I am hoping some of you can educate me about what the wear on my dance shoes might indicate. (I am male, and primarily a smooth dancer merrily striving to master the American silver syllabus.) The polish wears off the inside edges of my shoes, but I know that this is from my feet brushing when they should. However, my heals wear out regulary and especially my right heal. It begins to wear out on the back, trailing edges. (I suspect all of the heal pulls I practice.) I am wondering if this might be an indicator of some aspect of my steps. Could this be a sign of something that needs correction, or perhaps nothing to be concerned about? I'm curious to learn from those of you who know more than I, so any comment on this would be appreciated.

Don't get carried away with those heel pulls! Contact with the floor is what is required, but not too much of it, or it will adversly affect the weight distribution between the feet. A heel pull is a heel turn where the feet do not close, so the weight transfer is still predominantly at the end of the turn, but pressure is required, on the heel of the pulled foot, for control and balance. We don't want to grind the other heel into the floor either: the turn is made with the foot flat (once the heel has lowered at all), and it is helpful to feel the weight over the instep, rather than try and turn on the edge of the heel. You shouldn't really get much wear on either shoe from the action.

The other place to look for for rubbing off the polish is the very tip of the toe: are you getting enough foot articulation on your backward steps to rub off the polish: you should.

Thank you, Telemark. I will try to be mindful of the location of pressure on my right foot. You mention, "the turn is made with the foot flat (once the heel has lowered at all), and it is helpful to feel the weight over the instep, rather than try and turn on the edge of the heel." I like the detail of your explanations, but I must ask you for more on this one. Let me describe what I think you are saying and please correct me where necessary. I begin stepping back with the LF toe heel on a slow count. I then begin to pull my RF back heal leading on the first quick (I'm using typical American timing versus Int. Standard)count of this movement. When do you initiate the turn? At the end of the first quick of the start of the second quick before the rise?
I have been practicing transferring my weight to the RF at the end of the movement. I have noticed there is some finess I must learn to achieve that without making the LF look out of place before steping out onto the LF.

You do partly misunderstand me.

The turn itself is wholly accomplished on the LF. The footwork is TH, but heel lowers earlier than a normal back step. The turn commences on the ball of foot, but continues and finishes on the heel. However, there is no T release (because the next step will be LF fwd), so the majority of the turn is made with the foot flat, but with a backward weight distribution (ie the foot turns around a point under the heel, not the ball of foot): this is where I suggest the 'right balance' is found by feeling the weight to be over the instep, rather than the very back edge of the heel. As the LF turns, the RF is drawn back, with the H in contact with the floor, but the pressure required is limited, and does not amount to divided weight - this is why you shouldn't be wearing out the edges of your shoes.

The weight transfer between LF & RF only occurs after the turn has been made: if you think in terms of a normal heel turn, the RF will not complete its close to the LF (assuming a R turn)until the turn itself if complete. On weight change, we often rise, but in a heel pull action we are usually 'down', and stay there. Footwork for the RF will be H to i/e of foot to flat foot.

Does that help?

Yes, it does help, and I really appreciate your input. For a long time, my heel pulls looked OK and worked, but I always felt there was a sense of imbalance that I was fighting. Last night, I practiced, paying attention to your tips, and I noticed now smooth and balanced the motion can be.
Once again, thank you.