Pointing your toes makes even a beginner look polished while dancing Latin ballroom dances.
In Latin cha-cha, samba and rumba, it is especially important to lead and follow with your toes. Leading with the heel cuts the motion and line of the leg. By leading with an always-pointed toe, the leg looks long and ever-graceful. As the second foot joins the other, make sure that foot's toe drags across the ground, elongating and slowing down the motion to make the move more sensual.
Practice this at home with the cha-cha. During the triple side step, watch how a pointed toe on the first foot makes the motion quick and effortless. The second foot's pointed toe sweeps across the floor and creates a sexy appeal.
While jive and salsa are faster and toes rarely drag, they still must always be pointed. In jive, knees are pulled up very high --- if the toes are not pointed, the foot looks flat and unappealing. In salsa, it is much faster to stay always on your toes and makes turning easier. During styling or embellishments, a pointed toe draws attention up the leg.
Movement in the hips is one of the ways to tell a beginner from an experienced dancer. Latin dances often have one of two hip movements: figure eight or pelvic swing.
Cha-cha, rumba and salsa all have obvious figure eight movements in the hip region. Practice this motion by standing with legs hip-width apart and knees slightly bent. While lifting the right heel, project your right hip out and then curve it around to the right and back until you return to center. Now do the same with the left heel and left hip. Once you have each move down, alternate them in quick succession. They should be making a figure eight. (Put your hands on your hips if it helps to gauge the movement).
Practicing the figure eight in a dance is best done with rumba for beginners, since it is the slowest. However, any of these styles can be slowed down while working on hip technique. After some practice, it will be second nature.
The pelvic swing is most distinctly used in samba. To practice this technique, place one hand on your lower abdomen and one on your lower back in order to feel the movements. Bend your knees slightly and try to isolate your hip bones while moving them front and back. This may feel odd at first, but it is the key element to mastering the samba. Once you understand the movement, try it in the dance --- almost every step you take in samba requires a pelvic swing.
Hanging your arms at your side is common identifier of the new Latin dancer. Arms are every bit as important as your feet in Latin dancing.
For Latin ballroom dances including the cha-cha, rumba, jive and samba, there are many moves that release one arm. When your arm is released from your partner's embrace, they should be quick, extend outward and reach at the tips of your fingers toward the audience. You want to be seen, so make your arms long and demand attention with your speed.
When you are in an embrace with your partner, arms should be firm and self-supported, but not like iron bars with no give. Practice this on your own by walking around, imagining you are holding a giant beach ball in your arms. Hands should be slightly below shoulder level, but never waist level. Eventually, keeping them from drooping while dancing should as natural as breathing.
In salsa, merengue and bachata, the partner embrace should be looser and more flexible. A man's hand can be closer to the waist instead of on the shoulder blade. A woman's hand can rest on the bicep instead of behind the shoulder of her partner. When doing personal styling separate from a partner, arms should flow in sensual movements across the body, above the head and to the side. This often feels unnatural for a beginner. Practice at home and watch "salsa shine" videos on YouTube.com for arm ideas. Soon, you will feel at home doing your moves on the dance floor.
Straightening your back and keeping your head up is a way to not only look confident as a new dancer but it will also help you get the moves right. Along with long legs and long arms comes a long torso and neck. Once your feet learn the basic steps, there is no reason for you to be looking at them. Your brain is telling them what to do --- not your eyes. Keep your eyes up, and that will keep them from interfering with your brain's commands.
If either partner is slouching, the other will feel crowded and awkward in the dance. If the slouching partner is taller, that will make his partner feel smothered and in turn she will lean backward, completely destroying the lithe and tall appearance you are going for as dancers.
For a woman, it is usually best to either look at the ear, neck or collar bone area of her partner, or over his shoulder if the outside images do not upset her balance. A man can either look outward or somewhere on the woman's head if she is not too short.
To practice good posture, remind yourself of it all day long. If it is not a life habit, it will rarely become a dancing habit.