I'm still fairly new to latin dancing, but a question keeps coming to mind.. I've got most of the latin motion sorted (at least for the level I'm at) when it comes to the legs and hips, but I can never seem to work out what do do with my free arm(s). Any tips/secrets etc would be appreciated!

R

I presume you are a man. If so, then it is important that you have masculine looking arms. This means when your arm(s) is/are out to your side, you do not break at the wrist or spread your fingers like a woman. Keep your hands flat, palms down. Do not fling them above your shoulder unless you are competing. If you don't have room to put your arm out, then put your hand on your hip. The worst you can do is what we call 'chicken wings'.

I don't agree with the hands flat, palms down suggestion. Too often that will look like a karate chop. Remember too that you will probably be offering that free hand to the lady to lead the next figure and it will usually need to be palm upwards by then. In many figures the man is showing off the lady so imagine you are presenting the lady to the audience and saying "isn't she beautiful".

Ladydance's 'chicken wings' expression conjures up in my mind a picture of the arms flapping up and down with the elbows stuck out as used in the 'Birdie dance'. I normally refer to an arm dangling loosely by the side as a 'broken wing' and if this is what Ladydance means then I agree that it must be avoided.

Think of the arms as an extension of the body. Try to give an impression of balance between both sides but there is no need for a full stretch.

The arms should unfold rather than shoot out, so try this for practice:
Stand facing a wall, about 18 inches away, feet apart. Now, using either hand, imagine you are holding a paint brush and paint the longest, smoothest, horizontal line you can with several repeated strokes from side to side.

Men are usually self-conscious about using their arms when dancing, but remember this - If you are doing the arms correctly then nobody will notice! We only notice things when they look wrong.

Camrichard1. Try not to get your arm behind your own shoulder. If you do you will most likely spoil a good picture. A slight bend of the arms is desirable. The name Alan Fletcher may not mean anything to you, he was a former best in the world. In a lecture he told us as an example. In Japan the Karate master showed the pupil a position which he put him into. He then said stay there fo two hours and I will show you how to get out of that postion. So you need a coach to show you for instance ,the position of the body and the arm right down to the finger tips on a New York. Stay there and study exactly what you are doing, not for two hours but for at least a couple of minutes. Then they should teach how to get out of the New York.
In the main no two people have exactly the same movements of the arms. You will be told repeatedly that it is a personal thing. Again try not to get a straight arm and hand with no bend in it. In our this weeks Dancing With The Stars several of the competitors were told about just putting out a straight arm as if they were pointing at something across the floor. This is not how it is done.

Thanks a lot to those who have replied :D Any other tips?

This is a minor tip, after of course to always finish your lines.

Once you get fairly proficient at arms using the advice here then you need to spend some time all by yourself in the mirror looking at your arms, particularly in the holds, the picture lines in the split second between the completion of a figure and the commencement of the next. Make sure you aren't breaking your lines and that you like how the lines look as you move through them.

Once you can no longer be entirely objective because you think things are good, get a camera and have it take a series of pictures of you as you move. Most cameras can be put on a tripod and set to automatically take pictures at a set interval. I promise you that you will see every single flaw in every photo and you aren't going to catch them in video or just through a mirror. Pay more attention to the photos of your finished lines because transitions necessarily require arm and leg movement that might not be pleasing but is necessary.

Now, get really picky and start comparing your pics to stills of your favorite pros in similar positions. You can find those on the sites of all the different comps. The photographers are trying to sell them and if you want them, by all means buy them but you don't have to...you can just compare yourself to the pro and figure out what needs to be tweeked.

I mean this isn't foolproof but until you get some arm coaching it will help.

As a related question: who is THE BEST coach in the US for ladies' arm styling in Latin/rhythm?

I don't know if you can get her or how much she'd be but Shirley Ballas is fantastic.

I have to agree with belle. Having worked with Shirley Ballas for a brief period she is fantastic!