Salsa and Rumba Leads

In today's (tenth) class, we were taught taking leads in Salsa and Rumba. In Salsa, we learned taking leads for basic, side and open steps. In Rumba, we learned taking leads for basic and shift-2-shift steps.

Salsa basic step:

• Female partner puts her hands in boy’s open hands. Male partners keep their thumbs pointing outwards.

• In Salsa basic step, our hands make a 90 degree angle at elbows.

• While going back or front (on steps 1 and 5), we try to move hand's elbow with the body. Elbow should not touch body, but keep it at a comfortable distance. During movement, female partner should keep her hands stiff, so that whenever male partner gives a lead, her elbow should not get back or ahead of her body; it should move with our body.

• He gives leads at 4 (end of 3) and 8 (end of 7), which she has to catch and follow the steps accordingly.

• Try not to rotate hands in rounds, while doing steps. Try to keep them at 90 degrees.

Salsa Side steps:

• Here our hands just go down in the direction of movement, and then come back.

Salsa open steps:

• Try not to crisscross the hands while doing the steps.

Rumba steps:

• In Rumba, we were taught only two leads; one when male partner leads female partner backwards/forwards or other when he leads her sideways.

• Giving leads either forward or backward means that partners have to do basic Rumba steps.

• For shift-2-shift steps, he leads by moving his hands in the opposite direction. So in step 1, when we shift our weight on left foot, we lead by stretching our right hand in the right direction. Similarly we lead movement towards right, by moving left hand in left direction.