Transcript

Aaron: Hi guys, I’m Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City. I’ve been teaching dance now for about 12 years I believe coming up this fall, teaching both competitive and social, Latin American and ballroom dancing. I think the thing that got me most excited when I started, I just stumbled into a dance studio by accident. I was into working on cars and I was a speed skater growing up through my teenage years.

The artistry I guess you’d say of it was great. It was gorgeous. It attracts us all. It pulls us all in, but I think the thing that struck me the most was the conversation that was actually happening without words between two people. I thought that was a really powerful thing, and being able to share those emotions and connect and interpret with the music, just to be able to share that joy and my own passion as well as share in other people’s joy and discovery and passion through dance has been something that I think has just kept me going.

Kristina: I have been dancing ballroom and Latin dancing for about eight years now. I competed in college and really fell in love with it. And I’ve been really fortunate. I’ve travelled the country, competing and teaching and performing and I’ve met so many interesting people and had so many neat opportunities. I love ballroom dance because there’s so many styles and those styles have different characteristics and moods and feelings associated with the dances.

And the music, you know, you have the elegance and the grace of a waltz, and then you have the spiciness of a salsa. There’s just such a wide range. And the amazing thing about dance for me, and teaching, is getting people to those, like, ah-ha moments where, you know, that step makes sense or they’ve mastered that move and they, you know, they get it. And the other thing that’s really great about dance is that it’s something you can do your whole life long. So, you know, you can do it when you’re a child and then, you know, you can do it well into your older, golden years.

Aaron: So we hope that this series has been both educational and inspiring, and hopefully excited some of you to get out there and take a lesson yourself or explore the world of ballroom and Latin dancing and just see where it takes you. And be sure to look for us on our Facebook fan page where you can contact us directly via email as well as our own personal websites as well as through the Facebook page itself. I believe you can find us just by searching Aaron and Kristina.

Kristina: Aaron and Kristina.

Aaron: Yes. And we are available for private instruction as well as to give performances. Again, enjoy the series, and it’s been great working together here again, and we look forward to seeing you guys out there soon.

Transcript

Aaron: Hi guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be finishing up our mambo series with the hammer lock. So what we’re going to be doing here is we’re going to be starting with a two-hand hold. Starting with our basic action, two, three, four. Two, three, four. Half a basic to lead the lady to do an underarm spot turn while keeping both hands. Two, three, four. Now from here we’re going to lead the lady back into the first half of the basic while we dance the open break, gentlemen. Two, three, four, leading her past our right side and continuing on as she turns. Two, three, four. And picking up with our basic action again, four. Now we’re going to let Kristina describe what the ladies are doing a little bit more in detail here.

Kristina: Okay. So ladies, again we have a double hand hold. We’re starting with the basic, so we’re going two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Right here it’s just our underarm turn, but again as Aaron said, we are not going to release this side. So keep both hands connected. And both partners need to be mindful of just making sure that our arms are flexible and we’re keeping in a comfortable position for both parties. So we’re going to cross our left over right, two, three, four. So right now my left hand is kind of across my lower back, and my right arm is extended, again making sure that we’re not uncomfortable on either side here. I’m going to rock back on my right. Two, three, four. And then I’m going to do a spin and back into the basic. So, two, three, four.

Aaron: And two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four, open break. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. And from the beginning. Two, three, four. Now let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we’re professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be continuing our mambo series, taking a look at a swivel action together with our partner.

Kristina: Alright. So to begin this action off, we are going to take a closed dance frame with a little bit of a lower hold with the palm to palm connection. And right off the bat instead of starting forward and back we’re both going to rock back. He’s going to go on his left. I’m going to go on my right for two, three, four. So at this point we’ve stepped out to the side. We’re facing each other. Now, for the ladies, we are going to cross our right foot over in a series of crossing and uncrossing, crossing and uncrossing to create the swivels.

