Anyone Can Dance Rumba

Anyone Can Dance (American) Rumba

We actually enjoyed this DVD better than many. Yes, it moves slow, and it teaches the same basics you’ll learn almost anywhere, but it teaches them on a repeating DVD, and clearly, and if you simply watch repeatedly and practice what they demonstrate a bit, you’ll learn well enough to “go dancing.” Which is really the desired result, right?

They start, it seems, “off topic,” talking about dancing with a straight leg to faster music, etc. Yet it’s true that current musical trends are for faster “Rumba” music and you have to know it’s OK to change things up. More than that, since you’re a beginner EVERYTHING is going to sound fast – especially if you’re a new lead – so bear in mind the slow demonstration dancing they do isn’t what you’ll always see or hear in the real world.

Prepare for that “shock” by practicing while they are doing the demos on the DVD. Just get used to stepping as music is playing and try to keep in mind that it’s OK to do basic stuff as long as you’re with the beat, and that one move will eventually lead to another… Practicing to the beat - a slow beat to start - is the key to success!

A good point brought up during the discussion of the “Cross Body Lead” was to not pull or push the follow to “the other side.” If you use only your arms to do that, it’s more a “pass through” or “push through” that you’ll hear about in other dances. Here, the emphasis, as he tries to point out, isn’t “the cross” so much as it is the “body lead.” Keep a firm frame, move your entire body into the move while opening up a space for her, and she’ll pretty much step across as you go… It’s a very nice feeling for both dancers. A feeling to be cultivated…

If you’re new to dancing, by the way, you can’t do better than to go dancing “with the old people” who still organize church dances, community dances, tea dances, and so forth. The older they are, the more likely it is they know what they’re doing, or, are supposed to do - and the more likely they will know what it is you’re trying to do, or, want to do, as a new lead or new follow. It’s a good way to learn, plus they will naturally dance slower – which favors you learning a lot of what they already know! They’ll be happy you came too... So go!