What kind of excercises do you suggest for dancing cha cha, my teacher said I am too jumpy, not grounded

You may want to work on Rumba first to get a feeling of grounding. Since Rumba is a slow dance, you can have more time to consider the technique while you are dancing. Many aspects of Rumba technique apply to other Latin dances (international style), including Cha Cha.
If you have the determination to become a good dancer, consider to purchase some Latin dance techinqual video tapes by the world best dancers. Shirley Ballas's "Latin Dance Muscle Exercise" is an example. The Dance Vision carries the tape and others.

Also, my coach has me hesitate just a little bit after the '&' beat. One-two-three-4-& is actually the end of the step. So I use the '&' as a push off for the next 'one'. This keeps me into the floor more, rather than skimming across the top.
laf

To become more grounded and less "hoppy" in Latin (not just cha cha) you might first focus on keeping your feet in contact with the floor. One exercise that I found useful for illustrative purposes was to try and dance with bits of paper towels under my shoes. The objective is to keep them there -- you'll quickly find out if you're lifting your feet off the floor with this exercise! I wouldn't suggest doing this all of the time, but it's a good introduction to how it feels to be constant contact with the floor.

There are other concepts that might be helpful, though they're not concrete exercises like the above:
- Try to dance *under* the floor, rather than on the surface. Of course, it's physically impossible, but it's the idea that counts
- Think of stroking your feet across the floor whenever possible, rather than lifting and placing them (there *will* be times when it's appropriate to lift/place -- your instructor should be able to tell you when that's the case). I like to think of how it feels when you draw a match across a surface to light it -- an action that's quick but not light (because of the pressure involved).
- Beyond the feet, being grounded is about your entire body. I don't know where you are in your dancing, or if you've talked much about the use of your center. So, without getting too technical, I generally think of Latin as being solid and settled as opposed to light and bouncy. Use gravity to your advantage in Latin, and try to imagine that your whole body is connected to the floor.

Hmmm...hope that wasn't too obscure to be helpful!

Vanessa

"Bouncy" action of the body is often seen in newer students of American style Rhythm, who place too much emphasis on the bent leg action.

When you commit all of your weight to a bent leg, particularly with a flat foot, you will tend to drop your center. This is a very common mistake in beginners. When the leg straightens, your center will pick up again, and you'll get the bouncy action.

So the first thing to realize is that the level of your center is basically in a normal or "neutral" position when you are standing upright on a straight leg. In order to avoid bouncing, you must maintain your body at this level as you bend and straighten.

Try this: Stand in first position with your feet flat and your body weight over your right foot. Make sure that you are standing tall and lifted, hips "neutral" (not settled to left or right). Now go ahead and bend your left knee, making sure that it does not have any body weight, and allowing the hips to settle rightward.

Here's the important part: As the hip is settling, pay very close attention to your posture and particularly the height of your sternum (place a finger on the sternum to really draw your attention to it). You should not feel yourself pitch forward or downward. The sternum should be able to maintain a picked up position, and the position of your upper body (specifically the chest and shoulders) should not be afftected by the setting action.

By focusing on the picking up of your center, sternum, and upper body, especially during the settling action (where it's most likely to get lost), you can teach yourself how to maintain a nice, level position during hip action.

As an exercise, try standing in first position and settling the hips from one side to the other. For now, always shift the weight to the straight leg. As noted above, always pay close attention to the level and position of the upper body.

This exercise can (and probably should) also be done in 2nd position, 4th right foot forward, and 4th left foot forward. Once you get the idea, you can start to focus on applying it to actual movements and dance steps, where there are further issues to tackle. But for now start with this, and see how it goes for you.

In the future, we can discuss the more complex issues such as the timing of the bending/straightening action with respect to the steps, as well as the timing of the lowering of the heels.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Atkinson