Standard Dance, Tango, Rumba

Standard dances:

• For the man, compress knees more to make it easier when partner is much shorter.
• For the lady, do not think about tilting head back, just keep it straight, shift it over to the left a bit, so that head is not above sternum.

In Rumba,

• New Yorker: A check is how we change direction from forwards to backward. On the check, the back foot is kept in place, the weight is split. Rather than an abrupt stop and reverse of direction, it is a circular redirection of momentum.
• In the standard check, step on 2, check on &. The standard check is more difficult, and correct execution shows better control. 
• In the syncopated check, the check happens immediately with the step.
• On the Hand to Hand, however, the weight is fully committed to the back leg, since it is much easier to change direction from back to forwards than forwards to back.

The slow steps have three possible timings in Tango. The step takes two beats.

1. Step on 1, hold on two. For example, stepping with the left foot in a Tango walk, the left foot steps on 1, and the right foot comes under the body with out weight. This timing is used for walks.
2. Hold on the 1, and step on 2. This is the timing for closes.
3. Step on 2, with the moving foot movings smoothly through the whole step, like in the waltz or foxtrot.

Make use of this idea of breaking down the beat into fractions for sharpening slow steps in Rumba and Cha Cha as well.