Hand to Hand & Shoulder to Shoulder Alternatives In Rumba

Ballroom Blitz #124

Hand to Hand & Shoulder to Shoulder Alternatives In Rumba - Jul 25, 2024

Transcript

Ian: Hey guys and girls from the inter-webs. My name's Ian,

Lindsey: and my name's Lindsey,

Ian & Lindsey: and welcome to Ballroom Blitz.

Ian: Hello, Ballroom blitzers, welcome back to a Latinesque Ballroom Blitz. Today we're going to be hitting up some Rumba. We're going to be doing two figures. We've already done these figures in Cha Cha, so we're going to be covering both of them in Rumba they're almost the same (as in Cha Cha), and we're going to be giving you some alternate things to think about to spice them up.

We're going to be handling Hand-to-Hands with an alternate position and Shoulder-to-Shoulder with a developed position as well. We'll leave links below that for the Cha versions for the basics, and we're going to hit you up with all the advanced versions. So let's have a look.

[demonstration without music]

Ian: So, as you can see from the demonstrations, super easy upgrades and variations of two super basic moves. Of course, we've removed the Cha Cha Chasse, as we have shown in the Cha video, so that, of course, converts it to a Rumba, and some of you are looking at those variations going well, I do those all the time, like what's the big deal? But some of you out there are saying, “Oh, I didn't know we could do that, let's give it a go.” So, first of all, all of your basic Cha moves, or I should say most of your basic Cha moves, cross from Cha to Rumba and back just by adding or removing the Chasse. So if you've done Shoulder-to-Shoulders, it's the same in Rumba. If you've done Hand-to-Hands, it's the same in Rumba as it is in Cha.

We'll leave some links in the description to revise that if it's new for you. But here, we're going to do the Hand-to-Hands basically with the arms on the back rather than holding the hand. This gives it a little bit of a new dimension and it can be, a little bit more intimate, it can make it a bit closer on a busy social floor, and it just gives you a different appearing move, which is basically the same on your footwork. It also enables you to move into it from a particular side that I think a lot of people tend not to do on the social floor if we're just using the original sort of Hand-to-Hand type hold. Next the Shoulder-to-Shoulders, with the two hands up is the sort of, I guess, upgraded or developed version. I think most people are dancing that anyway, it is slightly weaker because we don't have as much of a hold on our follower. But it looks quite specky and it is really easy.

But what we're going to give you is the reverse option of those where the leader actually steps backwards and the follow steps forwards, rather than just the leader always going forward version, which is the one that tends to get used, and that way you just get turned around and again you get a little bit more bang for your buck, and we're going to have a look at how you can move between those, without having to stop and turn and restart again and things like that. So we're going to upgrade a few of the easy versions, put it into Rumba by removing the Chasse, and you'll be good to go with a number of different options and a bit of variety for your social Rumba and your social Cha Cha, because some of these will, of course, cross back into your Cha Cha. So let's break it down and have a look at the Leaders steps for the; let's do hand hands first.

Ian: Okay leaders, so we're going to do your steps and, draw it out of the hat, we're going to do the Hand-to-Hands. Footwork for this variation is the same, we’re not changing what the move is, we're just changing it of course from what we've done in Cha to Rumba. So we are going to have our, stepping back full weight two, rocking step three, and then we're going to return Four-One, instead of our Four-and One for our Cha Cha, and we can do the same on the opposite foot, and settling back, and what we have done is had this sort of open, two handed hold and we have exchanged hands along the way.

A simple, nice, neat and easy upgrade to this, is basically not having the hands being held like, so out to the side, but you keep this hand on the back and we step back and have this around the follows shoulder blades. Everything below the hips stays exactly the same. You get a little bit closer to your partner, so it's good for when you have not as much space. It's also nice for when you're in a closed hold and you want to go into Hand-to-Hands, you don't have to shunt this hand down and do anything like that. You hold it in its natural position for our loose, closed hold, and we step back and voila, it's already there. So that's really a nice, simple upgrade for it.

Some people will call this a Back-to-Back. I really don't like that name because it gives you images of trying to get back to back, and it's not really what you're trying to do. But, that might be a bit of translation if you have heard that term, and if you're using that term, please stop. So all we're going to do with our Hand-to-Hand instead, of holding down here, same footwork, removing the Cha Cha Chasse from the Cha video, holding our arm up. Usually it is most comfortable for the follower to slip their arm over the ladies, but if there's a big height difference, you might have other arrangements. Stepping around doing the same Hand-to-Hand footwork. Your free arm can style up or down as you like, and operating about that just under shoulder level, keeping the arm on the back. So a nice simple upgrade for your easy Hand-to-Hands.

Lindsey: So followers, this is actually a really nice, lead into this move because we don't really need to change our arm work here, we’ll feel a little bit of pressure through the leader's hand here to open us up, but they'll keep their hand on our shoulder blade, encouraging us to keep our hands up near the shoulders here at the top of the arm or you might find it sort of slipping around, behind the shoulders as we're opening up whatever is comfortable. But that's a nice, supportive hold that we've got here. We can use, and hand to support ourselves and we've got the leader's arm supporting us as well, and we are just matching in with, footwork here exactly the same as our Hand-to-Hands where we're going: Back. Rock. Side, transition. Back. Rock. Side. and we're nice and supportive, or supported all the way.

