Cha-Cha

[cornutt]

Back spot turns.  I'm still finding this to be an awkward step.  I'm getting a bit better at the exit; I've figured out how to shift my weight so that I can step to my right as I lead the reverse turn for the follow's exit from the spot turns.  The amount of rotation I'm getting is still very inconsistent; it should be 1-1/2 rotations for each of the two sets of spot turns.  The angle I finish at is pretty random right now.

[pinkstuff]

Common issue... not understanding how to use the floor.

Stand at the bottom of a fligt of stairs; place the 'ball' of one foot on the next step, while relaxing into the supporting hip. Press down onto the ball of the foot, actually lifting the body straight up until you are supporting the weight on a straightened leg (this, and the next part is what you are probably missing). Feeling how the weight rolls over the hip joint, lower the freely hanging leg... resting on the newly supporting hip. Place the ball of the weightless foot onto the next step; begin again. Bonne chance.

Have new technique for climbing the 3 flights of stairs to my apartment    Hoping it will improve my Cha as am more than aware that I'm not using my feet correctly.  Main issues are with speed, especially spot turns/alemanas.  I don't get my weight to the correct place in time and end up doing some wierd turning thing - not a good look!  As mentioned earlier about forward push/backward pull - this is what I have been taught and is repeatedly emphasized - probably to my teacher's frustration.

Also not sure what was meant by:
"3. Interesting, again, b/c if we mandate good latin feet (dancing in thirds except for the mid step of a chasse where we dance in a modified first), the pushing action hat comes from this helps to create good leg lines when carried through from feet to the body core."

Thanks for all the info - am starting to like Cha again......until the next lesson 

[cornutt]

Also not sure what was meant by:
"3. Interesting, again, b/c if we mandate good latin feet (dancing in thirds except for the mid step of a chasse where we dance in a modified first), the pushing action hat comes from this helps to create good leg lines when carried through from feet to the body core."

I think he was talking about third foot position (feet in a V, touching at the heels), which of course is your basic foot position in Latin.  One thing that I get in coaching a lot is that the correct way of moving in Latin is to push yourself off from the standing foot, which the angle of the V helps a lot.  I have a tendency to throw the moving leg out there and then pull from that leg.  When you do that, the body movement trails the leg movement, which is not the way Latin is done.  But it's been a hard habit for me to break. 

[pinkstuff]

Thanks!  Makes sense - I always find that my feet tend to be parallel in cha cha.  Will try to change - bad habits tend to get ingrained much easier than good ones 

[Some guy]

Also not sure what was meant by:
"3. Interesting, again, b/c if we mandate good latin feet (dancing in thirds except for the mid step of a chasse where we dance in a modified first), the pushing action hat comes from this helps to create good leg lines when carried through from feet to the body core."

I think he was talking about third foot position (feet in a V, touching at the heels), which of course is your basic foot position in Latin.  One thing that I get in coaching a lot is that the correct way of moving in Latin is to push yourself off from the standing foot, which the angle of the V helps a lot.  I have a tendency to throw the moving leg out there and then pull from that leg.  When you do that, the body movement trails the leg movement, which is not the way Latin is done.  But it's been a hard habit for me to break. 

Have you tried falling across the floor in the direction of the step and letting hips/leg-action/footwork "happen"?

[cornutt]

Have you tried falling across the floor in the direction of the step and letting hips/leg-action/footwork "happen"?

That analogy doesn't click with my brain when it comes to side steps.  Falling forwards is natural; falling sideways isn't.   

[MusicChica]

Also not sure what was meant by:
"3. Interesting, again, b/c if we mandate good latin feet (dancing in thirds except for the mid step of a chasse where we dance in a modified first), the pushing action hat comes from this helps to create good leg lines when carried through from feet to the body core."

I think he was talking about third foot position (feet in a V, touching at the heels), which of course is your basic foot position in Latin.  One thing that I get in coaching a lot is that the correct way of moving in Latin is to push yourself off from the standing foot, which the angle of the V helps a lot.  I have a tendency to throw the moving leg out there and then pull from that leg.  When you do that, the body movement trails the leg movement, which is not the way Latin is done.  But it's been a hard habit for me to break. 

Almost.  (I just got some of this info from Don Johnson a couple weeks ago)  You can push yourself from the standing foot no matter what position your feet are in--see Standard, actually.  The feet there are supposed to be more or less parallel, but you still push from the standing leg.  The V in Latin is more for the leg position and hip movement; when your feet are parallel and you try to do Latin/Cuban motion, it ends up being flat and side-to-side, but when your feet start from a V, it enables the front-to-back rotation in the hip, which is the way it's supposed to be done.