[Tango-L] Ball or Heel?

[Steve Littler]

Dear Jack,

Yes, in the last month I experimented with the ball lead for two weeks 
and got the same bad pains in the arch, heel, ankle, calf, knee. (It was 
then further exacerbated by a bump to the knee by a theater seat. An 
Activator doctor helped with some treatment http://www.activator.com/ )

After consultation with my doctor and several walking gurus now I am 
back to the heel lead as a forward step default and doing much better. 
Of course on diagonal, side and back steps I go ball lead as a default.

I do know a ball stepper but he does mostly side, diagonal and back 
steps, but in my mind is problematic to navigate in social dancing by 
causing problems crossing lanes on crowded floors.

My teacher says ball lead is more pertinent to long smooth steps in 
stage Tango, not social dancing, where the heel lead would be the 
default.The only difference in the two leads is that the foot flexes 
naturally at the last second just before placing the heel down.

Any videos with Jorge Dispari (Geraldine's father) and many other great 
dancers show this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAuh5ImWJmQ : that 
little flex just before landing.

El Stevito de Gainesville

Jack Dylan wrote:
> The subject of walking on ball or heel has been discussed many times 
> and I've always believed it was just a matter of personal preference. I've 
> always walked ball-first because it's the way I was taught and I think it's 
> more elegant. But recently I've been experiencing some pain in my leg 
> which, after an MRI, has been diagnosed as a strain in the upper part 
> of the calf muscle. 
>
> After some experiments, I've found that landing ball-first increases the 
> pain whereas landing on the heel reduces the pain. The problem is that 
> I feel less stable that way when dancing with a partner in close embrace. 
> There's a slight wobble between putting the heel down and transferring 
> the weight to the whole foot. This appears to make sense as the contact 
> area on the heel is far less than when landing on the ball. 
>
> Anyone else have any experience of this? Is it just a question of 
> practicing with the new technique or is something else going on?
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>
> Jack
>
>
>       
>
>
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