juat a quick question related to a recent thread on fwd walk tng:

is step 3 of a spot turn in cha-cha (ie step 1 of the chasse) a fwd walk tng ?

Anonymous 56. A Forward Walk Turning is a Spot Turn. The weight must be fully over the foot you are turning on. That is why it is called a Spot Turn because it is on the spot. It is suprising how many try to turn over the wrong foot.
A Basic is a Walk either Forward or Backward. It is a Checked Walk. The New York is a Checked Forward Walk. Just about everything we do in the Rumba is based on a Forward or Backward Walk.This is why experienced dancers spend hours doing Rumba Walks around the floor. As Ray Rivers once said. a Latin dancer should spend as much time with their Rumba Walks as a Marathon runner does on the road in training. Start Walking and good luck.

well a fwd walk turning occurs in all kinds of other places too eg ladys step 5 of hockey stick in rumba.

so what about step 3 of the spot turn in cha-cha ie the first step of the chasse

Step 3 of a spot turn is a side step.

Here is how I dance a spot turn for turning right:
1. Bring the left foot close to the right with no weight and swivel 1/4 turn to the right on the ball of right foot, and step forward on left foot.
2. Swivel right a half turn with weight on left foot. Right foot doesn't move position.
Replace weight to the right foot as body moves over that foot. Bring left foot close to the right with no weight and continue the right turn, swiveling another 1/4 turn on the right foot. You should now be facing your partner.
3. Side step on left foot for first step of a chassé as normal.

There is a lot going on in that second step. Done this way it is a lot cleaner than trying to turn in the third step (which you shouldn't really be doing).

SmoothGeezer. Done any other way is an adaption of the correct Spot Turn in the Rumba which is.
Step 1 Foot Position
LF fwd and across body to finish LF back and slightly to side.Action used Fwd Walk turning. Body Turn . One comlete turn to Right.
Step 2. Foot Position
RF in place.
ACTION USED .Weight transfer in place
Step 3 Foot Position
LF to side. Action Used Fwd Walk Turning.
No swivelling is mentioned. The way you have described your first step is with you already turned instead of towards your partner. If you did that and stepped LF fwd and across your body you would be going out side ways wouldn't you. In front of a judge you might get away with it once. Do it a second time and your gone.
The only difference with a Cha is
Step 4 RF half closes to LF.
Step 5 LF to the side
Still no swivelling.
A look at a Spot Turn in the Rumba in the Learn The Dances wouldn't go astray.

Serendipidy
Sorry, I gave you an American version of a spot turn which is the same as the International switch turn. However the spot turn is the same as I described except that the right foot doesn't stay in place on step two. Maybe your definition of a swivel is different from what I am calling a swivel. American style has several different kinds of swivels.

Sorry but I couldn't follow your description at all. I think it has some errors. Also when you look at the description on this website for the spot turn, it is actually describing a switch turn. There doesn't seem to be a description of a spot turn. Also that description has the second column offset one line too low. Move the second column up by one line and it will read OK.

Serendipidy said "The way you have described your first step is with you already turned instead of towards your partner. If you did that and stepped LF fwd and across your body you would be going out side ways wouldn't you."....

No, I started facing partner, turned 1/4 turn to the right and stepped forward, same as the video clip (both of them).

SmoothGeezer.. The description of the Spot Turn to the right is from Wally Lairds book page 136. Reading across the page
Foot Position. Action Used. Body Turn

The one to pay attention to is the first step. If it is not taken across the body. After you have turned your feet will be in a crossed up position.
If you were to step back instead of forward you would have to move your moving foot around your standing foot.
This is also for the lady on a cross body lead to go to the Fan Position. Beat three must be across the body this is after the Closed Hip Twist or any simular step. This is one of the first things that should have been learnt right at the beginning and is covered on Richard Hearne's Letter Service on video demonstrated by Paul Richardson and Lorna.

"The description of the Spot Turn to the right is from Wally Lairds book page 136"

I suspect Smoothgeezer is confused by your inclusion of the amount of turn, "One complete turn to Right", as though it applied to the first step. In fact, although most turn happens on step 1, complete turn takes place over the full figure as indicated by that cell of the table extending over all steps.

Smoothgeezer's turn is only slightly different from Laird's description. He is starting to turn his body as the first step is taken instead of delaying the turn until the foot has landed. The foot is placed in the same physical position and by the end of the first step Smoothgeezer will be in the same position as Laird.

The ISTD now groups spot turns and switch turns together and is quite vague about the differences. My understanding is that the spot turn requires step 1 to be taken across the body. If the step is take forward, with or without turn on the standing foot, the figure is called a switch turn.

Serendipity... I think we are both suffering from a very common problem, a failure to clearly translate actions into words. We are not disagreeing on actions, only on the descriptions of the actions. Fortunately there are video clips on this website that are correct (titled spot turns and switch turns). Those show the same as what I dance, and tried to describe in my quickly composed description, which I admit could stand a lot of improvement, since it doesn't clearly communicate the actions, or even describe all of them.

SocialDancer did better. His post was at least clear and accurate (almost) except he was also a little confused about what I was doing (due to my poor description). Actually my turn was the same as the video clip. Body turns right, same time as left foot starts to move, and as the left foot passes the right, the right foot (pivots, swivels, turns, choose the one you like, to the right), then the left foot is placed, total 1/4 turn. And yes, SocialDancer, the Laird specification of one complete turn on step one was obviously not correct. I do one thing differently from the video clip. I don't pick my feet up off the floor as high as he does.

Rather than try and beat the descriptions to death trying to correct them, I would suggest referring back to the video clips. I don't think I want to go back and fix mine plus add everything I left out when there is a video clip that shows it correctly.

Now that I read it again, I may have given SocialDancer too much credit for being accurate. Body turn doesn't start at the end of step 1. It starts in the beginning of step 1 (the 1/4 turn), but there is also a turn at the end of 1 (which I forgot to include in my last post).

That brings up a question. In the Latin dances, many actions call for a step then turn, as opposed to the smooth dances where most turns are done between steps. When describing these step-turn actions, do you list that step-turn as part of a single step, or should the turn part be attributed to the next step because it occurs after the foot hits the floor? I usually include the step-turn action within the same step. Correct or no?