Heel pivots are difficult. And heel pivots done well take years of training. Given the difficulty and commonality of heel pivots in International Standard, actually performing them gets confusing. Read on for more advice as to the correct performance of heel pivots. We’ve included some tips that will lead to a greater intellectual understanding of this commonly misunderstood action.
Just a little side-note. We included some quotes from the technique books. However, as these books were written in England by British authors, the language tends to be rather formal. You’ve been warned!
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Ok, time to get down to business!
The Heel Pivoting Action
The title of this post is “The Heel Pivoting Action”, not “The Heel Turn”, because a heel turn is only a type of heel pivot. There are multiple types of heel pivots, which included the Heel Turn, the Heel Pull, the Open Heel Pivot, the Open Heel Pivot Action, and the Rising Heel Pivot Action. To start, I will give a definition of all of the above Heel Pivoting Actions, as written by Geoffrey Hearn in his book, A Technique of Advanced Ballroom Figures.
Heel Pivoting Action 1: The Heel Turn
First, the all-important Heel Turn. In The Ballroom Technique, arranged by The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), a heel turn is described: “A turn that is first commenced on the ball of the stepping foot and then continued on the heel…. The weight is transferred on to the foot that has closed as the turn is complete.” Mr. Hearn gives the following disambiguation: “The turn commences with at toe turned in and is completed on the heel of foot with foot flat whilst the other foot closes flat with weight…. Foot rise will not occur until the projection of the body weight forwards into the following step.”
Use this simple exercise to practice the above definitions. Start by standing on the right foot, the left foot back behind you. Step back on the left foot, toe turned in, and transfer weight into the heel before creating any turn. Pivot on the heel of your left foot whilst turning to your right; for ease of the exercise, turn only 1/4 to your right. As you turn, practice gradually bringing in the right foot, toes parallel, until the feet have closed completely. Once your feet have closed, transfer weight onto the right foot and project your body weight forward. Complete with a forward step on your left foot. Now you can repeat the exercise with right foot back, turning to your left.
Heel Pivoting Action 2: The Heel Pull
Secondly, we have a Heel Pull. The Ballroom Technique begins their definition with the following notation: “A type of Heel Turn”. They continue: “The turn to right is made on the heel of the supporting foot, and the moving foot is pulled back and to the side of the supporting foot (slightly apart).” In The Ballroom Technique, which covers only steps permitted within the medallist’s system, you would only dance a Heel Pull while turning to the right. For instance, the second half of a Natural Turn in Foxtrot, or on step 5 of the Hesitation Change in Waltz.
However, Mr. Hearn’s book covers the technique for many advanced steps danced at the Open level. So, he neglects to specify the direction of turn because it would be possible to dance a Heel Pull turning to the left. Mr. Hearn’s disambiguation follows: “A turn made on the heel of foot with foot flat whilst the other foot is ‘pulled’ to side with feet parallel to end flat.”
Heel Pivoting Action 3-5: The Open Heel Pivot, The Open Heel Pivoting Action, and The Rising Heel Pivot
Open Heel Pivot
The next three types of heel pivots are not mentioned in The Ballroom Technique because they are danced in figures that do not exist within the medallist system. For instance, dancers use the Open Heel Pivot in the Natural Twist Turn. The term Open specifically refers to the action of a heel pivot wherein the foot of the free leg does not close to the turning foot. In the original action of a Heel Pivot, the foot of the free leg closes to the turning foot gradually while the standing leg dances the heel pivot.
Open Heel Pivoting Action
As definition of the Open Heel Pivot Action: “A turn made of the heel of foot with foot flat whilst the other foot remains in place until rotation is completed.” wherein the turn originates on the heels [as opposed to the toes].”
And finally, the definition of the extremely rare Rising Heel Pivot Action. A turn made on the heel of flat foot whilst the other foot attempts to close. At the last moment, the foot of the free leg will slip forward into a toe pivot.
Common Misconceptions of the Heel Pivoting Action
Now that we have a basic understanding of Heel Pivoting Actions, I will attempt to dispel some common myths and misconceptions about performing them. Most of these concerned specifically the Heel Turn, the most commonly danced Heel Pivoting Action.
