Hello everybody.I have a question about forward walk in ballroom dancing(I am interested about Tango Walk, but i would like to know what happens in general).Most of ballroom dancers i have seen, when they want to make a forward step for example with the left leg,first they bring the whole free foot (left) in contact with the floor,then they release the toe but they keep the heel in contact while the left leg is not completely extended and they slight a bit the free foot on heel. My teacher showed my something that was a bit different(it looks more like technique of latin dancing,you will understand what i mean).He first extends the free leg and his free foot(left) is still on toe and has no weight and then he slights a bit, still on toe, and only at the last moment he releases the toe and brings the hell in contact with the floor(just when he brings weight from right leg to left leg).This was very nice as far as i am concerned and he had full control of his body(i tried that and i did not) but most of the people i' ve talked about said that this is wrong.What is your opinion about this?

I think some degree of extending the toe and delaying the "pop up" to a heel lead is desireable, but as in all things it would be possible to go too far.

One key to making the weight transfer smooth (even more so in waltz, foxtrot, etc than in tango) is to strengthen the feet with practice so that you can move your weight to the very front of the standing foot as your leg advances - this will lessen the 'fall' onto the moving leg.

Jim. I believe your teacher told you correctly, stick to what you were told. Having said that I will add . Use the word ball of foot in place of toe. Think about it. Your moving foot is passing your supporting foot. The ball will be in contact with the floor at this point. keep it in contact untill it becomes a heel. Don't confuse this with Latin. We are talking Modern here. I was at a lecture given by one of our high profile professionals. He took one step, then asked how big was this step in relation to his body. He got various answers, like 2 foot to 3 foot. No, 7 to 8 inches was the answer. He went on, think of the jaws of a bench vice as an example. Only one set moves. What you now see is the drive off the supporting foot, not an extension of the front foot. As said above, the front foot moves only about 7 to 8 inches. Interesting isn't it. He also got us to take our shoes and socks off to make sure we used every part of our foot right from the heel to the toe. Happy Dancing