so I realized that my jive footwork had been pretty...terrible to be honest, and I've worked on that. part of it was learning that the footwork for the basic (the chasse) is ball, ball flat, ball flat.

i had previously been doing ball, ball, ball flat, which I think is technically wrong, and in jive the B,BF,BF footwork I find is easier.

The thing is, in E.C. Swing, i have always done B, B, BF, which is how I initially did the jive. Should I switch this to B,BF,BF like in the jive, or keep it, or what difference do you think it would make in terms of the look/quality of movement? which do you do/which is more correct?

Well the thing is that even though these dances seem the same they really aren't.

Don't base your jive on your East Coast. That's like basing your Cha Cha on your Rumba because they both have New Yorkers.

You really need all ball no flat and focus the pressure on the inside edge of the balls of your feet. A good practice is to find a spot on the floor get on your balls and right ball left ball, shifting weight entirely. Then with quick syncopation on each foot, right, 2 balls, then left 2 balls then back to right ball left ball. The first of the syncopation steps, you really don't have time to put your weight all the way down. It is much akin to a sewing machine...up, up, up & up, up & up. This is hard to explain....easier to show. Be aware that your knees are important...get them up...like a soldier :~}

B, B, BF is correct for Jive (Laird).

On the Jive Chasses, Laird writes "the weight must be felt mainly over the balls of the feet. although the footwork of steps 1, 2 of Jive Chasses is given as ball, the heel on these steps will be close or even touching the floor."

That is correct. When I teach Jive Chasses I try to make the students get their heel to almost "kiss" the floor. So it is B B BF with the weight mainly over the balls.