So we have two, three, four. Two, three, four. And then we are going to take our left foot stepping and pivoting kind of like the end of a cross body lead. Two, three, four with our feet closed to go back into the basic. Two, three, four. Alright, let’s try that again. And two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. So one tip to help both people do this move is to, again, keep good tone in your arms and in your frame, keeping your back muscles down and just a nice tone in your frame so that we can use each other and help each other to create the swivel action. And if our arms are just really loose and spaghetti-like there’s no way that he’ll be able to lead me to do this figure.

Aaron: So let’s try that with music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: We’re professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today continuing in our mambo series, we’re going to be taking out a little pattern we call a sombrero. So, what we’re going to do is we’re going to start with our basic action and a two-hand hold. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Changing the hand hold over to a right to right and left to left with the left hand over top. So from here we’re going to dance the basic action. Two, three, four, into a cross body lead position.

Now from here, guys, we’re going to rock back on our right foot as we continue to guide the lady to turn to her left. Two, three, four, taking the step on the actual break one. One, while we place our right arm behind us, gentlemen, and place our left hand around the lady’s shoulders continuing with two, three, four. Bringing her to our right side and dancing again a forward break. Four, and into a cross body lead. Okay?

So let’s take a look at that one again one time very slowly. It’s very tricky. And two, three, four. Two, three, four, left hand over right. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, together. Okay? So why don’t we try that one with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hi guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we’re professional dance instructors here in New York City. Today we’re going to be continuing our mambo series and taking a look at the open box. So what we’re going to be doing is starting from a basic position. We can start this with either a two-hand hold, put a palm to palm sort of connection here so we can steer the lady very easily, or we can also do this from a closed position. But today we’re going to do this with a two-hand hold.

So starting with a basic action. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. We’re going to do one whole basic. Two, three, and from here instead of closing our feet, guys, we’re going to take a strong step outside partner here in this area so we’re not in the same line here. Now from here we’re going to take our left foot forward, gentlemen, and we’re going to step forward, side, back. And back, side, forward. Forward, side, back. And back, side, close. So you’ll notice that we’re passing the feet continuously instead of closing the feet.

So let’s take a look at that one more time for the guys. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Taking that strong step outside partner again so as to indicate the change of direction and the lead for this pattern. And two, three, four. Two, three, four. Forward, side, back. And back, side, close to start with the basic again. Two, three, four. Now let’s explain what the ladies are doing as well.

Kristina: Okay. So ladies, we’re going to begin with the first part of our basic. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. So at this point I have taken my left foot. I have rotated and taken that left foot behind me. Then from here I’m going to take my right foot back, side, take my right foot in front. And then forward, side, back. Back, side, forward. Forward, side, close. So it’s just moving my feet left, right, left, right, left, right, just as you would if you were walking, just remembering it’s back, side, forward, forward, side, back. And then ending with our feet closed so that we’re ready to go back into the basic.

Aaron: Let’s try it to music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hi guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we’re professional dance instructors here in New York City and today we’re going to be continuing in our mambo series taking a look at the crossover breaks. So, for starters we’re going to be starting with the two-hand hold. We could actually start this one with a two-hand hold or from a closed position. But either way, today we’re going to start it with a two-hand hold. Starting with our basic action, breaking forward guys, two, three, four. Two, three, four. So we just completed one whole basic action.

And now from here we’re going to lead with our left arm across, turning to our right for the gentlemen, our left for the ladies, and taking our free leg, gentlemen our left, and stepping across, two, three. Together, passing through the center again, and now repeating to the other side. Two, three, four. And again. Two, three, four. And now finishing it off with a lady’s underarm spot turn. Two, three, four as we rock back gentlemen. So let’s take a look at that one one more time. Basic. Two, three, four. Crossover. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Spot turn. Two, three, four. And again picking up with our basic action. Now let’s talk a little bit more in detail about what the lady is doing here.

