Thanks for the ballet suggestion, I'll have to look into that. I did get some suggestions for rumba a while back, but not very precise. I do have some vague notion of the physical mechanics, but I hesitate to play with it because it's so difficult to isolate the parts. I have access to mirrors but I don't use them as much as I should .

I would emphasize that arm styling should be part of your overall body movement, and not just an arm flailing about for it's own sake. To begin learning how the arms relate to body action, you might ask your teacher show you how to do the arm movements that occur when you're doing basic walking steps in a latin dance like rumba (often called "natural" arm movement). The basic idea of natural arms is that you extend the arm that corresponds to the foot you're on, and the other arm is folded in, slightly across your body. The arms switch as you move from foot to foot. It's a flowing movement and not a static pose. That's just the general idea -- you should have a teacher work with you on it. This isn't fancy stuff, but I think it's vital to learn how arms work in concert with the rest of the body before you try to create impact with them. Ideally, arms continue what the rest of your body starts, and can create terrific shapes, lines, and emphasis. However, if you learn specific styling concepts too soon, they're likely to look posed and stiff, instead of being a part of your dancing. That's probably not the advice you were looking for, but I hope it helps in some way!

Vanessa

Thanks for all the helpful tips. I appreciate it!