Achieving Cuban Motion

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peachexploration

Excerpt from Dancefreak.com Article: How to Satify a Woman-Every Dance

Cuban Motion

Cuban motion gives dancers the soft body rolling, swaying type of look typically found in most Latin dancers. It is a lazy type of relaxed look that comforts the viewer and give the dance a more authentic - flowing type of look. There is nothing better than dancing with someone with great Cuban Motion!

To achieve that look, sit in a chair, and string an imaginary rope around your ribs, holding each end of the rope with each hand to your sides, extended out from your ribcage. Now, gently tug on the rope to the right with your right hand. Still sitting in the chair, gently pull the rope to the left with your left hand. Now go back and forth. This movement of your ribcage is the basics of Cuban Motion. As you go from side to side, lift up your elbow only (not your shoulder) in the direction you are pulling. When you stand up and do this in a basic, as you step, your ribcage will stretch in that direction, along with your elbow (not shoulder) going up. For every step you take, your corresponding ribcage will stretch, and elbow go up. Your weight will be on the bent knee, every time you step. It is a lazy looking type of swaying motion, but once you get it, you'll look incredible out there.

What do you think about these exercises? Any Suggestions? Any Additions? Agree? Disagree? Have you tried them?
 
peachexploration said:
Excerpt from Dancefreak.com Article: How to Satify a Woman-Every Dance

Cuban Motion

Cuban motion gives dancers the soft body rolling, swaying type of look typically found in most Latin dancers. It is a lazy type of relaxed look that comforts the viewer and give the dance a more authentic - flowing type of look. There is nothing better than dancing with someone with great Cuban Motion!
Click to expand...

Hi Peach

Can you please suggest an online clip where I can see what this Cuban motion looks like? I'd like to work on it...thanks for the suggested exercises :)

--
Raj
 
Its a very nice exercise. I have been dancing extensively for approximately 7 months now and I really need to get the motion in order to improve my style.

Thanks for the suggestion.
 
My take...

I guess maybe I don't understand this....

I've always heard and taught that this motion is achieved by proper footwork more than any 'exercise'. If your knees are bent, your feet are placed correctly, and you let the natural 'sway' of the body do its thing, this SHOULD happen naturally. The key is being relaxed (which I've commented on alot... and it takes TIME and CONFIDENCE before that happens, nothing more - nothing less).

I've seen so many people try to force this action out of their body and it looks exactly that way.... forced. Women HAVE hips, and when they walk, those hips move... dancing salsa/mambo is no different than walking to me.

Are there people that have used and found 'technique' to be useful for this? I personally find that once you relax and begin to dance 'how you walk', which is relaxed with proper balance and footwork, 'cuban motion' will just happen. Perhaps, I'm wrong though, but I would be curious to hear more opinions on it.

All things come in time. :)
 
latindia said:
Hi Peach

Can you please suggest an online clip where I can see what this Cuban motion looks like? I'd like to work on it...thanks for the suggested exercises :)

--
Raj
Click to expand...

Hi Latindia. :D As soon as I come across some, I will post. :D

I have a few questions to add. When dancers speak of Cuban Motion, is it just in the lower body or does it emcompass the whole body? Is it just the hips or does it include the shoulders or ribcage?
 
[/quote said:
Hi Peach

Can you please suggest an online clip where I can see what this Cuban motion looks like? I'd like to work on it...thanks for the suggested exercises :)

--
Raj
Click to expand...

Hi,

There's an extensive explanation of the cuban motion at http://ballroomdancers.com/ . Includes:

Contents

* Part 1: The 3 Ranges of Motion
* Part 2: Hip Movement Motivated by the Knees
* Part 3: Technical Tips
* Exercise 1: Hip Motion In Place (1st Position)
* Exercise 2: Hip Motion In Place (2nd Position)

At http://www.ballroomdancers.com/Learning_Center/Lesson/1/ to be precise. I'm not sure it makes it any easier, but take a look.

Mala
 
I like to start with the feet and work my way up. Here are a few miscellaneous notes:
1) Toes turned out consistently
2) Stepping first with the inside edge of the whole foot
3) Straighten knee after weight change (not at the same time as weight change)
4) After straightening the knee of the supporting leg, let that hip rotate back (which also causes the opposite hip to rotate forward and the knee to bend)
5) Also as the hip goes back, on the opposite side of the body, the distance between the ribs and hip increases. while the other side shrinks
6) Also, as one side stretches, the shoulder blade on the same side rotates upward (and then back down as the you switch to the other foot.
7) As a result of the shoulder blades moving (slightly), the arms are also affected, causing some rotational movement through the hands and elbows.

I don't think any of this can be learned overnight. It takes time.
 
peachexploration said:
I have a few questions to add. When dancers speak of Cuban Motion, is it just in the lower body or does it emcompass the whole body? Is it just the hips or does it include the shoulders or ribcage?
Click to expand...
I hear it referring to mostly ribcage, knees - the hips are often explained as a side-effect of good cuban motion, I think the shoulders as well (except when doing other shoulder-specific isolations like shimmies)

i caveat all that with the fact that I never had to learn or practice it, so i'm not sure what the best constructive steps are for making it look natural
 
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