Kristina: Okay. So ladies, when the gentleman is trying to lead this move it’s important to, again, be responsive and really let him lead the figure. And so one of the ways to do that with the crossover breaks is to keep your arms accessible. So I’ll just demonstrate that. As he’s leading me through the crossover break, I keep my hands available so that he can direct me to another crossover break or maybe he’s going to direct me into a different move. And I have to kind of always be ready for whatever he might throw at me next.

Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. So right there I gave my hand back in an area where he can kind of see it and easily grab it so that he can lead me to another crossover break or a different figure. Two, three, four. Two, three, and four. So for the turn, I’m going to take my left foot, cross it over my right foot. I’m going to pivot around on that left foot, so that left foot is essentially stuck in place. Transfer my weight back onto my right foot, close my feet with my left foot, have my right foot available to go back to the basic.

Aaron: Let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we’re professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be continuing in our mambo series taking a look at a change of places. So, what we’re going to be doing here is we’re going to be starting with our basic action, forward and back. Two, three, four. Two, three four. Now from here we’re going to dance an open break. So guys, that means instead of rocking forward, we’re going to send the lady back, but we are going to open up by taking our left leg back and rocking behind. Rock step.

Now from here, guys, we’re going to take our left foot forward and stepping around to the lady’s right side while taking our right hand and placing it here on her forearm to set her to turn as we go past. Two, three, four. Two, three four. One more time. And two, three four. Two, three four, open break. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Now let’s talk about the lady’s footwork.

Kristina: So ladies, there’s a couple different things going on in this step. First and foremost, with your right arm, when the gentleman places his hand on our wrist, you want to have some good tone in your arm because he is essentially going to use that to push our arm. We’re going to keep our arm connected to our body so that as he pushes me in that direction I actually spin. So that’s the second half of the move, so let’s look at it from the first part.

We have two, three, four. So this is the part where we want to have good tone in our arms. He’s connected to our wrist. He is going to give us a slight encouragement in that direction and we are going to step with our left foot in a three step turn. So we have left, right, and try to close your feet as best you can here so that you’re set up to go back on your right foot back to the basic. Two, three, four.

Aaron: And just as a side note, guys, for those of us New Yorkers out there we know, we’re not going to be placing too much pressure here or trying to overturn the ladies. We’re just gently passing through almost as if we’re just going through the subway turnstiles here and stepping right on through. Okay? Now let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: We’re professional dance instructors here in New York City and today, we’re going to be continuing in our Mambo series. I’m going to be taking a closer look at the cross body lead. What we’re going to be doing is starting in a close position with our partner here. Starting with our basic action, moving forward for the guys. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Now, half a basic. Two, three and instead of replacing our feet together guys, we’re going to step out to our left.

Two, three, four as we bring the lady across, taking a closer look at the feet this time. Two, three, four. Now guys, we’re going to rock behind with our right leg. Two, three, four. Together. Now, let’s talk about the ladies footwork in that.

Kristina: Ladies, you’re going to start with a back rock on the right foot. Two, three, four. Now, you have your left foot going forward on the two, so you have to step forward but you also have to pivot around to face the gentlemen. Two, three, four. That’s just stepping back and collecting your feet together freeing up your right foot to go back in the rock stat for the beginning of the sequence.

Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four.

Aaron: Now, let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys. It’s Aaron.

Christina: And I’m Christina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City. Today we’re going to be continuing our series on the Mambo and taking a look at the lady’s underarm turn.

What we’re going to do is we’re going to start with our basic action here, forward and back. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. And as we break forward, two, three, stop. Here we’re going to change our hold and go palm to palm and lead the ladies as we take our right arm away gentlemen, to step to her right as we rock back. Two, three, four, and continue back from the beginning. Two, three, four.

So gentlemen, as you’ll notice, our foot work does not change. However the lady’s does.

Christina: All right. So let’s talk about the lady’s part. The first part is just the basic. So we have two, three, four. Two three, four. First half of the basic. Two, three, four, and then here, when he raises the right arm up that’s an indication to us that we need to go underneath the space he’s created.