The Myth of “Early Rise”
Many students think, as many teachers instruct, that in order to lead (or, as lady, to follow) a Heel Turn, there must exist a type of action called “Early Rise”. However, if one were to read the technique under any heel pivoting figure in The Ballroom Technique, the rise given for Heel Turns, specifically, is no different than the rise given for any other type of turn.
In fact, there are some Heel Turns that have no rise at all; such as, the Heel Turn danced on step 2 of the Lady’s Open Reverse Turn, Lady In Line in Tango, and step 2 of the Lady’s Zig-Zag, Back Lock, and Running Finish in Quickstep. Furthermore, in the Advanced Technique, the Lady’s part of an Open Telemark and Telespin, danced in Tango, also has a Heel Turn with no rise. The existence of these three figures, alone, should dispel any myths about the enigmatic “Early Rise”.
The Lead of a Heel Pivot
Now the question arises…. If “Early Rise” is not required to lead (or follow) a Heel Pivoting Action, what is required? We will use an analogy given to us by 5-time World Standard Champion, Michael Barr. He described the act of leading the lady like playing Billiards (or Snooker, or Pool; call it what you like). Even if you don’t play Billiards, you probably know the basic idea.
Using a long stick, you must hit a white ball into any number of colored balls. This ricochets the colored balls into a socket. All the best Billiards players have a good understanding of geometry and the physics of angles and spin. (As do the best Ballroom Dancers.) Imagine you want to hit the green ball diagonally forward. You would aim the cue ball to hit at the back corner of the green ball. This would be a normal turning figure. Now imagine you want to hit the green diagonally backward. You must aim the cue ball to hit the front corner of the green ball. This creates a back spin that ricochets the ball almost into itself. Therefore, the green ball moves backwards. This would be akin to a Heel Pivoting Action.
Close Your Heels Immediately!
Students often misinterpret the priorities of a Heel Turn. This misinterpretation extends to inexperienced teachers too, who often over-emphasize the requirement to close the feet. Time and again, I have seen students lurch back and close their feet too quickly. This results in a Heel Turn danced on two heels simultaneously. With nothing else to do, they pop up onto their toes while their feet are still together.
This mix-up of priorities creates many unintended problems. For instance, the lady falls off-balance as the man transfers his weight through his foot on step 1. Or, the lady blocks the man’s full extension of drive. The name of the step is a Heel Turn, not a Heels Turn (plural). Turn is danced on the heel of one foot only. Meanwhile, the foot of the free leg should be drawn in gradually. The weight should not be transferring until the count of the second step. Geoffrey Hearn writes: “The foot should be felt as ‘pulled’ into the closed position from a position of movement under its own hip line.”
Once you correct the first mistake, you’ll probably correct the second mistake as well. You should remember that students who close their feet too soon will invariably rise too soon. However, the lady should not rise to their toes until they project their weight into the forward step (step 3). Mr. Hearn reminds us: “Foot rise will not occur until the projection of the body weight forwards into the following step.” This mistake happens often. In 1971, dance legend Phyllis Haylor wrote an article intended to aid candidates for professional examination. In this article, she described the above two mistakes and offered some advice on how to fix it:
“When asked to give the Rise and Fall in the Natural Turn in the Foxtrot as lady, the candidate, after closing the feet hurriedly without any lift of the body – knees bent – stops with feet together and rises immediately on to the toes of both feet… this interpretation shows a complete misunderstanding of Body Rise and has a very detrimental effect on the movement of the dance…. The first way to correct this fault is to understand that on a Heel Turn the Rise concerns the body only on the first step – corresponding to the man’s swing as he makes the turn between steps 1 and 2. The turn for the lady should be completed on her left foot before she transfers her weight onto her right foot, maintaining the body rise and releasing her right heel as, on the third step, her left foot moves immediately forward… as [her partner] steps backwards.”
Did This Help Your Heel Pivoting Action?
We really hope this helped you in better understanding the Heel Pivoting Action! This step feels amazing when done well, and looks beautiful from the outside! We wanted to take some time to explain this integral part of Standard and Smooth dancing in depth.
What do you think? We’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment in the comments section below!
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