing step 1 must not leave the track the foot of the preceeding step was pointing to at the end of the step.