Hi Ballroomdancers.com

I love your website and have been a subscriber for almost 2 years! I was hoping for a few videos on how to do:

LATIN motion- in the cha, cha, rhumba and salsa.

I have been shown by a few instructors and I still don't get it. Perhaps you have some suggestions that may help. I am stumped.

By the way- your link to "contact us" brings me to an error message.

Hi.
I'm not really a member of Ballroom... Just a concerned individual. I used to teach for Arthur Murray's International and know how hard latin motion can be to most of us. About five percent of the population can simply "do it" while the rest of us (I include myself in this) must struggle through mastering the skill.
I call it a skill because I have always felt it should be taught separately from the dance (although I use rumba to teach it). It is a skill set all its own.
However, I do believe it is a door that must be passed before dance comes to life.
Mostly, I suppose, this is just encouragement to not surrender. Remember, slow is better. If you can't do it slowly, you can't do it fast. Start in rumba and master it there first.
My good wishes to you.

First.. Are you asking about CM in American , or Intern. style ?... ; both have different approaches, and, Salsa again, has some conflict as to how it is developed.

There are several exercises that can be done at home and can be found on you tube. One is
Feet apart . Weight on left leg which is straight. The other pointing to the side with the heel off the floor. Move your weight so that the right foot is flat on the floor. Then and only then send your complete weight over that foot. Just keep repeating from side to side. Now try stepping forward or back with the same kind of action. Its all there if you look for it. That is just one of four examples under Hip Actions.

Your technical explanation is "flawed "..

Failing to mention first, which part of the foot , makes contact with the floor.

There are 2 accepted approaches..

1... Intern. style

2... American style

Bottom line is this.. one needs to consult a Prof. with the experience in BOTH genres .

Indeed, the Salsa style is more natural and not as fabricated as the Int/Am style.

There is a 1940s movie "short subject" named "Cuban Rhythm," that you can see occasionally (in the U. S.) on Turner Classic Movies, that includes a brief (American style) Rumba lesson taught by an Arthur Murray instructor. The Latin Motion part: Imagine that you are standing on a street corner, waiting for a bus, switching your weight from one leg to the other. Of course there's more to it, but it's not a bad way for a beginner to start.