(notation: there is an earlier version of this vocabulary that is in the archive that is still acessible)
You’ve seen them at Milongas, and for most Leads that see them, most think they’re really cool and then want to do them because of their coolness factor. Most Followers when they see them for the first time are rightfully afraid of them for obvious reasons. The Follower is being led to a controlled fall. Controlled is a loose term here because 9 times out of 10, that control never happens, mostly because the Lead has not mastered several things, most notably how to support their Follower without the use of their arms! Typically you’ll see variations of an Argentine Volcada that range in size from large and egregious, taking up ginormous amounts of space, with the more common open side volcadas being the most common variety, all the way down to the more reasonable ‘Social’ Volcada which takes up no space in the line of dance. And then everything in between those two extremes. Today’s Tango Topic deals with 2 specific varieties of these ideas. The common Egregious variety, and the more desirable Social Volcada. That said, let’s dive into The Argentine Volcada.
What is a Volcada ? First, the word ‘Volcada’ comes from the root Spanish verb ‘volcar’ which when translated into English means ‘To Fall’ or ‘To Tip Over’ or ‘To Overturn’. The ‘ada’ ending means, in English, ‘en’ or ‘ed’, or in this case FallEN, FellED, TippED Over, OverturnED. While the translation gives you a tiny idea of what a Volcada is from a Tango perspective, very small, it doesn’t even come close to what it actually is.
A Volcada is nothing more than a glorified Argentine Cross with a 20 to 30 degree forward tilt or bodily slant (for both roles) along the longitudinal axial line for both roles that ideally does not break at the waist. A Volcada itself can be supported or unsupported (which is not desirable) and is usually performed from Cross System or from a standing Mordida. When done properly….and ‘proper’ is a very loose word here because there are a whole series of Volcadas that can be done (safely) that loosely qualify as a ‘Volcada’. These are what are considered shared-axis pieces of tango vocabulary that result in a series of crossed feet for the Follower to either Follower left or Follower right. This is a Volcada.
What is a Social Volcada ? A ‘Social Volcada’ is a little different. This is a version of the Argentine Volcada that is, in our opinion, far sexier and way more svelte than the egregious versions of the Volcada than what you’re used to seeing. The Social Volcada is smaller, tighter, much more ‘cloistered’. It’s referred to as a ‘Social’ Volcada because it takes up about as much space than a typical walking step, maybe less. It fits within the line, and the lane of dance, and does not in any way, shape, or form, extend beyond the couple’s walking frame. This is what makes it ‘Social’. 😉 Why do we bring up this as the topic ? Because in this video, we’re going to go one step beyond the typical Argentine Volcada and focus on the Social variety! 😉 Thereby making the Volcada far more useful in the line of dance. You’re welcome.
A Few Points To Note.
For all intent and purposes, the Social Volcada is the Volcada that you want to do at a Milonga. The typical ‘Argentine Volcada‘:
1.) Takes up way too much space in the line of dance.
2.) It is far more stressful for both roles.
and 3.) It can cause way more injury for the Follower.
Let’s spell those out a bit so that you have a bit more clarity.
The typical Argentine Volcada is a flashy piece of vocabulary and when done properly, isn’t just one volcada but actually a whole cadre of motions that can rightfully take up an inordinate amount of space. And when you’re in the line of dance at a crowded Milonga, like in BsAs or Berlin or New York, you just don’t have space for those things. You just don’t. So we ideally want to invoke it’s smaller, safer, easier cousin – The Social Volcada.
The typical Argentine Volcada is very stressful for both roles. From a Leading perspective – The Lead is rightfully taking all of the Follower’s weight and inertia. This causes way more stress than most people want or need while out social dancing. It’s typically a jarring transition into an Argentine Volcada which is where the stress part comes in. Most Leads generate the Volcada without necessarily thinking about it. It’s an after thought of “Hey! That would be cool here” without a whole lot of preparation. From the Follower’s Perspective, they’re at the whim and mercy of their Lead. While they can invoke the Follower’s Kickstand Methodology to stop the Volcada from happening. The fact is that once it starts, the Follower is at the mercy of a Lead that may literally throw them around. Which as you might imagine is stressful.
Lastly, and relating to the point above, the Follower can easily be hurt here because the Lead is quite honestly throwing them around. And if they haven’t been properly prepared or taken care of by the Lead, the Follower can throw out their back, their neck, or any of a host of muscular and nervous system issues that are caused by Leads whipping them around the floor.
A Social Volcada by its very nature does NONE of those things. Ever. At all. It is simpler, cleaner, easier, less stressful and is it’s namesake of smaller! While the technique for the Social Volcada and the Argentine Volcadas are nearly identical. The Social Volcada goes one step further > making it smaller. Waaaaay smaller.
The Free Tip. There is a natural ‘kickstand’ for all Volcadas, a safety mechanism that the Follower can invoke, if they’re not supported in the initiation phase of the Volcada, thereby saving themselves from a trip to the Chiropractor the next morning!
About The Video. This video comes in at 40:31s in length in 4 Sections.
Introduction – 00:01:02
Follower Technique – 00:11:58
Lead Technique – 00:20:28
Follower Technique Two – 00:04:51
Usage Cases- 00:04:24