Realistically there are a few sources of information about this stuff, but honestly most of them are done in a performance OR are missing the requisite detail of the HOW you set up a Follower Back Sacada or more importantly the underlaying technique that is frequently not discussed at all.
With that in mind, let’s briefly talk about the Follower’s Back Sacada.
The reality is that for a lot of people this move is a flashy piece of vocabulary that mostly takes up way too much space on Social Dance floor even when done under the best conditions by trained professionals. However, there are some benefits to learning how to do them economically and for you to occasionally dropping ONE into your dance.
Let’s get some facts out of the way first and foremost.
a.) The Follower will NOT engage in a Back Sacada simply because you set one up. That dog is NOT going to hunt.
b.) The Follower will more than likely not ‘hit’ the Sacada for a few reasons, most notably because their own underlaying technique is missing or underdeveloped.
and c.) It’s not their fault!
That out of the way > In order to be an efficacious dancing partner for a Lead that engages with these things, there are 3 things you, as a Follower absolutely must be able to do without hanging, pulling, or pushing on your Lead:
1.) Disassociation/Applied Disassociation.
2.) Controlled Collection from the Forward (Lead/Follower), Side, or Back Steps. and
3.) Heels, heels, heels in every sense of the word! This means you must keep your heels ON THE FLOOR!
The simple fact is that good tango, from the Follower’s side of things via a Lead perspective, comes from a Follower who has mastered these things in lurid detail, you practice and practice and practice this stuff religiously so that you don’t have to think about it at all when you’re dancing…instead you ‘react’ and that reaction is born of the technique that you clearly have built into you over and over and over again.
But let’s be clear about something this ‘technique’ is not just about repetition. That’s a mistake. This is MINDFUL repetition. Meaning that you consciously build or weed out errors from a movement and a motion, slowly, carefully building it to the point where it becomes reactionary. However, again, this is not necessarily all about reaction but a good portion of the time – very controlled!
You want to be able to control every facet of your movements from toes to feet, to heel, to ankle, knees, hips, torso, shoulders, head, arms, and fingers. Every aspect of those body parts in exacting precision. Failure to do that, and you have not mastered your tool. Your body is an instrument and it must be learned, toned, tooled, and retooled, constantly. You are never a finished product, never.
What specifically are you focusing on then ?
Your forward step, your side step, and in this case, your back step. Your embrace within the construct of the movement of those steps. Your disassociation. Your applied disassociation. And you would think that this is just easy work…like hell it is! It’s a ton of work that must be controlled, tamed, tooled and re-tooled….hours, weeks, months of time just to weed out your issues so that better technique can creep in.
Ok, so let’s get to the nitty gritty of what it is that you, as the Follower are trying to do >
1.) Disassociate, then apply that Disassociation to the point where you are over-rotated.
2.) Your feet are facing opposite of where they were, 180 degrees in fact. Anything less than that and you’re going to have problems. The aforementioned not ‘hitting’ the Sacada.
3.) Not pushing, pulling, or hanging with your embrace.
To be fair, most Leads engage in resistance mindset when it comes to this stuff. “You have to push into me”, they will say. Or “You have to resist me”…OY!!! This isn’t your fault, and it’s not the Lead’s either. It’s what you were both taught, and it doesn’t work. The reason it doesn’t work is that in order for you to push into your Lead, you are essentially creating a wall of pressure against the Lead, right? That means that the Lead has to meet that, match it and then…OVER COME IT! The Lead literally has to OVERPOWER YOU in order for the Lead to then ‘PUSH’ you.
4.) You’re trying to step backwards THRU the Lead’s open step, and closer to their unweighted step or what is sometimes referred to as the ‘Free Leg’. A problem happens where you don’t want to hit the Lead’s leg. And that’s precisely what you want to have happen. Your Achilles’ Tendon wants to strike or brush very close to their ankle. In other words, ‘hit them’. You don’t want to but that’s what you’re aiming for.
5.) Keep your heels ON THE GROUND. I can’t say this enough. Remember, you’re in 3 inch heels. Do you want to impale your Lead WHILE you are dancing with them ? Probably not. Well not unless the Lead is not acting in a safe or emulating ‘gentlemanly’ qualities. Other than that > “No we do not want to impale them!”. Which is to say, keep your heels on the ground as you step thru the Lead’s open step.