We’re going to take our left leg, cross it over the right leg and put weight onto it. This left foot is pretty much glued in place. You’re just going to shift your weight around, put your weight back onto your right foot, and then bring your left foot to your right foot in a closed position so that your right foot is free to continue with the basic. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, and four.

Let’s try that to some music.

Aaron: Hi guys. It’s Aaron.

Christina: And I’m Christina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City and today we’re going to be talking about a little dance called the Mambo, and more specifically we’re going to be taking a look at a step, just the basic action here, forward and back. So what we’re going to do today is we’re going to start with our left leg and we’re going to count this out as we take a step forward. Two, three, four, one. Two, three, four, one. Two, three, four, one. Two, three, four, one.

So taking a look at that again, starting with our left leg, we’re taking a step forward, forward, replacing our weight back on our right leg. Replace, and stepping together as we hold the one and rock back again on our right, two, three, together, and again, coming forward, two, three, four, one. Two, three, four, one. Two, three, four, one. Two, three, four, one.

Christina: So ladies, we are starting right now with the gentlemen on their left foot, but when we dance it together we’ll be starting backward on our right foot. And just a note for guys and girls. Keep theses steps very, very small and compact, underneath your body. The Mambo is really kind of a fast and fun dance. It does not really travel very much so begin able to keep smaller steps will help you keep in time with the music.

Aaron: Now let’s take a look at that with a partner and also note that we’re using several different hand holds here in this dance, going from our basic closed position, to a two hand hold, to one hand, and also the handshake hold as well, as sometimes we’re going to enter some more advanced turns and spins with different hand holds, sometimes over and under, and any combination of the two.

So let’s take a look again at that basic action with a partner now, starting, one, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four, one. Two, three, four, one. Two, three, four, one. Two, three, four, one. Two, three, four.

And that’s how you do the basic action, forward and back, in the Mambo.

Christina: Let’s try that to some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be finishing out our rumba series talking about a little pattern we like to call the shoulder check. So what we’re going to be doing is starting in closed position with our partners here, going, starting with our basic step. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, and side together. Side, leading the lady into an open break as we rock behind, rock step. Leading the lady forward as we pass behind to the side, and place our right hand on the lady’s left shoulder blade to stop her as she rocks back on her left and as we rock forward on our right. Rock step, to the side, and then we both rock away from each other again. Rock step, to the side, and the lady does an underarm spot turn here as we, again, rock back on our right leg, gentlemen. Rock step, to the side, pick her up, and end in a fifth position rock. Rock step, bringing the lady around, in front to step backward as we move back into our basic action. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, open break, quick. Slow, quick, quick. Slow, rocking away, to the side. Slow, quick quick. Slow. So, let’s try that to music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re continuing our rumba series and we are going to be showing you a little pattern we like to call outside partner. So what we’re going to be doing is starting with our closed position. And I normally like to take this one to a two-hand hold, so as we’re moving through our basic action here I’m just going to slide my right arm down the lady’s left and take a two-hand hold palm to palm. Slow, side together. Side, as we lead the lady to rock back on her right foot as we rock forward outside partner, quick quick. Side, again rotating the angle and sending the lady back, rock step. Forward, and rock step. Side, now from here to close it off we’re going to do a ladies underarm spot turn, gentlemen, as we rock back on our right, quick quick. Side, now we are going to replace and do a fifth position break or a rock step action with our left foot behind, right foot for the ladies, quick quick, bringing the lady around in front of us as we step forward and she steps back, side together.

