[Blarg]

Though you take two steps and I take one, it might be similar, especially since you're mentioning doing nothing below the knees. For me it's little more than a flick of the lower leg, just enough to get in the way of the upcoming step, and a really light landing on the ball of the foot before an almost instant flick out again. I barely land and barely have to push off, because the momentum does all the work and I just supply the contact points with the earth. Kind of like a slide, or a controlled fall. Once I set the length of the twitch and how fast I make it, the whole staircase is taken care of, if the steps are even, and I just go along for the ride and do some sightseeing. My upper legs barely move, which is one reason I compared it to tapdancing. It doesn't require that kind of skill at all, though, just the confidence to ride on top of a smooth, controlled fall. It's kind of like you're skiing downhill on your own knees, with your lower legs as the flickering skis, off doing their own thing, without your conscious intervention.

The only time you have to pay attention to them is when getting the measure of the first stair. If it becomes instinctual enough, you can just start in automatically at the top of any step, and don't even have to take a first step to get the feel. That would probably take most people some practice, though.

Definitely balance and rhythm is key, because you're not really walking, and never fully landing; it's more like skiing over the very edges of the steps, where you don't hold the feet steady, but hold their rhythm steady as you fall.