It's probably such a basic fundamental, that I haven't really looked at it that closely in some time.
But I always hear Len Goodman and other judges on TV shows and ballroom dancing programs make comments about "He used heel leads well," or "He has to remember to use heel leads."
I got to wondering, what other sort of "leads" would there be? Wouldn't most of the lead in the step be with the heel first?
Or, maybe what I am asking, if someone is not doing a heel lead properly, what is the common mistake? Can you lead forward on the ball of your foot, or in some other fashion that is a common mistake, depending on the dance?
I would like someone to explain or share their thoughts on this, so it is easy to explain to a beginner when I am working with one. I am mostly working with American Style, but do explain some International variations on occasion.

I can think of at least two gentleman in one advanced Smooth class who do ball leads all of the time. They seem to be "prancing" instead of dancing. In my opinion, these fellows are beyond help.

In Standard, I mostly see this issue among women when it's their turn to drive. In these cases, a good lead usually helps them correct the problem.

jj

Heel leads are used in the smooth dances, but NOT in Latin/rhythm dances. For example, in (American, at least) Rumba, it is normal to step onto the inside edge of the ball of the foot. And I can still hear an instructor saying "No heel leads" (in Rumba).

You have a heel lead in Paso Doble

. . . and in Bolero.

jj

I have never known there to be any heel leads in Bolero, are there specific steps in which you teach your students to dance with a heel? I find this very curious.

Quite correct.. there are NO heel leads in Bolero( intentionally danced ! ).

If there are, then Ive been Examining, dancing and teaching it for 0ver 50 yrs incorrectly !!

While the latin and rhythm dances primarily step forward onto the ball of foot, in standard and smooth most initial forward steps (and a few second ones) are onto the heel, as in normal walking.

There are three major ways in which this can fail.

Most obviously, the dancer can step onto the ball of foot and skip the heel.

Another possibility is that they present the heel too early in the step, usually be swinging the leg by itself without moving the body. Just as in normal walking where the body and leg are both in motion, in a well done heel lead, most of the travel of the leg occurs with the ball of foot closest to the floor, and the heel is only presented just before the foot reaches its final position.

Finally there's the fault of stepping onto a heel, but clunking down too heavily onto it. This can be the hardest to overcome (at modern competitive step sizes) as arriving "quietly" requires perfect coordination and the strength to continue to generate upwards and forwards support from the departing foot even when the body has moved far beyond it and is about to arrive onto the moving foot.

I find most beginner men are paranoid about treading on their partner's feet. They try to avoid this by sliding their feet along with the toe in contact with the floor, and stopping if they touch anything. Alternatively, they dance like John Wayne, keeping their feet outside their partner's on both sides.
I tell them that it is the lady's responsibility to keep her feet out of the way.

I then explain that if the lady stretches back with her toe, then there is no way the man can tread on it.

It still takes a while before they believe me though.

Length of stride also makes a difference. It's quite difficult to take a long stride forward using anything other than a heel lead.

For many dancers the converse is true also.

On a crowded floor, or where for any reason, only a small step is practical, many dancers find it difficult to articulate the ankle properly, and present the heel at all.