So I'm sitting here thinking about ballroom and latin and it occurred to me that most ballroom steps are heel steps first whereas in latin, they're "toe" steps. I have been trying to drum up a reason for this but have gotten no where. Anyone have any suggestions?

The more common term is " Ball ", often followed by Flat... the way the foot is placed, facilitates the Cuban action that is characteristic of the genre....

It is the creation of a characteristic motion...there are plenty of toe leads in smooth most back motion is commenced on the ball of the foot. The use of the full foot allows for that smooth rolling motion. Take note that the knees are nearly always bent in smooth.

In latin there are plenty of steps where your 'flat' is only an ending position in between a whole bunch of 'balls'. Still I mean look at the Viennese or Quickstep...much more of that is on ball than on flat. I think it also has a lot to do with the speed of your movement.

Just my opinion....

Slight correction.. the toe is the 1st part of the foot the recieves weight, if only momentarily ,when moving backwards ( even in Intern.style tango ).. the very common mistake in many amat. dancers, is not dancing from the ankle, in fwd and back motions ...

A good (ballroom) exercise is to swing the leg back, from the hip, articulating the ankle joint early in the movement, such that the tip of the toe only is in contact with the floor, and the shoe perpendicular to the floor.

The forward movement of the partner determines the length of the back step, and the foot only rolls through the toe to the ball of foot at the extent of the stride, when weight transfer occurs. It is a very common fault to step directly back to the ball of foot, but as a corrective excerise the leader can be asked to vary the length of stride, over a wide range, obliging the follower to follow. The habit of just extending the toe back, without weight, is one well worth cultivating.

Compared with 'Latin' walks (particularly in Rumba) the walking movement is quite different, mainly arising from the absence of 'swing' in the leg. The foot is in contact with the floor throughout, calling for quite different useage of both knees and ankles, and pressure into the floor.

Let me clarify...that I assumed the understanding that the toe began the motion. You get a stilted stuttering foreshortened motion if the toe is not where that movement begins.

Questioner. There are to my knowledge only one on youtube that actually show a series of Rumba Walks or Cha Cha Walks on there own, forwards as well as backwards , demonsrated by one of the worlds best.

Questioner, Reading your intital posting again I think I can see where you are coming from. First to clear the air I prefer to name Ballroom Dancing, Ballroom Dancing, and not Standard.
Latin I call Latin. Although in actual fact they are both Ballroom Dances.. In Modern Ballroom Dances there are as many, if not more toes and toe heels, than there are heels as in a heel lead. There are only two places I can think of where there are two heel leads following each other. Excluding a Introductory Walk. My advice would be to learn those absolute Basic Steps thoroughly and to understand them. I was once told by a very famous dancer that those who skip that Bronze and Silver learning, if they are to be any good at all, will be forced to go back and learn those Basics Steps.

The name " Standard " defines the division as does American" Smooth"..

if we wish to be really anal, then " Ballroom " is WHERE we dance, NOT a style..and its also an encompassing term that has been in existence for 100yrs plus ,and old habits die hard.

It was at one stage called " Modern" to distinguish it from "Old Time " dancing ...evolution at work..

The nomenclature changed due to the advent of multi cultural competition...The same thing happened in the Mambo genre, now identified by Country..

I remember the not too recent past, where we called rumba " English" rumba.. an oxymoron at its finest !!

Hey. Just wanted to clarify. When we walk down the street our aim is to travel a distance. That is why we usually step forward with our heel. It produces a natural "rolling through the foot" movement. It is also why we are told to release our toe as we move back. Try it. Move forward using your toes and feel the "chicken walk" stunted effect. Then use your heels and feel the gliding difference. Toes are used in the latin dances to improve the grounded feel of the dance. Toes are like glue and they check your actions so you can commit your full weight to a foot and stay in one place. Hope this helps :)