Hello everyone,

I'm very new to Ballroom, but enjoying things so far. I've been looking on the Web for hints, tips, dance-sites etc and found lots of useful and interesting places (including this).

My question is about the basic for the Cha Cha and the Rumba: my teacher (group classes at the moment) says that (very simply) the guy leads forward with his left foot - for both dances - on beat two. So for instance the cha-cha is (pause) two, three, cha-cha-cha, two, three cha-cha-cha etc., and the Rumba is (pause) Two, three, four (pause) two, three, four.

But lots of site that I've found tell the man to lead off with the left foot on beat one - especially for the Rumba. I have to presume that my teachers are correct (all ISTD members) but why the confusion?

Thanks for your comments!

-Alec

I'm by no means an expert, but you can start on the 2,3 (rock step), then go to the side on the 4&, then left foot to the side on the 1. I'd count it this way too, or think 2, 3, cha-cha, 1. I don't like it when teachers count the 4&1 as cha-cha-cha because it sounds like each 'cha' is the same amount of time, and it's not. The first two are in one beat (4&) while the last cha is the first beat, which is a whole beat. IMHO, it's much easier to start on the 1 beat going to the left side.

As for rumba, in int. style, I start on the two (rock step) because it's easier I think. I did American rumba before Int. and it's usually counted as Quick-Quick-Slow, so I find it easier to start on the Q-Q (rock step), and side step for 4, 1.

In american style rumba, you do a box for the basic, so it's very different from cha-cha.

After reading my own post, it sounds kind of unreadable.

Basically, to answer your question, what your teacher is saying isn't anything different than what you're finding on websites. It's the same basic step. It's just being started at different points.

"It's just being started at different points"

Yes, indeed. That was the basis of my question: which *is* the correct beat to lead off a Rumba?

Are you perhaps saying that in International Style it's lead on the second beat of the measure (as is the Cha-Cha) and that in American it's lead off on the first beat?

There's a very funny scene in Dirty Dancing where Swayze keeps repeating "don't step on the One!" and Gray keeps stepping on the one - I presume this is the issue at hand - andI still can't work out why some sites disagree. Are they just wrong? Or have I missed something?

What you are really asking about is the "BREAK". Do you break on one or on two? It is correct to break on 2 (think of this as holding the pause UNTIL beat 2) on two rather than one, so that the beat should be:

1-2-3-4 == HOLD step step step

In Rhumba that means Hold, quick quick Slow, with the Slow and the Hold taking up beats 4 and 1.

In Cha-Cha, I think you are best served by counting as suggested by ChaDancer: "1 2 3 4-and" which is "side, rock, step, side-place".

Many dancers having a good time ignore this and break on one. Depends on whether you want to do it correctly or just have a good time.

Jerry

Jerry (and ChaDancer),

Thank you for clearing that up. I fully intend to have a good time - by doing it correctly!

-Alec

Just one point of clarification... In Dirty Dancing, he's actually talking about the mambo. Mambo and salsa are basically the same dance. In salsa, you start on the 1 beat while in mambo, you start on the 2.

I went to a Street Latin Class and they made a point of saying that this is not the International style. We dance on beat one , they on beat two. Their New York for instance. They stepped through on beat one and lifted the rear foot off the ground before replacing on beat two. With me this rearly went against the grain. I could not do it that way. I felt like Erose in Piccadilly in London.

Thanks for pointing out that it's a Mambo in the film - it's a while since I've seen it!

For the Salsa, all the classes I've been to break on One - as do the video clips on this website.

-Alec

Dont let anybody tell you that breaking on one is correct, because it isn't. End of argument.There are several ways of starting from a still position. Donnie Burns for instance in the Rumba starts with the right foot behind the body, makes one a foreward walk on the right foot on the beat of one, and then left on the beat of two. Cha the right foot again comes from behind the body and into the 4 and 1 (Latin Cross) then two on the left foot. It might be worth your while going too the instruction videos on this site and listen to the counting , also some of the written instructions, especialy the part which said if you cant hear the beat one then you will never find two. I'm not sure if that was a reply to a question or not. But its there somewhere.