I was wondering if there is considered a correct way and a wrong way to do a cross-body lead in relation to where the man's arms should be.
More clearly, what I am asking is if it is OK for the man's arms to go low on a cross-body lead, like to the belt buckle level or lower. Or should the hands/arms connection remain near the chest or shoulder level? I have seen it done both ways, and wanted to know if either is right or wrong. Also, would it be related to what dance you were doing? Is a cross-body lead different in cha-cha-cha than it would be in a Fox Trot? Does the position of the arms work better in a certain spot in terms of signaling the partner for what's coming next?
Any advice is appreciated.

Crossbody lead looks better in Rumba and Cha if it is kept about hip high. Also if the man's the hand is kept reasonably close the lady can extend and work off it and turn sharply at the end of beat three with an (and ) count.. If the man's arm also extends as well as the lady they may get too far away and look untidy.

I prefer the man to leave the hand relatively high if we are staying in closed position. If the man is following the CBL with a crossover or open break, it feels better at hip height.

Thanks for those insights. That's kind of what I figured, since I have seen it done both ways. But starting higher from closed position makes sense, because I was breaking off from closed to try to get my hands down fairly low, and that seemed to throw off timing just enough to make it look a little clumsy. However, when the hands get lower, it seems a little easier to get momentum going across your body. It's one of those dance moves that seems so simple -- you know, the less you think about it, the easier it is -- but like everything else, when you understand the technique and how different approaches affect it, it translates to improvement.

dheun.Something else that might have slipped by unnoticede. By this time many of you will have taken a look at Donnie and Gaynor's Rumba on Dancesport UK. But how many of you have noticed the set up between the couple prior to the commemcement of the first step. His been doing it that way always. He is standing still as if he has taken a Rumba Walk on the LF. RF to the rear. weight over the front foot. And then walks forward on beat one and comences on beat two.
The Cha is started the same way, except he does a Latin Cross on 4 and 1.
His exact words in a lecture I went to about 20 years ago was. The judges are looking at you and making judgements even before the music starts playing.
You will not atract attention if you are standing there as if you are waiting for a bus.
Something else he always did in a competition is change his position on the floor. At the end of every dance he would walk completely across the floor to the opposite side of the ballroom. And again at the end of that dance he would change his position.This is something to also look for in others. Do they start where they finish.