We call this one ‘Wedding Swivels’ becuase it looks lovely when danced with a volumous, swishy skirt on such as a wedding dress.
Start this Rumba move with a Parallel Rock from the end of Level 1 Rumba.
From here the leader moves back and the follower swivels forward to create the travelling swivel action.
The Leader’s Steps
In this video we are referring to the leader’s steps when we describe the gentlemen’s steps.
Leaders imagine you are creating a wall of resistance with your hands that the followers are leaning on to swivel forward. There needs to be just the right amount of resistance + give. Imagine the follower is moving house and has to slide a heavy couch across the floor boards. There is give but it only comes after they have pushed forward a certain amount.
Don’t make your steps backwards too big as this will prevent the followers from being able to create a swivel action and instead they will just need to take large steps forward to keep up with you.
The Follower’s Steps
In this video we are referring to the follower’s steps when we describe the lady’s steps.
To swivel forward;
1. Imagine you are walking on a tightrope, lift up on to the ball of your feet and walk forward on the tightrope
2. Cross one leg over the other allowing your hips to swivel in one direction and then the other as you cross
3. The ‘swivel’ itself is the action where you can feel the ball of your foot rotating on the floor beneath you
This next video is about practising the Heel Toe Swivels in Rock ‘n Roll. This same excercise can help you to become more smooth when swivelling in any Ballroom or Latin Dance including rumba.
Here is a video from Jam going into more technical detail about footwork for your rumba swivels.
