I have an obsession with feet

My quest to settle the toe vs heel lead debate in West Coast Swing

The lights are off and I’m laying in a stiff, lumpy, hotel bed, four hours away from mine. I’m still wide awake from the day’s adrenaline, but there’s not much to do at three in the morning besides stare at a way-too-brightly lit phone and watch yourself dance on repeat.

I. Look. Terrible.

The song is light and upbeat and I’m stomping my way through it, like there are invisible cockroaches on the floor that need to be squished for a minute and a half. Not demure. Not mindful. I look like I’ve never danced before, except—I have. I’ve been dancing since I was 11: hiphop, cheer, ballroom, salsa. This isn’t my first rodeo.

How do I fix this? How do I make myself look like I actually know how to dance?

This is how my obsession with feet began.

The Big Debate

Here’s the problem: In West Coast Swing, everyone has a strong opinion on how you should walk, how you should execute the first one or two steps of most patterns. The same way that every programmer is staunchly for tabs or spaces, or more accurately, the same way runners debate which part of the foot should land first, West Coast Swing dancers split into 3 different camps on how to walk.

Camp 1: Toe Lead

Toe leading happens when the ball of the foot makes initial contact with the floor, followed by the heel lowering. Dancers who prefer toe leads prefer the smooth movement and the connection to the floor. It’s a technique often used in Latin dance styles.

Camp 2: Heel Lead

Heel leading has the heel making contact with the ground first, then rolling through the foot. It mirrors a natural walking pattern.

Camp 3: Toe Releases

Toe releases are halfway between toe and heel leads. Dancers start off dragging the toe on the floor, the way you would a toe lead, then when their leg is at its furthest, they land with the heel first.

This debate isn’t about stylistic choices

It’s probably important to note that we’re talking about typical walks here. Dancers can always bend the rule as a stylistic choice to accent the music, like how Brooklyn Lanham moonwalks with Za Thomaier at Swing City Chicago.

The Results

After pouring hours and hours into recent Champion Jack and Jill competition videos, here’s what I found:

Champions aren’t even using the same techniques

Nicole Ramirez, who in 2024 alone has won five different Champion West Coast Swing Jack and Jills, dances almost entirely on her toes. Here’s a clip of her doing a whip with Joao Parada at the French Open.

Bryn Anderson, who won this year’s Jack & Jill O’Rama, uses heel leads. Here she is dancing with Benji Schwimmer.

Some champions regularly mix the two, starting with heel leads and then taking toe leads in the same pattern. Just take a look at Alyssa Glanville, who won MADjam and the Chicago Classic this year, and Victoria Henk, who won the BudaFest Open West Coast Swing Championships.

I couldn’t find any toe releases

Many, many, West Coast Swing dancers will teach toe releases when discussing technique, but I couldn’t find a single video of a dancer using it, even from those same dancers who teach it.

Maybe this means dancers who teach them aren’t actually using them. Maybe the technique is so subtle that it’s hard to spot on a tiny YouTube video. Or maybe the intent of teaching toe releases is for dancers to learn body awareness, not necessarily to use it in competition.

So what should a Novice dancer practice?

I had a capoeira instructor once tell me that you can tell how long a person has been doing the sport by how good their basic movements are. There are always exceptions, but those are the outliers, not the rule. The same seems to be the case for West Coast Swing. Dancers with more experience look like they’re dancing even when doing something as simple as walking, a far cry from my own stomping.

While there are dancers who are firmly in the my-technique-is-right-and-everyone-else-is-wrong camp, there are still a few who say that there is no single “right” way to walk in West Coast Swing. And all these hours staring at feet seems to prove that. Dancers with varying techniques are winning competitions at the highest levels left and right. So maybe I’ve been asking the wrong question all along. It’s not really about the right way to walk, maybe it’s about the best way to walk for me.

What works with my background

Nicole Ramirez started off with a latin ballroom background. It may explain why she prefers toe leads. Her experience lends itself to preferring one style over another. After 8 years of dancing Salsa, this is also probably why I gravitate to toe leads.

What works with my personal aesthetic

Some dancers stand out to me more than others. Sometimes, it’s because we have similar body types, so I can relate to them more. For others, it’s because we have similar dance styles. It makes sense for me to take inspiration from these dancers and learn from their work.

What works with the music

Finally, you can’t ignore the music. This is a dance after all. Maybe the song is so fast, it demands a toe lead, like how sprinters hit the ground with their toes first. Maybe the song is so slow, a heel lead emphasizes its pace.

This doesn’t stop here

The quest for better technique doesn't end with walking. I still have spins to master, rides to perfect, and drops to conquer. But I've learned something important from all this research - there isn’t one 'right' way to walk in this dance. One of the best parts of West Coast Swing is the wide range of movements dancers from different backgrounds have brought into it. My quest is to find what works for me, even if it means stomping on invisible cockroaches along the way.