Ian: Now if you do want to transition between the two holds, you can start in one and the other. So as long as you say this is a nice supported set of position, if you get here and think, “Oh jeez, that's that's a bit too... too something I don't really know”, and you feel more comfortable offering the hand. We can take it palm up and keep doing the exact same move and transition into your Hand-to-Hand and also on the way back by reaching. So you don't have to pick just one or the other you can try it out, slip between them, and that gives you a bit more variety and sometimes a bit of an easier lead, between figures as well.

Next up we have the Shoulder-to-Shoulder move. Now in the basic video that we did in the Cha Cha, we just kept our nice closed position with our follower. We turned a little bit up to that eighth to step outside, and then of course it was a Cha video, so we were Chassing either side; and that's pretty much all we did. A lot of people will into this from a turn rather than from basic, so if they've done some sort of turning figure they’re already putting this hand up and entering it from this sort of two handed raised position and stepping outside, and either Cha-ing or Rumba-ing to change sides. That's really what we're doing, but because most people that we see are doing that anyway, and that's not really a big upgrade.

I guess the only thing we'll say about it is if you are doing that, try not to move your arms too much. That's where a lot of people will fall down. The two hand up position looks kind of cool, and it's a fun one to dance, but it is weaker because we don't have as much of, a hold of our partner. So if we have a bit of noodle arms, then sometimes we can get a little bit unruly and the signals get missed between, our partner and our, well, our leader and a follower. So if we hold those in position a little bit more strongly and say that, okay, we understand that we have two hands up and our legs are the same, once we get a little bit more rigidity without being too muscle man up top, we can now transition from the leader always going forward to the leader going backward as well.

Ian: So if I step outside of my partner here: Two. Three, and in a Rumba we have our Four-One. The basic version I would turn about a quarter over my Four-One, step outside this way, Forward. Rock. and these would be our Shoulder-to-Shoulders. That's completely fine. But leads you might want a bit of variety. So all I need to do here is recognize that I am already on the proper angle here for my follower to step outside. So as I do my rock back, I maintain that position. But now as I do my Four-One, I'm just taking a side step without rotating my body at all, and this will work if we have a nice solid frame, if it's a bit too spongy or if the follower’s a little bit sort of noodle armed as well, then we might not quite, quite get that message across. But that's as simple as it is.

The hardest part is making sure that we communicate nice and properly, because now all I'm going to do is step back. I almost assumed what I was putting my follower through we've almost exchanged roles, so if you want to think of it like that. So I step back our rock forward and now on the side step if I do my quarter turn, I'm stepping back again, and we can do that as many times as we like, and if I want to get out of that, I just choose not to, take that quarter turn. So as long as we have a nice strong frame up top, not too strong, of course, but a nice firm frame working, then this one is an easier upgrade where it's not just one person going forward, we can mix it up. You can get two on one side and two on the next. Get a bit of variety and then drop the appropriate hand to go into whatever follows. You want to come out with.

Lindsey: So followers all of these Shoulder-to-Shoulder moves, whether we are being sent backwards or being encouraged forwards into them is still following our, sort of Step, Rock, Slow, Step, Rock, Slow, or Step, Rock, Side, pattern of just one foot after the other. So we should never be in doubt as to which foot we're going on. The only information that we need is which direction the leader wants us to go in, and as Ian said, we've got a big neon sign if they don't perform that quarter turn to get between them, that is our heads up that we are about to switch.

So if Ian hasn't told me which one he is going to do, but I know which foot I'm ready on. So that one. Yep, we are ready to go and he's being going backwards sending me forwards. He's performed the quarter turn on that one so I know to keep on going with what I'm doing. But now it's gone and I'm ready to go backwards instead. So we're looking for that change in the norm to let us know when that change of direction is coming. The footwork should all be just nice and consistent. Just Step, Rock, Slow, Step, Rock, Slow, and we've got good communication between our frame. We're both gearing off of each other. No need for any heavy handedness. Leaders, but followers. We need to be keeping our spider senses on to let us know what's going on.

[demonstration with music]

Ian: There you have it, two nice, easy conversions from your basic moves in Cha Cha into Rumba, with a few ideas on how to spice them up as well. Nice and simple ideas so you can keep dressing them up if you like. But if you've never come across those before, or if you are new to Latin, you can give them a go and it just goes to show that if you keep up the rhythm and you make your clear signals, your ideas nice and clear for your follower, then you can make almost anything happen.

So get up on the social floor, try your Cha Cha out, try your Rumba out. Try spicing up some of the moves that you have been doing since you started, and if you are just starting out, don't get too dogmatic about your basic because just have some fun and try out anything. You'd be surprised what works when you just give it a go and have fun. Until we do see you again. Keep dancing, let us know what you would like us to blitz. Throw us a comment. We love that. But for now, keep dancing and we will see you next time.

Ian: Well, that's it for this blitz boys and girls. Don't forget to like,

Lindsey: comment,

Ian: share,

Lindsey: and subscribe.

Ian: See you next time.

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