Cuban Motion
in Montreal 🇨🇦
The continuous hip-ribcage figure-eight that gives Latin dance its signature fluid look, driven by knee action and weight shifts.
Why it matters
Without Cuban motion, bachata looks like walking sideways. With it, the same footwork becomes a flowing, musical expression. It's the visual difference between a beginner and someone who's internalized the dance. More importantly, Cuban motion connects your upper and lower body — it makes body waves possible, it makes hip isolations cleaner, and it gives your partner something to feel in close connection.
Cuban motion is the engine of Latin dance aesthetics. It's the continuous, rolling movement of the hips that results from a specific technique: as you transfer weight onto a foot, the standing knee straightens, pushing the hip upward and outward, while the free knee bends. This creates the signature figure-eight hip pattern that makes Latin dance look like Latin dance. Here's what most people get wrong: Cuban motion is not a hip movement. It's a knee-and-weight-transfer movement that produces hip motion as a byproduct. You don't push your hips side to side — you straighten your knees and let physics handle the rest. The moment you try to 'do' the hip movement directly, it looks forced and disconnected. In bachata, Cuban motion lives within the basic step. Every weight transfer is an opportunity for the hips to trace their natural path. It's what transforms a pedestrian side step into something that actually looks like dancing.
Beginner
Stand with your weight on your right foot, right knee straight, left knee bent. Your right hip should be slightly higher than your left. Now transfer your weight to the left foot: straighten your left knee, bend your right knee. Your left hip rises, your right hip drops. That's it. Go back and forth slowly. Don't think about your hips — think about your knees. The hips will follow. Practice this in front of a mirror until the hip motion is visible and smooth.
Intermediate
Integrate Cuban motion into your full basic step while maintaining frame with a partner. The challenge is that your hips move but your shoulders stay relatively level — this creates the beautiful counter-movement that defines Latin dance. Practice dancing with a glass of water balanced on each shoulder. If they spill, your Cuban motion is traveling upward instead of staying in the hips.
Advanced
Advanced Cuban motion is about dynamics. You can amplify it for dramatic moments, suppress it for staccato sections, or let it trail half a beat behind the step for a laid-back groove feel. In sensual bachata, Cuban motion blends with body waves seamlessly — the hip circle from your basic becomes the launching point for a wave that travels up through your spine. You can also lead Cuban motion variations through close connection, creating synchronized hip patterns with your partner.
Practice drill
Stand with feet hip-width apart. Step in place: right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, at 60 BPM. On each step, fully straighten the standing knee and fully bend the free knee. Exaggerate for the first minute. Then gradually make it smaller until it looks natural. Do this for 5 minutes daily for two weeks. Then apply it to your basic step.
Cuban Motion in Montreal
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