Summary: Learn how to do the Mambo with dance steps beginning with the basic step in this free video dance lesson.
Leslie Sack has been teaching, performing and competing in Latin and ballroom dancing for the past 12 years. Before moving to Santa Barbara in 1999, she taught at Washington Dance Club...read more
"Hi! This is Leslie Sack. My website is www.lesliesack.com and dance is Mambo. There are actually two ways you can do the basic step. One moves front to back and one is side to side. We are going to do the side to side one first and this is the one you are going to do holding onto your partner. If you do the front to back basic, then you won't be holding on. Okay, if you are a guy you are going to go forward in your left foot first. If you are girl, you will go backwards first. So it looks like this. If I'm leader, I am going to go forward, quick, quick I step side, rock that step side, rock step side and rock step side. If I'm the girl, I go back; rock step side and the way you count this is 2, 3, 4 hold 1, 2, 3, 4, hold 1, 2, 3, 4, hold 1. I'm stepping upward not forward. I step slightly just a little bit not perfectly side, just a little bit back and right back middle forward this is going to make it so we can rotate it. Okay. So this basically rotates slightly left just a little bit at a time, later turn a little more but for now 1, 2, 3, 4 hold, 1,2,3,4, hold, 1, 2, 3, 4 hold. Gives us this Latin look. Notice that fill. I am using the edges of my feet a lot and I got that one knee bent and one knee straight. Again don't think too much about your head. Just figure out which foot you are on; left, right, left, right, left, right. That is your side basic."