Now let’s take a look at that entire pattern once more. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, side together. Side, rocking outside partner. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, she does an underarm spot, quick quick. Slow, we rock together, quick quick. And we bring her around in front of us as we step forward. So, let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hi, guys. It’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be continuing our Rumba series and talking about the extended box. So what we’re going to be doing is starting in closed position with our partner with our basic action here, with our box step. Slow, quick, quick, slow, quick, quick, slow. Now from here we’re going to extend that step to the side into side, together, side, together, side, together, back. So we’re tripling up here. Side, together, side, together, side, together, back for the ladies. Side, together, and back into our box. Quick, quick, slow, quick, quick, slow. Let’s take a look at that one more time. Side, together, back, and side, together, side, together, side, together. Slow and quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, slow. Back into our basic action. Now let’s take a look at that with music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be continuing our rumba series, talking about the underarm turn to an open Cuban walk. So what we’re going to be doing is starting in closed position with our basic action. And slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, the lady does a normal underarm turn, side together. Forward, as we have stepped through this window here passing behind the lady.

Now from here guys we’re going to turn to our right and step side together as the lady continues to walk around. And side together. And now we’re going to step in place. In place, in place, in place, and one more step in place, as we give the lady a signal with our left hand, guys, to turn to face us. And from here we have our right leg free and we walk back as the lady comes forward. Quick quick. Slow, going back into our basic action to the side. Slow, now one more close careful look at this again, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, and side together in place. One, two three. And quick quick. Slow, side together. One more look at that, side together. She goes, quick slow. I go, quick quick. Slow, and quick quick. Turn, and walk walk. Walk. So now let’s take a closer look at what the ladies are doing here with this.

Kristina: Okay, so ladies, most importantly when we are walking around in that circle, continue to take forward steps, and there’s a lot of rotation and the gentleman is rotating himself. He’s walking backward and we’re going forward, so just continue to walk in a forward pattern as you’re making that turn. So starting with the basic we have slow, quick quick. Slow, forward forward. Forward, forward forward. Forward, forward forward. Forward, rotating, and then we have foward forward. Forward, side together. So the other important thing while we’re taking those forward steps is to be mindful of the count, so as we’re going slow, quick quick. Slow, make sure your steps match that count so you’ll step slow, quick quick. Slow. And that way you’ll keep on the right foot.

Aaron: Two very other important thing to note as well. Once we have stepped underneath and passed behind the ladies, guys, notice that we end in this side by side position. Now as the lady comes around, gentlemen, we are basically the center of the wheel, so we are going to hold our position as she makes her way around the rim going quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, and so forth, as well. Now up to our lead and approach to turning the lady back to face us, let’s talk about this.

This is where it’s going to require a more advanced sense of awareness and just a heightened sense of awareness of staying with our partner and making sure she as well as ourselves are on the right foot to give her this signal so as we don’t turn her early or late, which could be disastrous. So, let’s take a look at this again as we make our way around, starting with the lady’s right foot, and gentlemen with our left, going quick quick. Slow, giving her a little flick of the wrist, not a big jerk of the arm as we step on our left and she steps on her right to rotate, and then to walk, walk, walk. Now let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hi guys. It’s Aaron.

Christina: And I’m Christina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City. Today we’re going to be continuing our series on the Rumba, and we’re going to talking about the cross body lead. What we’re going to do is start in closed position here with our basic action, with our box step.

Slow, quick, quick, slow. Quick, quick, slow. Quick, quick, slow. Now gentlemen, we just stepped back on our right. The ladies stepped forward on her left. From here we’re going to modify and lower the handhold as we turn and step to our left side, gentlemen. Now from here we’re going to take our right foot and replace it behind us, back, and replace our left foot, stepping forward into the lady.

Again, side, together, back, and side, rock, forward. Quick, quick, slow. Quick, quick, slow, and back into our basic action. Now let’s talk about what the ladies are doing with their footwork.

Christina: Okay. So ladies we’re going to start again with the first part of a box. So we are going to have back on our right, back, side, close, forward. Now from here we’re going to go forward on our right, forward on our left, and we’re going to, on the left foot, pivot around so that we’re facing our partner again.

