Well, maybe it would be more accurate to say “from the bottom up.” A very effective way to develop your dancing is to start with the feet.
It can be useful to first learn where to put your feet. We call this foot placement. More important, however, is footwork. Footwork refers to how we land and use our feet in dancing. It has everything to do with balance, control and movement.
How we land and actively use our feet has everything to do with dancing beautifully and comfortably, as well as creating the characteristic look of a particular dance. Let’s start with an easy example: the waltz. When we dance a waltz we aim to create a sweeping movement with a gentle rise and fall. We generate this sweeping movement by pushing off of our standing leg and foot, which means that we must have the ability to roll our weight through that standing foot. As we then begin to rise, we must be able to land our weight on the flexed ball of our other foot, with control. Finally, we must be able to lower our heel to the floor with a cushioned control.
In Latin dances we land on the inside ball of the foot and then roll our weight to the entire foot to facilitate our body action.
In Argentine Tango, we must develop an awareness of the free leg with the floor. Maintaining a light contact with the inside edge of the ball and heel of the foot to the floor at all times to help keep the free leg in a released or relaxed position.
These are only a few examples. Every dance has its own activities and isolations of the feet that add to its particular style.
All of this makes “footwork” sound complicated, but the actions are very repetitive. Thus, mastering footwork requires a lot of repetition, and that requires – dare I say it? – discipline. There’s a word that is often unfairly connected with drudgery, although it should really be connected with consistency and success. Spend time on your footwork and so many other aspects of your dancing will become easier and more attainable, from partnering to styling. 
Lawrence is a teacher at Dance Station. If you would like a lesson with Lawrence or any of our teachers call 505-989-9788 to schedule.
