The Ganchos of Tango
There are loads of Ganchos on this site and LOTS of technique for both Leads AND Followers so that you learn to do them properly and more importantly SAFELY! There are over 800 videos and articles (not including all the other stuff) on Tango Topics for you to watch and learn from. It’s not just the videos, but the articles that contain the most of what you need to know to elevate your dance. This site is all about educating you to help you to educate yourself. We’re not trying to sell you videos!
Eight Follower Ganchos
What are the Eight Follower Ganchos ? The Eight Follower Ganchos are Ganchos that look very similar to the 4 Common Ganchos with one major difference: These Ganchos have NO invasion to them. In the 4 Common Ganchos the Lead is creating a Gancho (hook) by invading the Follower’s free space between their steps/legs, and as they do, the Lead continues their torso rotation while articulating their receiving Gancho leg.
Lead Ganchos
What is a Lead Gancho ? Put simply it’s where the Lead, lifts/and then wraps their free leg around the Follower, on the Follower’s Forward, Side, or Back Steps. More lift then wrap, as a ‘wrap’ is something entirely different. However the lift is quite accurate. As the Lead is factually lifting their leg, knee, and foot to ‘Gancho’ the Follower instead of the other way around. More than likely you’ll end up seeing these done on the Follower’s Side Step first and foremost as they are the easiest of the bunch, and less frequently on the Follower’s Forward step next to their lead, and very, very infrequently on the Follower’s Back Step next to their lead.
Gooey Ganchos
What is a ‘Gooey’ Gancho ? In specific it means that while this particular variety is usually executed from the Follower’s position, the Lead can and should under certain conditions engage in the same variation but not for the same reasons that the Follower will. So what is it ? In specific it is a slow motion Gancho, and in particular the ‘Launching’ leg of the dancer who is being “Gancho’d”. Everything prior to the Gancho happening is not the ‘Gooey’ part. The ‘Gooey’ part comes when the leg that is being lifted moves to engage the hooking action of the Gancho in a very slow, but very deliberate way. Very slow. 🙂
Four Common Ganchos
Gancho. The word in Spanish translates to the English word, roughly, as ‘Hook’. From an Argentine Tango perspective it has a very specific meaning. You’ve seen these things hundreds of times, and while the vocabulary itself has a connotation as being somewhat ‘cheesy’, and only done by beginner leads who don’t know any better, the reality is a that it is a venerable piece of Tango vocabulary that do have a valid place off the main trunk of the Tango history tree. The story goes that while the Gancho existed long before Norberto “El Pulpo” Esbrez came along, his contribution to its storied history is where creativity meets innovation, specifically with regards to ‘elasticity’ and the Enganche. He is/was credited with pioneering and exploration the ‘invasion’ of the standing leg, the response of the free leg, as well as the space in between the opening of a step, and quite factually (if not literally), the intersection of these ideas.