The amount of turn and alignments of the Natural Turn and the Lady's foot positions are clearly stated in the text book. So Dave you are correct.

Abdef. I assume at some time or anougther you worked on a Pig Farm >

Lady's NT. Alignment:(1)backing DW,(2)Pointing LOD(3) Facing LOD. Amount of turn:(1) Com turn to R,(2)3/8 btw 1-2 body turns less,(3)Body completes the turn. The man indicates to the lady what variation he wants her to dance and then follows her . He does not dance her second step for her. She has to make way for him to pass. He does not dance through her. If she dances the Technique correctly she is setting the diretional path. The man has to follow the lady's path even when it is wrong or he will pull her of balance. Hopefully she will be following his leads but many times she does not especialy if his lead is weak or anougther couple may be in the way or there is misunderstanding as to what variation they about to dance. If your partner is as heavy and as tall as you are ,you won't be able to bully her.

"Lady's NT. Alignment:(1)backing DW,(2)Pointing LOD(3) Facing LOD. Amount of turn:(1) Com turn to R,(2)3/8 btw 1-2 body turns less,(3)Body completes the turn. The man indicates to the lady what variation he wants her to dance and then follows her."

No, he does not indicate a natural turn and follow her through it, he indicates one bit at a time that results in them both having danced a natural turn, ideally with the ending alignments given above. This is important - those are where the steps end up, but not necessarily where they go immediately. If the lady "knows" it's a natural turn and positions her foot in the "correct" place, you get the look of two heavily schooled students who aren't actually dancing together, but both doing the excercises their teacher taught them.

"He does not dance her second step for her. She has to make way for him to pass. He does not dance through her."

He does not move her body, but continuous guidance is proved either by the man (at points of inflection) or by intertia (in between points of inflection) - though really it's always some of both.

"If she dances the Technique correctly she is setting the diretional path."

No. It may look this way because to an outside observer the path is first visible in the lady's foot, but it's actually given by sublte details of the movement of the man's body - you just may not be used to looking for it there, or dancing with those skilled enough to pick it up from this. With a good dancer the opening of the lady's foot and hip is not a one-shot deal, but something that happens progressively as the man's body moves through (yes, THROUGH) the space over her standing foot.

"The man has to follow the lady's path even when it is wrong or he will pull her of balance."

Yes, everyone has to adjust to their partner. One thing many men are not aware of - one key clue to who is dancing a routine and who isn't - is that depending on how the lady responds, you may get into a situation where you should dance a next figure different than what you had intended.

"Hopefully she will be following his leads but many times she does not especialy if his lead is weak or anougther couple may be in the way or there is misunderstanding as to what variation they about to dance."

She's going backwards in the NT, so hardly going to see a collision before he is. There should be no misunderstanding about what variation is being danced, because the lady never dances variations. Variations are abstract concepts for discussing over coffee in the prep room - dancing is about following your partner. If it's not lead, or dictated by the inertia of what was previously lead, then don't do it, that simple.

"If your partner is as heavy and as tall as you are ,you won't be able to bully her."

You partner can be a foot shorter and half your weight, but if she doesn't carefully match the position of her weight in her feet to the position of your weight in your feet, you cannot get her to do what you want without distorting the connection in the ways pro-am teachers commonly resort to.

I was alwys taught that the person moving back creaes a space for the person moving forward to dance into. When the man is on the inside of a turn does not the lady provide the CBM and swing to drive past the man(fill the space he has left) ,they both then drift together.

"I was alwys taught that the person moving back creaes a space for the person moving forward to dance into. When the man is on the inside of a turn does not the lady provide the CBM and swing to drive past the man(fill the space he has left) ,they both then drift together."

You're still thinking in terms of what is first visible - which is not what causes the action, at least if lead and follow is being employed.

It's okay to teach this way for a while because the motions are nearly correct. If the couple then goes and practices varied material in a lead and follow context, the lady will learn to develop the various actions from her vocabularly, not in auto-complete mode, but progressively as the man leads their development, without worrying or sometimes even being aware which one is being danced.

abcdefg. I agree with with you. Another way of putting it is the lady does point her toe on the second beat but her body weight does not arrive before the man. Simply , she follows the man up. Done any other way she would take the man's centre away from him. And as you said . If she arrives first how does she know what the next step is going to be.

Even the pointing of the lady's toe is not as much of a prelude in actual practice as it would be in walking through the step. In actual dancing the pointing is achieved only gradually - the lady's toe is ahead of her body and the mans but only because it moves proportionally much faster, not because it moves first.

Suomynona. Third step of a Curving Feather. Don't you think the secret to this step is strong CBMP before the foot is placed. A bit like the Wing for the lady . If the shape isn't created before the foot is placed, plus the correct rise and fall and footwork. It begins to look too blocky.. I know the man has turn clockwise and the lady anti- clockwise otherwise there is very little difference. Which brings me to question two. My book has nothing to say on this step. What is the correct footwork after a Feather Finish for the 1st step RF. of a Curving Three Step.

"My book has nothing to say on this step. What is the correct footwork after a Feather Finish for the 1st step RF. of a Curving Three Step."

Unless you are talking about the lady's part, the problem is in the question itself.

Unlike an ordinary three step, a curved three step has a more ordinary rise timing for a reverse figure. As a result, you have to count the man's left foot step as the first step of the action of this figure, and that step would be heel-toe. Becuase step 7 of the feather finish is given as heel, it would have to be replaced by a different step with HT action, to be followed by a T action, rather than used H, and followed by a HT step.

three step: (H), HT, TH, H
curved 3: HT, T, TH

If you are talking about the lady's part, there is no written difference between TH when followed by TH vs TH when followed by T, though there had better be a difference in execution.