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How To Latin Walk
by Sandi
& Dan Finch
When we learn to dance, we find out that most figures have some form of
turn. If our first rhythm was waltz or two step, we had to learn that
the actual turn occurs as we step, between footfalls.
When we then take up cha cha or rumba, someone needs to tell us that
turns occur differently in the latin rhythms. Turns in the latins occur
over a foot, or said differently, after you have committed weight onto
a forward or backward step. The turn occurs because you swivel on your
standing foot to face a new direction.
Whole classes are devoted to just how to walk forward and backward and
turn with swiveling action in rumba, especially, because it is slow and
how you turn becomes part of the beauty of the figure. There are
actually seven types of walk in rumba—forward, back, forward walk
turning, checked forward walk and three forms of delayed walk, one used
in the turn of an alemana and two in the advanced sliding door (one for
Man and one for Lady) and closed and advanced hip twists. An eighth one
starting to be recognized is back walk turning.
Forward and back walks can be taken to an art form, to ensure you have
the hip action characteristic of rumba. For starters, step with toes
pointed diagonally out for best balance and keep inner thighs together
as much as possible. Feel like you are upright, have a stretched long
spine, and feel you are connected through your core. To walk forward,
push your body forward to step to your right foot, taking weight
between feet, then push your weight from the back foot onto the right
foot, rotate the back foot toes out and flex the left knee ready to
move forward again. Your body is slightly twisted so that your right
shoulder can be over your right hip as the right hip rotates back, and
vice versa when you step onto the left foot. Going back, step back onto
a flat foot and move your weight over the foot.
Checked forward walk is for any time you are stepping then changing
direction. It is Man’s first step in a forward basic. He steps forward
left, releasing his back right heel so the knees come together but he
doesn’t allow his weight to pass over his left foot, checking his
weight so he can recover to the right foot. This is a lead to tell Lady
she will step back but then step forward to him, instead of doing
progressive backward walks.
Forward walk turning is the biggie. It is the way all turns in rumba
occur—think spot turn, underarm turn, alemana, and even Lady’s rotation
in an open hip twist and from there out to fan. The turn occurs as a
swiveling action after you step onto a foot. In the open hip twist,
Lady steps back right, then forward left and forward right toward
partner, swiveling on that last step to be in an “L” position in front
of him. Going out to fan, she walks forward left, then right, swiveling
left face on the right to face partner, then back left.
Those are the turns you will find in even the most basic rumba steps.
The delayed walks occur in more advanced figures. The delayed forward
walk is used by Lady to create a faster turn in the first turn of an
alemana. It is a modified forward walk turning but she either points
her left or taps it like in a press line, delaying the forward step
then quickly turning and stepping out without putting her heel down.
Delayed back walk is for the Man’s back step in the advanced sliding
door or closed or advanced hip twist. He steps back but delays putting
his heel down as long as possible, for balance and to allow his partner
time to do her swiveling actions.
The eighth form of “walk” is called back walk turning, as found in the
New Yorker. After you swivel to check through, you recover back,
swiveling to face and step side.
The spiral is a latin turn, usually with a step into it. It is like
wrapping one leg around the other, turning in the opposite direction of
the stepping foot. If the step is forward left, the spiral will rotate
right face, as in the phase VI rope spin at the end of an alemana.
For an exercise, you can walk forward and spiral, walk two steps and
(step) spiral in the opposite direction. It is important to feel your
weight into the floor. Step forward right, weight over the right foot.
Pivot on both feet about halfway around, then push with the back foot,
flex your left knee, allow the knees to close and continue make almost
a full turn with left leg wrapped around the right.
Keep your weight split between the feet as long as possible. Focus your
eyes in front of you as you begin the turn. Keep them focused there as
long as possible, then change your head as you finish. This is
important so you don’t get dizzy. If you allow your head to turn or
your eyes to look everywhere, you will lose balance.
Why? Blame it on the inner ear. If there had been a Roundalab
convention this year (2020), you could have heard our friend, Dr. Peggy
Roller, physical therapy professor at Cal State Northridge, talk on
“Why Do I Get Dizzy When I Spin.”
There are three canals in each ear, each filled with fluid, she would
say. As you turn, the fluid moves. If it was a fast turn, with a fast
stop, the fluid keeps moving a bit because of inertia. This signals the
brain you are still spinning when in fact you are not, and this make
you dizzy.
The best way to avoid that dizziness is to “spot”—as you turn, pick a
stationary spot and focus on it for as long as possible. And practice
turning and spiraling, just like with everything else we learn in
dancing, so the body can learn what that new thing feels like and
adjust.
From a club
newsletter, July 2020,
and
reprinted
in the Dixie Round Dance Council (DRDC)
Newsletter, October 2025 and again December 2025. Find a DRDC Finch
archive here.
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