The upper body is motionless as you squeeze through your gluts. The left foot should touch on odd counts and the right foot should land on the even counts or steps. Your platform is a triangle formed between your big toe, pinky toe and the ball of your foot. All movement is initiated with the left ankle as you push off the right foot. Toes stay pointed towards the ground and weight always stays in the toes in the backwards step on your platform that sits one inch off the ground.
Heels always stay one inch off the ground on the backward step.
Knees should stay relatively straight while you push off the supporting leg and reaching back with the balancing leg. The beat is felt in the toe as you back through drill movements. Posture should stay straight up and down so that the weight can stay in your toes. The feet should follow a parallel path where the ankles almost brush as they pass. The knee will bend slightly while the heel comes up and forward.