Forward, pivot, and then we’re going to go back on our right. Back, side, closed. So let’s try that one more time from the beginning. Starting slow, quick, quick, forward. Forward, forward, pivot, back, side, together.

Aaron: Now let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be continuing in our rumba series, talking about the opening out to the right and the left. This is one of my personal favorites. So, let’s get started

We’re going to start from our closed position here, and we’re going to start with the basic action. Slow, quick quick, slow, quick quick, slow. Now from here we’re going to step side, together, side. Guys, as we lead the lady out to rock back on her right foot to our right as we rock away on our left to our left. Quick, quick, together, and rocking to the opposite side to our right, gentlemen. Rock, step together, and left, right, and we’re bringing the lady back around to take a step backward as we step forward, and side, together to close it up.

So let’s take a look at those feet closer for the gentlemen one more time. As we’re leading the lady to step back, side, together, side, and we rock away on our left, replace our weight to our right and step together, and away to the right, replace, together, and left, right, forward, side together. Now, let’s take a closer look at what the ladies are doing here.

Kristina: Okay, so ladies we’re going to start with the first part of a box. So we have, starting with our right foot, back, side, together, side. Now the gentleman is going to lead us to take back rock step with our right foot. So back, replace, forward with our right and pivoting, back rocking on our left, back, replace, forward, left, pivot, back on the right, back, replace, and as we come forward we’re going to rotate so that we can step back on our left, excuse me, back on our right foot and then step side, close.

Aaron: Okay? So let’s try that to music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hi guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we’re professional dance instructors here in New York City. Today we’re going to be continuing our rumba series talking about the open break with underarm turn. So what we’re going to be doing here is we’re going to be starting in closed position with our basic slow, quick quick. Slow, side together. Slow, and side together. Side, as we open out, here, now we’re going to keep our palm-to-palm hold as we send the ladies back and we rock back on our left foot, gentlemen. Rock step. And then leading the lady to take a step to her side as we do the same, and she does an underarm spot turn as we rock back on our right leg. Rock step. And to the side as we then return to our fifth position break or what we can refer to as a rock step here. Rock step, and bringing the lady around in front of us to take a backward step. And side, together, back into our basic action. So let’s take a look at that one more time and let’s talk a little bit more closely about what the ladies are doing here.

Kristina: Okay, so ladies, we’re going to go ahead and dance one full box and then we’ll go into this section. So we have slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Back, side together. Side, and as he releases our left side here we’re going to keep connection to our right arm. He’s going to indicate that we should take a back step, quick quick. Slow, we’ve both taken a side step and he’s going to lead me underneath my arm here, again having my left foot cross over my right for quick quick. Side, and then rocking back, quick quick. Rotating slow, quick quick.

Aaron: Now let’s try that to some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we’re professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be continuing in our rumba series and taking a look at the crossover breaks. So what we’re going to do here is we’re going to start with our partner in closed position.

Starting with our basic action, slow, quick, quick. Slow, quick, quick. Slow, and changing the hold as we step side together, bringing our left arm down with our thumb on top, side together. Side, as we then open up to our right and lead the ladies out to their left, and step through, quick, quick. Slow, and reversing it to the other side, quick. Slow, quick, quick. Side, now gentlemen we are going to rock back on our right foot as the lady does an underarm spot turn as she takes her left foot and steps directly across to her right. Quick, quick. Side, ending with what we all a fifth position break, or we can just call it a rock step, taking our left foot, and the ladies’ right foot, and rocking behind.

Rock step, as we bring the lady around in front of us gentlemen to step backward as we step forward, and side, together, back into our box. Side, together. Quick, quick, slow. Let’s take one more look at that together. Slow, quick, quick. Slow, quick, quick. Slow, quick, quick. Slow, quick, quick. Slow, spot turn, we rock gentlemen, rock step, side, and rock step, forward. Side together. Now, let’s talk a little bit about what the ladies are doing there with that underarm turn in that fifth position break as well.

