Scrivener was "preaching " inside edge " before Alan was born !!

All teachers who have had exposure to top class coaches, know that dance is is geared towards the inside front quarter of the foot ..

Terence. You do know that Len Scrivener was Standard Dance Style and that Alan Fletcher is Latin. Len was saying and teaching that we should use the inside outside edge of the whole foot in the Tango. Alan was refering to the Rumba when he said the inside edge of the big toe, and not ball flat.

Know Len ?..saw him compete and dance more times than I care to remember , not to mention lessons and lectures .. ( actually danced a QS with Nellie )..

I was making a point about foot usage.. and yes, again , I know that Alan is "latin " .

i always tell my students to think about what leg they are standing on, and that leg's hip should be twisted back, feeling lke it is hitting the back wall, without sitting on it, and keeping their shoulders facing forward. i always try make them stand with their feet toghter to start off with, and then i get them to move in basic postion. If they aren't able to do it themself, i put them in close hold with me, and just move back and forth, rorking on their feet, and then move around the floor.

It takes time.I usually build a dancer from the ground up.Foundation, Structure...like a house.Decoration being last.People need to have their footsteps to work with then they should have the concept of their body and balance.A good instructor will look for new idea's and improvement such as yourself.There's some really good advice posted from knowledgable instrucors.

/* A lecture i attended given by Alan Fletcher, which was taped and which i still have. He said If he wrote an instruction book he would get rid of the term ball flat and replace it with inside edge of big toe.*/

Would that be at the end of the step? If not, what footwork did he give?

I would guess that the 'Cuban Action' is directly related to ability to do hip isolations and rotations.

If your hip is rotating as you step forward it is very difficult NOT to step with Cuban action.

So the 'Cuban action' starts with learning to do hip isolations.

As in ALL dance steps, its HOW we place a foot that prepares us for a desired result.. no guarantees that it will happen as intended .

Take a look at Google. Cha Cha Walks Warm Up. From there you will find all you need to know