I had a very interesting discussion after the class last Wednesday. A guy in the class turned out to be a former very well known 8oo metre runner. He explained that in running if the body gets too far forward it cuts down on the length of the stride the front leg can make. The balance must be kept central. Interesting. So this is human movement and does this apply to dancing also. I believe that to be told in dancing that the nose is over the toes can be misleading. Thats OK to tell a beginner whose weight might be back to do just that. But for others who are capable without being told to tell them and whole class to get their nose over their toes can be misleading and misguiding.

You are probably not old enough to remember when the " pitch " in dance was considerably more fwd.

The current poise made a gradual return to a more upright position at the end of the forties/early fifties .

There are those who still believe it affected the dynamics in progression ( which of course , it did )

Although it's an interesting observation, the comparison with 800 metre running is itself not very good. Dancing isn't continuous movement without changes of direction, rotation etc.
And especially when there's a movement from a fairly static figure(think of open telemark into promenade)there tends to be a forward inclination of the body (by forward in promenade, i mean in the direction of intended travel).
Ask the 800 metre runner if he uses a forward poise at the very start of the race. Guarantee he does.

Phil. One pace forward as in the first step of the Feather and any simulare step. The Open Telemark is not a good example because it is a step to the side with sway on two and three. Remember the discussion is keeping the balance central on a forward step, anything forward of that will affect the stride pattern. The proof is in the pudding. Try it balanced, then put the weight forward and see how it cuts down the step and the fluidity of the step.What you can see at the beginning of a race is the body instigating the initial first steps. When this is refering to dance look up Forward Walk Alex Moore Page 9 also paragraph 7 on page 13.

The real question is not if the comparison to running is valid, the question is if Serendipity's friend is reporting an accurate description of what actually happens in running.

I suspect, based on pictures I've seen, that his friend is not reporting accurately. Instead, he is probably reporting RELATIVELY - for example, to feel that you are more centered doesn't mean that you actually will be centered, it just means that you are trying to be more in one direction than you previously were. It's corrective advice based on where someone was, not absolute advice based on where a measurement of the ideal execution would show them to be.

General human body mechanics puts us closer to our front foot than to our rear one. That's what the measurement would show. Where that feels like is anybody's guess.

I have rarely seen any one run with the upright stance of the Scotchman who ran in the movie "The Chariots of Fire"?

I can't see how it should be possible to use a heel-footwork (and not doing a VERY small step) with "nose over toes" at the moment the heel touches the floor. Of course the foot is in front of the body. "Nose over toes" may relate to the moment when full weight is over the foot (but what about the haed position.)
ISTD-Ballroom technique: "The Forward Walk ... at the extend of the stride the weight will be equally devided between the heel of the front foot and the ball of the back foot with the front knee straight and the back knee slightly flexed. ..."

The " nose over toes " mantra, became a fav, saying of many of the Amer.style teachers-- it was primarily used with beginners, for head usage in Prom. positions, and was not meant to be a too literal translation for all and sundry movements .

It did however ,fall into the general lexicon.

I have never heard the "nose over toes" expression until just now, and if I had I would have been very confused. I have heard the expression: "the nose goes where the toes go", meaning pointing in the same direction. This is a considerably different meaning.

good observation but i think the movements of dance and running a slightly different. with running you're in a constant forward motion. i can see why placing your weight forward would limit your length of step, yet with dance i think the effect would be minimal.