NFR.For the person on the inside of the turn. Modern Waltz .1st step of a natural turn. Lady back left foot NFR. My interpretation of this is that the lady will stay on the 1st step making the 2nd step a foot position only. Then as the man, who does have foot rise passes, the lady can follow the man onto step 2 with her body welght and not take their parners centre away from them.Done correctly this should ensure that both are still in ballroom position and that the four tracks have not become two.Does anybody think differently ?

Appologies for the typo, I mean't "opinion" instead of "option".

Dancing forward rolls the weight from heel to toe which also allows for easy foot-rise in the direction of the movement. The forward swing and foot rise complement one another. The ankle used to produce foot-rise also aids the forward swing in the same direction. Dancing backwards rolls the weight from toe to heel. Any foot rise will slow the roll of the weight from toe to heel and the subsequent swing as foot-rise implies using the ankle to get up on toe. The weight cannot get up on toe and roll to heel at the same time because of the ankle. The ankle must work against the progression to produce the foot-rise when dancing backwards. It therefore slows the progression in relation to the person dancing forward who is in the most powerful part of their forward swing.

Don, is this your option of why you think there is NFR for the lady.

To Rha. I am not sure what you meant by my option. To continue the discussion . According to the technique book there are several places where the term NFR occurs. First step of the Feather in Foxtrot for the lady, and for the man in a Reverse Wave.Or in a Quickstep for the person moving backwards immediately before a lockstep.It seems to me that it creates a moments delay, which allows the person on the outside to slightly overtake.( for want of a better expression ).Teachers seem to avoid this part of dancing like they would the plague.Which is a pity for somewhere down the line it is going to become important if a couple are going to dance as one, and not come apart on that particular part of their dancing.

Continuing with the NFR discusion. I was always told that the person on the inside of the turn does not swing. In other words no two people should swing at the same time. It is interesting
that I read an article in a uk dance magazine by a leading lady professional, that even though Victor Sylvester introduced the closing of the feet on the third beat of the Modern Waltz in the 20's. There are still arguments on how it should be performed today .A lecture I attended, given by one of those high profiles said "That if you have a child on a swing. At the bottom of the arc there is still a point on the upward swing where you are still in control to give that final push. This is that illusive spot that needs to be found". I understood it to mean, that there is a flexing of the knee to continue with the swing, which most of us know nothing about, and only occasionally do by accident.In other words there is another action there from the neutral postion with the weight fully on the right foot. What we don't need at that point is the lady taking of without us.The other way around of course when the man is on the inside.

To Rha See if you can find a video of a top competitor performing the wave. Watch what appears to be a slight pause by the man as the lady steps in line then outside her parner. That is staying on the standing foot,( no NFR, longer). Try to see if the man is moving with the lady on that step or is not. There is of course a strong shoulder lead by both. Left for lady, right for man. Having found out what is the correct use of NFR. don't forget it is in Waltz, Foxtrot as well as the Quickstep.

I wouldn't link the term No Foot Rise with the action you describe, although in dancing most actions have some effect on others.

NFR occurs when stepping back with toe-heel footwork and just emphasises the fact that with the heel in contact with the floor there can be no rise in the foot, though there can and should be a rise felt in the legs and body.

Remember the rise in waltz should be gradual. If the lady kept here heel off the floor and used foot rise on step one she would be rising too much and too soon to match the man.

It is very easy for either partner to rush the second and third steps when on the inside of a turn. A controlled transfer of weight as you describe helps to avoid this, but this is not dependant on use of NFR.

Missed my conclusion:

Hence NFR for the person dancing backwards.

Don,

Foot-rise (particularly when used by the lady dancing backwards) has a blocking, jamming effect on the person using body-swing, when dancing forward. Yes, the person using FR when dancing backward would not be able to control the subsequent compression and stay "long" on the supporting foot because the person dancing forward would force an uncontrolled lowering. So, NFR contributes to staying long on the support foot because it contributes to togetherness and "control" in the partnership for the reasons I listed but it does not embody the entire concept of staying "long" on the supporting foot as your view seems to imply. SocialDancer also makes this point and I'm in agreement with it.

Staying "long" on the supporting foot is not fully expressed by the observation of getting to the heel "early" and any perceived "pausing" not because I refute that this is what is actually happening with that particular foot when observed in isolation but because "staying long" is a much broader concept than that. Staying "long" on the supporting foot is also a mere observation (perceptually or otherwise). Therefore it must not be a conscious goal or dancing intent in itself. However it manifests itself through a combination of the use of body-swing, controlled weight collection (elements of NFR) and the usage of the supporting leg in "anchoring" and powering the swing to produce a far more "pleasing" musicality.

It is possible to dance with NFR correctly and still not get this concept of "staying long on the supporting foot".