Kristina: Okay, so ladies, again if you’ve seen some of the other videos where we’ve done crossover breaks, same concept. You want to have good tone in your arms and as he’s leading me through this pattern, I’m just keeping my arms accessible to him, so about waist height in easy reach of him so he can lead me in the direction that he would like me to go for that underarm turn. Ladies, we are going to take our left foot and cross it over our right foot. As soon as you do that on slow, your left foot should not move. You’re just going to pivot around for quick, quick. Stepping to the side for slow and then we’re both going to rock out and back for quick, quick. And then as we’re coming around on that left foot, we’re going to rotate for slow, quick, quick.

Aaron: Now let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be going a little bit further into our rumba series, talking about the ladies’ underarm turn. So what we’re going to do for starters is we’re going to start in our closed position. And from here we’re going to start with our basic action. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, and side together. Now from here, gentlemen, as we step back on our right we are going to drop our right arm and we’re going to open up palm to palm with our left to right hand hold here as the lady steps forward, and now she has a three step turn, walking, forward, forward, forward. And side, together, to pick her back up, coming back into our closed basic.

Now let’s take a look again at what we’re doing guys. Our footwork does not change. We are going to continue with this box step action. Slow, side together. Foward, and turning side together, back, to meet the lady. So let’s take a look at that one more time. And slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, and side together. Slow, quick quick. Slow. Now let’s talk a little bit, just briefly touch on what the lady is doing again.

Kristina: So ladies, you have the first half of the box, which is the first three steps. Starting with our right going back we have slow, quick quick. Now from here when he drops our left side and raises our right, most importantly take this first step on your left directly toward him. Don’t cross it over in anticipation of the turn but go ahead and step directly into him for slow. Then we have three steps all forward. Imagine you’re walking around the rim of a bucket. So you’re going right, left, right. Then you’re going to take your left foot, step side, close your right foot to your left foot, and then you’re ready for that second half of the box. Forward, side together.

Aaron: Now let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: And we are professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re going to be talking to you a little bit about a dance called the rumba. So first of all, we’re going to take apart the basic action in this dance and what we’re going to come up with is what we usually refer to as a box step. So what we’re going to do is we’re going to start with our left leg, and we’re going to start with a step forward, and then we’re going to take our right foot and step directly to the side, and then replace our left foot together with our right, and taking a step back on our right, and then directly to the side on our left, stepping together with the right, changing our weight, and again continuing forward on the left. And side, together, back. And side, together, forward. Side, together, back. And side, together, forward.

Now the rumba has its origins in Cuba. Now this is a Latin dance and we will see a lot of hip action across all of these Latin dances, specifically more in this rumba as you’re going to see with the bending and straightening of the legs creating a sort of lateral settling of the hips, as well as somewhat of a figure eight action that begins to happen that gives us that great Cuban motion. And back, side, together, forward. And side, together, back. And side, together.

Now we’re going to count this using slows and quicks. So we’re going start, forward on our left with slow, and step quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, and quick quick. So now let’s take a look at that with our partner. Starting in our closed position with our left to right hand hold somewhere about chin height where it’s comfortable for both of us, and placing our right hand on the lady’s left shoulder blade as the lady places her hand on our right shoulder close to our deltoid here. So starting again with our left foot forward and right foot back for the ladies, slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, now I’m just going to demonstrate how this dance is actually going to rotate as well, counter-clockwise, to our left, quick, quick. Slow, quick quick. Slow, quick quick. Now let’s try that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hi guys. It’s Aaron.

Christina: And I’m Christina.

Aaron: We’re professional dance instructors here in New York City. Today we’re coming at you continuing our jive series. Taking a look at a little step we like to call The Whip. So what we’re going to be doing for starters we’re going to be starting with a two hand hold. We’re going to be starting with our basic action.

