Place your heel down

Please, point your heel down while stepping back, follower.
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It might feel strange at first, but give it a try. There are at least three advantages to it.

First, you will do yourself multiple favors. If you stop dancing on your tiptoes, you will eventually experience less pain in your soles, ankles, knees, hips, back and neck. The pain may not show after the first few lessons, but just you wait till you get so addicted to tango that you can’t stay away from weekend-long marathons, encuentros or festivals.

The art of tango self-compassion lies in proper technique and body posture, both of them leading towards as light and comfortable dancing as possible, both for yourself and for your partner.

The second advantage is the one for your leader. With you pointing your heel down, your leader has a better sense of the location and the timing of the end of your step. This helps him in space-management at a crowded milonga. It also enables him to better interpret the music, offering you sweet little surprises and endless possibilities of mutual expression.

The third advantage is for the rest of the dancers on the dancefloor. Heels are a dangerous weapon - and extremely painful when stabbed in the foot of another unsuspecting dancer behind you.

So, just remember, point your heels down when stepping backwards, dear follower.

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