How to Dance the Rumba:
The American Box Step With Amy’s Video

Amy and her partner William demonstrate the American rumba (1:20). Captions are built into the video, and the transcript is just below.

American rumba is slow, romantic and compact, so it’s one of the friendliest partner dances to learn first. It’s also a favorite for wedding first dances, because so many love songs fit its steady beat.

This guide breaks down the box step from Amy’s video above, with footwork diagrams, a count-along video, two practice tracks and a five-minute drill. You don’t need a partner, experience or natural rhythm to start, just a little floor space and the count.

What you’ll learn

Step 1: Learn the count before the feet

Rumba music has four beats to a bar, and the box step fits three steps into those four beats. Amy counts it slow, quick, quick. The slow step takes two beats (1 and 2), and each quick takes one beat (3, then 4). The NC State University social dance text describes the same timing: a slow of two beats followed by two quicks of one beat each.

Step 2: See the box before you dance it

The box has two halves of three steps each. The first half goes forward, side, together. The second half goes back, side, together. Put them together and your feet trace a small square on the floor, ending right where they started.

• The slow is the forward or back step. It’s the only step that really travels.
• The first quick goes to the side. The second quick closes your feet together, and you change weight onto the closing foot. In Amy’s words: “We close our feet and change weight.”
• In a partner hold, the leader goes forward while the follower goes back, so you move as one unit.

Step 3: The leader’s box, step by step

Start: feet together, facing your partner, weight on your right foot, so your left foot is free to move.

1. Slow: step forward on your left foot.
2. Quick: step your right foot to the side.
3. Quick: close your left foot to your right and change weight.
4. Slow: step back on your right foot.
5. Quick: step your left foot to the side.
6. Quick: close your right foot to your left and change weight. You’re back where you started, ready to step forward again.

Say it out loud: “Forward, side, together. Back, side, together.” That’s exactly how Amy calls it in the video.

Step 4: The follower’s box, step by step

Start: feet together, facing your partner, weight on your left foot, so your right foot is free to move.

1. Slow: step back on your right foot.
2. Quick: step your left foot to the side.
3. Quick: close your right foot to your left and change weight.
4. Slow: step forward on your left foot.
5. Quick: step your right foot to the side.
6. Quick: close your left foot to your right and change weight.

Your part is the mirror image of the leader’s: when the leader goes forward, you go back, and the other way around.

Step 5: Put it together and let it turn

Take a relaxed hold and dance the box together: leader forward as the follower goes back, side, together; then the leader back as the follower comes forward, side, together. Dance it in place until it feels automatic, at least eight boxes in a row.

Then let it turn. In her video (0:23), Amy shows how “we can also rotate slightly counterclockwise.” Turn the box a little to the left each time and the two of you slowly circle together while the steps stay the same.

Watch the count-along lesson (under 3 minutes)

This short video walks both parts step by step, then counts along with you at a slow practice tempo and again at dance tempo. Press play and dance along; captions are available.

Hear the counts: two practice tracks

These original practice tracks (no music, just tones) play the box step for you. After four soft count-in clicks, a long, deep tone marks each slow and two bright tones mark quick, quick. Press play, stand up, and dance along. Neither track plays automatically.

Beyond the box: what comes next in Amy’s video

Once the box is steady, Amy’s video shows where it goes next. These are best learned with a teacher, but here’s what to watch for:

Want the rumba to look like rumba? Teachers add Cuban motion, a hip action that comes from bending and straightening the knees as your weight arrives on each step, as the NC State text and DanceSport Place describe. It’s easiest to learn in person, once the box is automatic.

Common mistakes and quick fixes

Your five-minute practice

If finding the beat is the hard part, read why some songs make the beat hard to find.

Music, clothes and where you’ll dance it

The steps are only half the picture. Here’s what to play, what to wear, and where the rumba will actually come in handy.

What music works for the rumba?

Look for a slow to moderate song with a steady four-beat (4/4) pulse and a smooth, romantic feel, as Ballroom Pages describes. For competition, the NDCA’s approved tempo for American Rhythm rumba is 31 bars (124 beats) per minute, according to the Ballroom Pages tempo chart. Plenty of slower love songs work for social dancing, too.

From the American rumba titles on the RPI Ballroom Team’s music list. Tempos vary by recording, so test yours: if you can count a steady “slow, quick, quick” and dance the box without rushing, it will work. The practice tracks above are a good warm-up first.

What should you wear?

Avoid rubber soles, flip-flops and chunky or loose heels, which stick, slip or twist. Advice drawn from Supadance’s guide to dressing for ballroom and So Danca’s Latin shoe guide; the costume example is from the Berkeley Classic’s competition rules.

Where will you dance the rumba?

• Wedding first dances. The rumba’s compact, romantic box fits a slow love song and a crowded floor, which is why so many couples choose it. See wedding dance lessons.
• Galas, holiday parties and anniversaries. When the band slows things down, the rumba is the partner dance that fits. Here’s how to get ready for a gala dance floor.
• Ballroom and variety socials. Twin Cities ballroom nights mix rumba in with the waltz, foxtrot, cha-cha and swing. Find nights on Where to Go Dancing in the Twin Cities.
• Competitions. American rumba is one of the American Rhythm dances, and International rumba is part of International Latin.

Because the box stays in one small space, you can dance the rumba almost anywhere, even on a packed wedding floor. Save the turns for when there’s room.

Next steps

Sources & Further Reading

• NC State University, Social Dance: Rumba. Box step footwork for both parts, slow-quick-quick timing, Cuban motion and the underarm turn.
• Ballroom Pages: Rumba Dance Guide. American vs. International rumba, music character and where it’s danced.
• Ballroom Pages: Ballroom Dance Tempo Chart. NDCA tempo for American Rhythm rumba (31 bars, 124 beats per minute).
• DanceVision: How to Dance Rumba. American rumba breaks on beat 1; International on beat 2.
• DanceSport Place: The Three Rumbas. American rumba’s box step, count-1 accent and leg action.
• RPI Ballroom Team: Music. American rumba song titles.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Rumba. Afro-Cuban origins and the Cuban son.
• Wikipedia: The Peanut Vendor. The 1930 record that set off the U.S. rumba craze.
• UNESCO: Rumba in Cuba. Cuba’s folkloric rumba as intangible cultural heritage.
• Supadance: How to Dress for Ballroom Dancing and So Danca: Latin Dance Shoes. Lesson clothes and shoes.