Lady Anonymous
Understood.
International Tango then...

The technique of brushing the floor with the moving foot is very very seldom used (if ever) in Intl.Tango--unlike the 4 other Modern dances where it is commonly employed.
Rather in Intl Tango, the foot is 1. deliberately lifted, 2. kept off the floor when moving, and then 3. landed in place (again quite deliberately) without further change (eg look at the 3rd step footwork of the Lady's Closed Prom).

Now as the WHEN to use a heel lead...
Short answer is: most of the time on forward steps.
The exception is on a 'reaching' step where the toe or ball(usually the inside edge) needs to land first to maintain the stability of the topline.
Reason: very very little rise and fall in the IT.
Some would argue none at all, but that is a different discussion.


I hope this is what you were looking for.
Let us know if you need more clarification.





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Lady Anonymous. Don't try to learn this dance the Tango without an instructor.
Here is an example. The ladies poise is a mirror of the mans regarding the line of the foot to the body.
When a step is taken down the LOD the feet and body will be almost facing diagonally to the centre with the right hip and shoulder in advance of the left. In a backward movement the reverse will apply. This positioning of the body at the commencement of the dance will affect the Walk in the following way
Each step forward on the LF will be in CBMP and the legs will be locked together above the knees.As a step is taken with the RF the legs will unlock. The right shoulder will be leading. This action will result in the Walk taking the line of a wide curve to the man's left. In other words if you kept walking you would go in a complete circle. As I said , don't try to learn this dance without a competant teacher. And maybe copy all of the above for future reference. Or you can find it on page 232 Alex Moore. Ballroom Dancing at your local library.

Quickstep, how about addressing her question instead of confusing the poor woman with extraneous trivia?

If the lady is talking about her forwrd action, it may be worth keeping in mind that a lot of the tango character to the foot action comes from peeling the foot off the floot - picking up the heel slightly before the toe. The foot then does not brush on/near the floor as in the other dances, but instead a small distance above it. As in the other dances, the foot doesn't develop to present the heel until just before it reaching its final placement.

Thanks for your comments. I am not trying to learn this dance without an instructor, but rahter having trouble carrying out his instruction. I have tried to use what I know from other dances such as the foxtrot, and found it did not work!

Lady Anonymous. Tango and Foxtrot are as different as chalk and cheese. For want of a better description Tango is a walking dance with staccato action.. Foxtrot is a gliding dance. Foxtrot has rise and fall as well as swing and sway .Tango has none of these. In Tango say to yourself Step. Step or Walk Walk.

Thanks you all. Yes you have answered my question, and quite well at that. Our new instructor was teaching us to develop the heel lead, and well like I said, I just could not do it. I now am thinking perhaps the reason I coud not do it was because the steps/dance were not designed to do so.

This of course brings me to more thoughts and concerns... If we have an instructor teaching us incorrect technique perhaps we should take a closer look at our instructor, which we have not made any serious financial committment to as of yet. If you cannot trust the advise given to you from an instructor, what do you have??

I attend three technique classes weekly. I think they should be re- named Therapy Classes. Therapy would be a good name to undo all the wrong teaching I have been subjected to over the years by people who just didn't know.any better. Get yourself a technique book. Look up for instance in the begining of the book under Footwork. A Foreward Walk "Waltz or Foxtrot ". It says.
Take the weight on the LF and proceed as follows. Swing the right leg forward from the hips first with the BALL OF THE RIGHT FOOT touching the floor and then THE HEEL SKIMMING THE FLOOR WITH THE TOE SLIGHTLY RAISED.If your teacher cannot teach you this then pull out. This might sound a bit severe, but it isn't. Your whole dancing future might balance on this.

I dont find your comment severe, I have some of the same concerns myself. Yet, after 3 lessons I dont want to jump the gun either, but rather keep a watchful eye. You know that often what an instructor sometimes says is not always what we hear and I try to keep that in mind.

Onto your comment on obtaining a book.. Are you suggesting the Alex Moore book?. The write up claims it is not easy to read, yet the ISTD book is not easy either, and after some study was able to use it as a guide... Now not a technique guide but it has helped with timing and step groupings.

I've had Alex Moore's book for years along with two by Victor Silvester. One day I will get around to buying the ISTD book. I doubt if anybody could learn to dance from a book. And to understand any book on dancing one would need a little more than a beginners knowledge. But as a reference it is essential. For instance tell me the difference in the rise on the first step of the Waltz, and the first step of the Foxtrot.Or you could look up and see exactly where the lady is supposed to lower on a Backward Walk .This is where a book comes into its own.

"Or you could look up and see exactly where the lady is supposed to lower on a Backward Walk .This is where a book comes into its own."

Might want to re-read your sacred book... the lady does not lower on a backwards walk, because a WALK has NO RISE AND NO FALL.

A step with fall will have a lowering, but the passage you are referring to won't tell you how to do it, because it is DESCRIBING A DIFFERENT ACTION THAN THE ONE BEING DANCED.

You also might want to buy the ISTD book that everyone else is reading, before you venture into another argument about the official technique. I think there are things Alex said better and more completely, those are his personal views which were not entirely accepted by the society.