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Core Steps 23 August 2026

Step Touch and Heel Dig

Step touches, toe touches and heel digs look small, but they ask different questions of your supporting foot.

Close-up of a dancer showing a toe touch and heel dig beside labelled left and right floor marks
Floor marks make timing and direction easier to see before they become automatic.

01

Notice the pattern

Step touches, toe touches and heel digs look small, but they ask different questions of your supporting foot. That is why the useful question is not whether you look like everyone else. It is whether you can describe the next action in a way that lets you repeat it. A step sheet may use a compact token, while a teacher may use a spoken cue. The Step Decoder keeps both close to the physical action.

LRWeight changes are named, not guessed.

02

Try one clean version

Name whether the working foot is free after each action before moving on. Begin at a pace that allows you to hear your own count. Keep enough clear space to stop, reset and begin again. If a local instructor gives a different convention, their room-specific direction wins for that class.

03

Check the next foot

Before moving on, pause and identify your facing direction, supporting foot and next count. This is a better self-check than rushing through a longer sequence. It also makes the weight-transfer guide useful even when the term first feels technical.

For a first class, pair this page with what to expect in the room. For home practice, use the four-week practice route to keep the next decision manageable.

Sources and scope

Source note: terminology and level guidance are compared with Linedancer, CLDAA, Kickish and canonical step-sheet metadata. Wording here is an original explanation.

Last reviewed 23 August 2026. Read the full method and sources, or email a terminology correction to [email protected].