Ok..so here is my problem. When dancing intl cha cha I am having issues straigthening my legs and still feeling like im on time for the music. During my private instruction I do well with this slowly...but at competition speed cha cha..i am dancing on bent knees! Yuck! how sloppy!

Any advice or tricks on how I can correct this? or if it is a matter strength and speed..are there exercises I can do to help?

All advice is welcomed

Thanks

DacertLegs. You have most likely been allowed to bend your knees. Now its in your muscle memory. Dance at varying speeds and make sure that on Spot Turns and New Yorks your knees are straight.That includes the back knee. Have a third person checking you everytime you do it wrong.Make sure the ball of the foot arrives before you lower on the beat.
Have you looked at your Rumba also. It might be worth starting there. Good Luck

I wonder if this is anything to do with the foot position /ftwk on the & ie half-closed and BF (ie standardised) or closed and B (non standardised but as per current trends). The Ball ftwk would seem to require more unbending of the R knee on count 1 (because it would be more bent in the first place) and also the foot position would need more work on count 1 because you have further to move to end up "to side" again ????

intersted. In the manual.the footwork is BF BF BF. This is not how it is being performed and hasn't been that way for years. With a Chasse to the left the right heel will not touch the floor. Which gives us BF B BF. If you can't follow this do it in that order.
The right knee will be straight with the toe on the floor at the end of the Chasse to the left.Have Fun.

yes - that was my point - i was just wondering if the new method (ie BF, B, BF) might be more like hard work. I was wondering which technique the OP was using and if experimenting with that aspect of the technique results in any noticeable difference to him/her.

Intersted. Going into details A Chasse to the left.
As the RF is closed the feet will be paralell on the count and.
With the heel high of the floor your right knee will be naturally in front. This allows the hips to be facing diag to wall and back again on 1.. In other words there is a movement of the hips which is harder to achieve if the footwork were BF BF BF.
See if you can find Slavic and Karina narrated by Corkey Ballas it shows it all.

I guess this is the thing often referred to as "pedal-pushing", where the hips go to the L, then the R then back again in a circular way, rather than moving continuously to the left. Of course the pedal-pushing action used to be frowned upon. Interesting how things change. I agree much easier to get the circular motion with B and fully-closed on &.

Interested. If you are into Latin you should turn your attention to the changes that have taken place in the Rumba. Not only has the music slowed from the offiicial 27bpm. It is in competitions being played at a recomended 24bpm. Recomended by a comittee set up within the WDC. Most of what we have learnt in the past was to about 29BPM. With the slowing of the music there must come changes. The one that should be looked at is on the step forward how bent is the knee as it passes under the body and what is more important in relation to the body when does it straighten. Also the settling of the hips has now altered.
If you can find your way to Amateur Champions. Rumba with Matej Krajcer and Iwona Golczak from a recent competition 13 and 17 bars after they start dancing, the breaking on 2 and the straightening of the knee can be seen as clear as day.
I claim no credit for this. I was told where to look by an International professional teacher.
The Cha remains the same.But when we were told that the action in the Cha is the same as the Rumba on that particular step. That doesn't apply anymore.

Thanks for your thoughts Polished and Interested...

From your desrciptions, im not properly doing the footwork, which may be part of the problem. My rumba is actually pretty good because the timing allows me to bend and straighten properly...its just when the speed is increased, such as intl cha cha, i find myself not having completely straightend legs.

DancerLegs. In practise why not try wearing two knee supports which could help you become aware of the knees. Also the floor is your best friend, If you are into the floor you can work of it. Its not like Foxtrot where we skim across the floor.
If you have a bent knee in Latin you most certainly have no pressure into the floor. Watch the rear leg also. Don't let it fold up. It only flexes on the way out of that forward movement which could be a New York.
A little bit more. A New York is a Forward Walk Checked. A Forward and Backward Basics are a Walk Checked also. A Spot Turn is a Forward Walk Turning. Get into them with a straight knee and into the floor.
If the music being played is more than 116 beats a minute walk off the floor. Its no good for you. What you could do is dance your Cha to a Rumba when one comes on. Just put in the 4 and 1