How to Dance The Drop Voltas in International Samba
This exciting International samba figure can be preceded by the first 3 steps of the Promenade Samba Walks, ending with the man's RF free and the lady's LF free.
The man and lady should start the Drop Voltas in Open Promenade position. That is, their left and right fronts don't contact each other, and the man is on the left of the lady, and the lady is on the right of the man.
The man should have his RH on the lady's LH. This is called R-L hand hold. Throughout the figure, the free arms (the L arm for the man, the R arm for the lady) should extend to the side, preferably curved, and not completely straight, to create a good Latin styling.
The Drop Voltas are in three parts:
First part:
Here, the man and lady are in Open Promenade Position.
The man does three steps: Cross RF over LF, side LF, and cross RF over LF. The lady does the natural opposite footwork. (The count is: 1a2)
Second part:
The man and lady both spread out to Overturned Open Promenade Position, with their backs facing almost at each other, and their fronts and faces go away from each other.
This means that the man will do about a 1/2 turn to his left and the lady, a 1/2 turn to her left.
Despite this position, the man should still maintain hand contact.
The man does three more steps: Cross LF over RF, side RF, and cross LF over RF. The lady does the natural opposite footwork. (The count is: 1a2)
Third part:
The man and lady go back to the original Open Promenade Position again; the man turns 1/2 to his right, and the lady turns 1/2 to her left, so they face each other again.
The man does seven more steps: Cross RF over LF, side LF, cross RF over LF, side LF, cross RF over LF, side LF, and cross RF over LF. The lady does the natural opposite footwork. (The count is: 1a2a3a4)
This is the end of the Drop Voltas. The figure can be followed by the Samba Whisks to the Left and Right.
Note: The counting symbol "a", after the number, means that the number (1, 2, etc.) will have a 3/4 beat, and the "a" will have a 1/4 beat. The "a" timing, or quarter-beat timing, is tricky, but this is common, because International samba timing focuses mainly on the 1/4 beat.
"Natural opposite" means the follower will dance the foot opposite that the leader is dancing on. For instance, if the leader dances on his RF, the follower will dance on her LF. This only applies to the lead foot; that is, the foot that has weight on.
About the Author
Charles Joseph Smith began ballroom dancing and Latin dancing first with the University YMCA Ballroom Dance Club at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and then with the Dancing Illini, a social and competitive dance club at the same university, from 1995 to 2002.
He also took up nightclub dancing from dance teachers outside the Dancing Illini, and was a salsa club dancer and enthusiast from 1997 to 2002.
Later on, he danced in his first major dancesport event, The Chicago Crystal Ball competition of 2002, with dance partner Michele Stoehr. They won first place in the 5-dance American Rhythm Championship, and also competed in the 5-Dance International Latin Championship.
He is also a fan of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars."
Tell others about
this page:
Comments? Questions? Email Here