One, two, triple, triple, one two, opening up to a one hand hold. Here now guys as we rock back, rock, step. We’re going to open our right side and invite the ladies just slightly outside partner as we triple passed. Triple step. Now from here gentlemen we’re going to take our right leg and cross it behind as the lady steps through to the outside. One, two, triple, step, rock, step, going back the direction we came from. Take a look at that one more time. One, two, triple, step, single, single. And one more time.

One, two, triple, single, single, triple, rock, step, triple, single, single, triple, rock, step. Now let’s have that to some music.

Transcript

Aaron Mitchum: Hey guys it’s Aaron.

Kristina Reese: And I”m Kristina.

Aaron: We’re professional dance instructors here in New York City and we’re coming at you today with a little bit more of our Jive series and today what we’re going to be taking a look at is what we like to call the Mooch. So for starters, we’re going to be starting in our closed position with a basic action. 1, 2, 3, and 4, 5, and 6. Now, here gentlemen, we’re going to release our hand hold and rock back opening out to a side by side position. Rock, step, and kick, step, kick, step, rock, step, triple step, rocking back on our right now gentlemen and left for the ladies. Step, kick, step, kick, step and again, 1, 2, triple, rock, step, kick, step, kick, step, rock, step, triple, rock, step, kick, kick, rock, step, triple, rock, step. Now let’s add that

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys. It’s Aaron.

Christina: And I’m Christina.

Aaron: And we’re professional dance instructors coming at you today from New York City. Today we’re going to be talking a little bit more about our Jive Series. What we’re going to be doing today specifically is talking about a little step we like to call the windmill.

For starters what we’re going to be doing is taking a two hand hold. Now this time we’re going to switch it up and go palm to palm. This way we have a little bit more leverage guys, so as to lead the lady with. Starting this with our basic action and one, two, three and four, five and six, rock step. Opening ourselves up gentlemen so as to lead the lady past as we bring the arm up an over, shaping for the lady. Triple step, triple step, rock step. One two three, one two three, rock step.

Guys, one more thing to pay attention here with this windmill action and shaping with our body, Swing and Jive being upper body dances. We want to take a look at this together. So as we come to one, two, again, gentlemen we’re going to really elongate and our right side and also indicate for the lady as well, as we bring our right and left arm respectively up and over like a windmill. Rock step. One, two, three, one two three, rock step, one two three, one two three, rock step. Now let’s add that with some music.

Transcript

Aaron: Hey guys, it’s Aaron.

Kristina: And I’m Kristina.

Aaron: We’re professional dance instructors here in New York City, and today we’re coming at you with a little dance we like to call the jive. We’re going to be taking a look at something we call a rolling off the arm. Now what we’re going to do here for starters is start with a handshake hold, guys. So from here we’re going to follow in with our basic action. One, two, a-three and four, a-five and six. One, two. Now guys, from here we’re going to take this handshake hold and pass behind the ladies almost as if we were initiating a sliding door. And we’re going to take the lady’s arm and bring it back and under and place it in the small of her back. And walking, one, two, turning her out, three and four, five six.

Kristina: Alright, so we’re going to talk a little bit about the ladies’ portion of this step. So we begin with a rock step. Rock step, triple step, and a really important thing here ladies is, have some flexibility in your arm because he is going to put it behind your back. Gentlemen, don’t put the arm too high because it’s very uncomfortable. Just keeping it at the small of her back is going to be comfortable for the lady. And then from here ladies we have two walking steps backward. Left, right. And then we have a triple step turning, triple step, to face your partner and do the rock step.

Aaron: Now let’s take a look at that again from a different angle, just so we can take a look at where we’re placing the lady’s arm so as not to twist it off. One, two, three and four. Right here in the small of her back, I’m passing over here into more of a shadow position. I’m slightly behind the lady. And single, single, triple step, rock step. Now one more time, let’s pay a little bit closer attention to detail with those feet here. And one, two, triple step, single, single, triple step, rock step. One more time. And one, two, three and four, five six, seven and eight. One, two. Now let’s try that with some music.