Body & Foot Mechanics and Characteristics: Smooth & Latin

• The attitude of the dancers has a great influence on how they feel and enjoy round dancing and how they pass this enthusiasm on to other dancers.
• Do you smile when you are dancing?
• Do you keep your head up or do you look at the floor?
• Do you keep your head to the left when in the closed dance position or do you look around to see where you are going. Remember, your head is the heaviest part of your body and it either helps or hinders your dancing.
• Do you still enjoy dancing at all levels or do you look down on easier dances and dancers?
• When taking a teach, do you concentrate on the teach or do you let your mind wander and talk to other people?
• The teachers are giving you the wealth of their experience and there is always something to learn.
• In many cases, the basics are forgotten in the pursuit of learning the round dance routines; however if you know the basics, those routines will be much easier to accomplish, and your dancing will look so much better.

• Waltz -- When executing the waltz, the rise is normally made over the three steps of the measure, lowering at the end of step three.
• Foxtrot -- When executing the foxtrot, there is usually an early rise at the end of step one and lowering at the end of step three.
• Quickstep -- When executing slow forward steps, they are made with a heel lead. The quick steps are high on the toes, and the last quick step will have a toe-heel action.
• Tango -- The tango is a dance where there is little or no rise for most of the figures.

• Rumba -- When executing the rumba, the movement of the feet is with a ball-flat action. The weight is further forward than in the Smooth rhythms. The lead is through the hands indicating to the partner the figure to be executed. The movement is from the waist down with upper body sway to assist in the execution of the figure.
• Cha Cha -- The movement is similar to the rumba, but the quick steps are on the balls of the feet, lowering to a ball-flat for the slower steps. The lead and body movements are similar to the rumba.
• Samba -- The samba has more than one rhythm, but the one we are most familiar with is the bounce action.
• Paso Doble -- The paso doble is an arrogant dance, enacting some of the actions in a bullfight, with the man representing the matador and the lady often playing the role of the cape. When moving forward, the steps are made with a heel lead like marching. The hold can be wider to execute moves that require more separation between you and your partner.
• Jive -- The jive action arises from every step taken on the ball of the foot with the knee flexed. As the weight is transferred onto the foot, the heel lowers, the knee straightens, and the hips move softly in the direction of the weighted foot. The weight is always through the balls of the foot, the action is up and down, and the dancing is relaxed.

From clinic notes prepared for the URDC (ICBDA) annual convention, 1993, and reprinted in the Dixie Round Dance Council (DRDC) Newsletter, October 2024.