Taste Test - Learn your first dance step for Free!
We encourage everyone who visits our site to learn their first dance step for free by sampling our "taste test". Here we guide you through one of our most popular steps, the Rumba Box, according to our 5 point "Do-It" system.
We've broken all of our dance steps down into these five key learning points. You can learn the steps in any order you like, but we recommend working down through the videos in order. Click on the video icons below to get started learning immediately.
Rumba Box
Dance Step Demo
We start each step with a demo so that you know what you're going to learn.
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| The Rumba Box is the basic step of Rumba and, danced over and over, can be a dance all on it's own. Our Box Step demo shows two boxes, the first without rotation and the second with rotation. |
Do It by Yourself
Before you can start "ripping up the floor", you need to learn where to put your feet. Whether you are leading or following, knowing your steps and being able to dance them on your own will ensure that your mind doesn't get mixed up and your body will be used to the way the step moves and balances.
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| Man's Foot Positions | Lady's foot positions |
Do It with Music
Learning the timing of a step allows you to feel good dancing to the music and also keeps you synchronized with your partner.
We count our dance steps in "Slows" and "Quicks". A "Slow" is danced over two counts of music, while a "Quick" is danced over just one count. Remember that you should feel really comfortable with your feet positions and timing before you move on to do it with a partner.
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| Count: SQQ SQQ |
Do It with a Partner
This is where we teach you how to make the step work with a partner. Don't be discouraged if things are a little bumpy at first. It's always easier to dance on your own than it is to dance with somebody moving in front of you. The main thing to remember here is that you are a team - be patient with each other. Try not to push and pull on each other to make things work, but rather stay nice and relaxed to allow your partner to dance their own part.
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| The basic hold for the Latin dances. |
Do it on the Floor
Dancing the steps on the floor can be nerve-wracking, especially when dealing with other people dancing around you. In this section we suggest ways to integrate other steps into the dance. At some point we will also integrate bird's eye flash animations so you can see how the steps work together.
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Although you can dance the box step as a straight square, you should try to rotate the step to make it look and feel more natural. Suggested Combination: Box Step after Box step is the foundation of the Rumba. |
Do it with Style
Finally, when you feel really comfortable dancing the step together, we give you some instruction on how to look good doing it. This instruction is really the icing on the cake, so make sure that you have a good cake before you get too crazy! Really the biggest part of styling is just letting your own personality into your dancing. To add to this we have lots of advice for how to use your head, arms and body to look more natural and to develop the character of each dance.
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| Use your knees to produce a soft hip action in the Rumba. |