Some people seem to be having a lot of confusion about the physics of body weight. Specifically, that there is a difference between what part of the foot is bearing the pressure of the weight, and where the weight is located. Let my illustrate with a simple but informative case.

If you stand normally, feet together, weight located over your heel, your weight is in/on your heel and it is located over your heel.

Now if you send your weight forwards, what happens?

If you send your weight very slowly, your weight might end up located OVER your toe, and also resting ON your toe.

However, if you drive your weight forwards as for a dance action, something different happens. You weight will still go OVER your toe, but the actual pressure will, as long as your maintain the drive, remain further back.

If you stop the weight over your toe and try to stay there, of course you would then have the obligation of maintaining your balance, and so would support your weight from the part of the foot direclty under it, the toe.

But to send your weight, you have to push from a point BEHIND where it is located.

Send your weight to the toe, and as long as your are pushing, the push comes from further back.

PROJECT your to send your body BEYOND your toe, and your weight will be located OVER a spot on the floor in front of your foot. But as long as your keep pushing from the standing foot, your weight will still be located ON your standing foot, because that is where the pressure is coming from.

When you can no longer keep yourself up by pushing from the standing foot, that is when you have to start arriving on the moving foot.

During the entire drive the body weight is located ON the standing foot. But during most of it, the body is not OVER the standing foot - instead, it has projected furether and further beyond.

And yes - when it is beyond, it is NOT BALANCED, yet that is not a problem as long as you support it by maintaining the drive.

There's a lot of confusion here arising from, I believe, the subtle use of English.
When standing, my weight is not over my heel. It's located about mid-way between my heel and the ball of my foot.
When moving forward in a dance action, the first action is to move onto the balls of the foot. My heel may stay in contact with the floor, but there is virtually no weight on it. I don't think any athlete drives forward from the heel.

“”””””Send your weight to the toe, and as long as your are pushing, the push comes from further back””””” No, The push can only come from the point of contact with the floor..

“””””””PROJECT your to send your body BEYOND your toe, and your weight will be located OVER a spot on the floor in front of your foot. But as long as your keep pushing from the standing foot, your weight will still be located ON your standing foot, because that is where the pressure is coming from.””””””.
This I find confusing. Using “YOUR weight” or “THE weight” implies you're talking about the body's weight, and this does indeed move ahead of the standing foot. But you cannot say ”YOUR weight will still be located on your standing foot…”. The standing foot IS STILL WEIGHTED, because, as you say, there is still pressure on it.But this pressure is not "YOUR weight" or "THE weight"
The force from the standing foot has a vertical component which is NOT the same as the body's weight, but which, acting with the body's weight through its centre of gravity (which is in front of the standing foot) controls the vertical flight of the body. Controlling this vertical component from the standing foot so that the correct vertical body flight is achieved is part of the skill of dancing.

I think a lot of confusion has been caused in other discussions because of the use of “weight”, “your weight”, “the weight” and so on.. There is weight on a standing foot, but if you say it's “the weight” or “your weight” then you're in trouble.

Sorry to be so technical.

"“”””””Send your weight to the toe, and as long as your are pushing, the push comes from further back””””” No, The push can only come from the point of contact with the floor.."

Obviously the push can only come from A POINT of contact with the floor, however it must also come from a point of contact that is BEHIND the thing being pushed.

"But you cannot say ”YOUR weight will still be located on your standing foot…”. The standing foot IS STILL WEIGHTED, because, as you say, there is still pressure on it.But this pressure is not "YOUR weight" or "THE weight""

The pressure in your standing foot the vector sum of your weight and the accelerating force being applied as a push.

Nothing but your standing foot is available to support you weight, so even though your center of mass is now well in front of your your standing foot, to whatever degree your weight is supported, your weight is indeed on your standing foot.


The force from the standing foot has a vertical component which is NOT the same as the body's weight, but which, acting with the body's weight through its centre of gravity (which is in front of the standing foot) controls the vertical flight of the body. Controlling this vertical component from the standing foot so that the correct vertical body flight is achieved is part of the skill of dancing.

I think a lot of confusion has been caused in other discussions because of the use of “weight”, “your weight”, “the weight” and so on.. There is weight on a standing foot, but if you say it's “the weight” or “your weight” then you're in trouble.

Sorry to be so technical.

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