Simple Example: Followers foot work in a Feather Step

  • The Leaders footwork is: HT, T, TH
  • The Followers footwork is: TH, TH, TH

The Leaders footwork implies a hip rise as there is no specific mention of which rise. There are options:

  1. Leader does Leg rise If that leg rise is greater than (Followers Heel Height - Leaders Heel Height) then the Followers heel will come off the floor

  2. Leader does Leg rise and foot rise If that leg rise + foot rise is greater than (Followers Heel Height - Leaders Heel Height) then the Followers heel will come off the floor

Since the level of leg rise in 1 and 2 are really difficult (see least action) we are left with

  1. Leader performs foot rise which means that Follower:
    • Doesn't feel any leg rise from hip elevation,
    • stays on the TH, TH, TH footwork.

Leader can perform as much foot rise as they wish but it's usually (Followers Heel Height - Leaders Heel Height) for aesthetic and least action reasons.

Definitions (for clarity):

Term Description
Foot Rise Lifting the heel off the floor
Leg Rise Straightening the knees
Hip Rise Vertical shift of the torso/COG due to either of the above

The books often refer to 'rise' as one unified thing, but in practice, it's a composite rise vector.