Heel turn

What does “Heel turn” mean?

A heel turn is an action danced by the partner on the inside of turn in certain figures in Standard or Smooth . During the course of rotation, the dancer's weight moves from toe to heel of one foot while the other foot swings to close to it, then forward from heel towards the toe of the just closed foot. Follower's heel turns feature body rise coincident with the first step, which leads her foot to close next to the standing one rather than swing past. In contrast, when the leader is dancing a heel turn the rise is delayed until the conclusion of the turn, as he can better lead the amount of turn from a more grounded position. The heel turn is distinguished from other members of the family of heel pull actions which do not require complete closure of the feet. Follower's heel turns are commonly found in the double reverse spin and the open or closed telemark, and the natural and reverse turns of international style foxtrot, while leader's heel turns form the basis of the open or closed impetus.

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Definition adapted from Glossary of partner dance terms on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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