Q&A: Counting Rumba, Cha Cha Cha Chassés and Spinning

The short answer: for a better Cha Cha Cha chassé, dance in Latin heels, step on the inside edge of the ball with the knee slightly flexed, and let your leg move before your body. To stop getting dizzy on spins, spot, and spin up and around the standing foot instead of throwing your weight out. To count Rumba, ignore the singing and listen for the drums: figures start on 2, with a strong accent on 1 and a percussive accent on 4.

How do you dance a better Cha Cha Cha chassé?

A viewer asked whether moving back into Latin heels would help her chassé. The size of your steps has nothing to do with your shoes: keep them less than shoulder width. But do dance in heels. They keep your weight forward, which gives you better rhythm and hip action. In flats your weight goes back into your heels and you lose control.

Cha Cha Cha is known as a straight-legged dance, but the moving leg is actually bent. Step to the side on the inside edge of the ball, knee slightly flexed and veering inwards, and let the weight transfer with a natural, gentle lateral hip action. Close with a flexed knee and lower the heel (ball, heel). Your leg moves before your body, so the foot catches your weight, and your upper body stays over the balls of your feet. The faster the tempo, the less you can accentuate it, so practise it every day.

Why do you get dizzy when you spin?

Two reasons. You're not spotting, and your brain hasn't yet adjusted to the force a spin creates. If you don't spot, you look down and your technique falls apart. Posture matters too: any weakness or misalignment in your posture throws you off balance once you add speed, so keep your centre held up.

It also helps to know the difference between a turn and a spin. A turning three step, for example in Samba, is a turn: you go forward on the ball, turn, change weight, and step to the side. In a spin you turn around a fixed point. Your vertical axis runs from the ball of your standing foot straight up to the ceiling.

How do you count Rumba music?

Rumba is in 4/4 time: four beats to a bar, and a basic movement usually takes two bars. You count it 2, 3, 4, 1, because Rumba figures start on beat 2. There's a strong accent on 1 and a percussive accent on 4. With modern music that structure can be hard to hear, so in the video I break a Rumba song into its separate parts (melody, instrumentals and drums) so you can hear each layer. The drums keep the time, so that's what to listen for.

How do you practise spins without getting dizzy?

1. Prepare with the foot: point your foot in the direction you're going, not turned in.
2. Spot: turn your head to face where you're going. The head is the last to go and the first to arrive.
3. Let the shoulders turn you: let your shoulders generate the energy for the turn.
4. Find your axis: in a spin, plant the foot and turn around the vertical axis that runs from the ball of that foot up to the ceiling.
5. Go up and around: spiral your energy up from the ball of the foot, not out over the foot towards the wall.
6. Come out in control: let your head arrive first, then come out of the spin.
7. Build up slowly: spins create far more force than turns, and two spins are harder than one, so practise until your brain gets used to it.

Common mistakes

• Dancing Latin in flats, so your weight drops back into your heels.
• Letting the body move before the leg in a chassé, instead of letting the foot catch your weight.
• Not spotting, so you look down and the spin falls apart.
• Throwing your energy out over the standing foot instead of up and around your vertical axis.
• Counting Rumba to the singing or melody instead of the drums.

Try this in your next practice

Put on a Rumba and ignore the voice. Find the drums and count 2, 3, 4, 1, listening for the strong accent on 1 and the percussive accent on 4. Then dance a few slow Cha Cha Cha chassés each way, checking the inside edge of the ball, the flexed knee and the leg moving before the body.

Frequently asked questions

How do you count Rumba?

2, 3, 4, 1. Rumba figures start on beat 2, with a strong accent on 1 and a percussive accent on 4.

What heel height is best for Latin dancing?

Men wear Cuban heels of about 1 inch. Ladies might wear 2 to 3 inches, but 3 inches pushes your balance a long way forward, so 2 to 2.5 inches is a good height.

What is the difference between a turn and a spin?

In a turn, like a turning three step, you change weight as you go. In a spin you turn around a fixed point, with your vertical axis running from the ball of your standing foot up to the ceiling.

Will practice stop me getting dizzy?

Yes, along with correct technique. Your brain has to get used to the force of spinning, so spot every time and practise enough for it to adjust.

How fast is Rumba music?

WDSF competition rules set Rumba at 25 to 27 bars a minute.

Related lessons

• Cha Cha Cha forward and backward locks
• Rumba Forward Check body actions
• 3 tips for Ballroom and Latin timing and music
• Jive chassés: feet, hips and body rhythm

Vaughan Liddicoat is a 4 time World Professional 10 Dance representative for Australia, an accredited coach and the founder of Ballroom Mastery. He has a passion for dance and wants to help you become the best dancer you can be and have an amazing time doing it.