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The other important consideration for COMMENCE TO TURN is WHEN does it happen?

For Reverse (left) turns, the action of COMMENCE TO TURN should always be AFTER you have put weight on the step (either forward left, or backward right.)

For Natural (right) turns, the action COMMENCE TO TURN should be BEFORE or AS you take the step (either forward right, or backward left) UNLESS that step is taken as RISE AT THE END OF 1 (as in leading a heel turn), in which case, the action of COMMENCE TO TURN should be taken AFTER you take the step (like in a Reverse turn.) You might want to read that again. There is a lot in that sentence.

The basic rule is:

LEFT = LATE

RIGHT = EARLY

Why so, you might ask?

In Reverse turns, if you COMMENCE TO TURN to early on a forward step, your partner is likely to drift into your path of movement, impeding your forward step, or forcing you to cut rightwards on your left turn. What you want is to take the unimpeded forward step, THEN turn with your partner (BETWEEN.)

In Natural turns, your forward step is naturally impeded because of the offset of your partner to your right side. By initiating COMMENCE TO TURN as you stand on your left foot you essentially clear the path for your right foot, provided you don’t cause your partner to alter the alignment of their back step. The action of COMMENCE TO TURN can then continue to increase as you move forward so that by the time weight is taken on the right foot, you have completed the action.

This, unfortunately, does NOT work if you are stepping forward AND rising at the end of (logical) ‘1’, such as when stepping forward into the Natural Turn in Foxtrot.

In this case, the early commence action will disrupt the easy closing of the Follower’s feet for the heel turn. Delaying the COMMENCE TO TURN action until weight is taken on the right foot allows the Follower to get a clean closing of the feet, so she is completely out of your way when you step around her for the heel turn.

To summarize:

  • COMMENCE TO TURN is a BODY action
  • (Foot) Alignment is unaltered by COMMENCE TO TURN
  • No pre-turn
  • No foot swivel
  • It is LATE for Reverse Turns
  • It is EARLY for Natural Turns (unless you are rising (fully) at the end of ‘1’)

I hope this detailed analysis of the phrase COMMENCE TO TURN helps in your overall understanding of rotation.

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This entry was posted by Richard Lamberty on December 5, 2007 at 6:01 pm under Rotation. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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