Tag: enganche

Argentine Wraps

The Argentine Enganche is actually a misnomer of a word. “Wrap” is the Anglo-American version, whereas the Spanish cognate is actually “Enganche”. The words Themselves are somewhat telling, in either language. How’s that ? In the English version something is going to wrap something. In the Spanish something or someone is going to be Enganche’d. The English version refers to one very specific thing, while the Spanish version is a much broader definition. Much broader. This is one of those pieces of Argentine Tango vocabulary where it rightfully classifies as ‘cool’, seemingly ‘intricate’, and definitely worth doing once or twice as spice or accent but certainly not an entire dance filled with them (ahem, hint, hint, hint). That said, let’s talk about the Argentine Enganche and in specific the Argentine Wrap!

What is an Argentine Enganche (or “Wrap”) ? The Enganche is a family of tango movements, and the Argentine Wrap is a limited subset of the Enganche that we want to explore. An Enganche can be but is not limited to where the dancer’s free leg, can engage their partner’s free leg or the open space between their legs in a myriad of different ways through either a Gancho, a Ganchito, a Rebound, un Libre Pierna (a free leg) Columpio (swing), or a version of a Sacada, and/or a Wrap in the English sense of the word. However the Argentine Wrap is a limited subset o f the Enganche idea. A bit more specific really, where the Lead, or the Follower, mostly the Follower in this instance, can, and will, ‘wrap’ their free leg around their partner’s standing leg usually from a side step. However a Wrap can be achieved from either back or forward steps as well, however it is slightly more challenging to do so.

The Argentine Wrap is 1 of 4 Displacements that happen in Argentine Tango. The first that this site has talked about is the Argentine Sacada. The next is the Argentine Gancho. Next is the Argentine Boleo (Social Boleos, Circular Boleos, Linear Boleos) And the very last is the Argentine Wrap (or Enganche). Displacement ? What’s that ? Meaning that the Free leg will either drift away as a result of an invasion as in the case of an invasive step. By default, if someone steps into you, you’re going to step backward or away from them. There are 3 possible responses to this invasive step. 1.) A displacement. 2.) A Default Resolution. and 3.) A Learned Resolution. The video above unfortunately doesn’t make a distinction between 2 and 3. The one that we’re after is #3. A Default Resolution is one that has been developed by the dancer as their goto behavior. In the video above it’s where the Follower allows their leg to go back but they as a result of the invasion allow it to swing but their default training know that that’s a less than desirable thing so they bring it to closure or collection and allow their body to turn as a result.

The Free Tip. Repeat after me Followers – IN, UP, AROUND, DOWN, BACK. That’s your mantra for an Argentine Wrap! That’s what your free leg is going to do. Now saying it, and then doing it, are two very different things. Hence I’d suggest you actually either subscribe to see what “IN” and “UP” actually means or buy the video. One or the other! Lead’s repeat after me: I WILL NOT SQUEEZE, I WILL NOT SQUEEZE, I WILL NOT SQUEEZE! Then when you’re doing repeating that, write it down, and when you’re done with that, keep repeating it over and over and over again! What does that really mean ? With your right arm, you’re not going to squeeze the living daylights out of your Followers! Please, stop doing this!

About The Video. This video comes in at 31m:49s in length in 18 Sections. Both lead and follower technique is combined and integrated in the video.

Section 1 – Introduction – 00:01:46
Section 2 – 5 Points of Follower Technique – 00:01:50
Section 3 – Beginning Lead Technique – 00:02:18
Section 4 – Lead and Follower Technique Together – 00:01:31
Section 5 – The Closed Inside Wrap – 00:01:29
Section 6 – The Closed Outside Wrap – 00:01:19
Section 7 – 5 The Practice Embrace – 00:01:26
Section 8 – The Open Side Outside Wrap – 00:00:25
Section 9 – Open Side Inside Wrap – 00:00:21
Section 10 – Three Lead Errors Detailed – 00:01:54
Section 11 – The Follower’s Choice – 00:02:36
Section 12 – The Back Sacada Wrap Option – 00:02:03,
Section 13 – Wrap Review – 00:02:35
Section 14 – The Double Wrap – 00:01:39
Section 15 – The Close Embrace Wrap – 00:01:20
Section 16 – The Follower’s Choice – 00:02:36
Section 17 – The Flashy Wrap – 00:03:37
Section 18/End – Closure/Practice – 00:01:41.

June 6, 2017
Ocho Cortado Wrap

The Linear Ocho Cortado is a venerable piece of tango vocabulary used primarily for cutting turns, adding accents to the ends of musical paragraphs, or just to add a bit more ‘fun’ to the dance. It’s great in open, fabulous in close embrace, and just delish when led and followed slowly. There’s nothing crazier than an Anti-Ocho Cortado (reversing the Cortado, lead doing the follower’s steps & the follower doing the lead’s), while going against the music as counter point. 🙂 However, far too often a fair number of Leads, and a good number of Follower overuse it as if it were going out of style and they just have to get all they can in, before the end of the Ocho Cortado. After about the 3rd time most Followers yawn and yearn for something else, a little nuance, a little spice, a little…something else. While this belief could make most Leads (the person, not the action) cop to the ‘more vocabulary is better’ philosophy that pervades most leading classes, there is another way to go here. And that’s the add nuance. The nuance in this case is today’s Tango Topic: The Ocho Cortado Wrap.

What is An Ocho Cortado Wrap ? Put simply it’s a Follower’s leg wrap….

mixed with an Ocho Cortado (the ‘Cut’ Ocho).

To be fair the Ocho Cortado is not really an Ocho, not by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it a broken one at that. It is more akin to the Follower’s Molinete more than anything else.

What is an Ocho Cortado Wrap ? In it’s simplest form, and there are a few versions of this variation on a theme, it uses the Linear Ocho Cortado’s “Open” Side step as a place for an Enganche or ‘Wrap’ to occur instead of the completion step of the Corrected Cross that we would normally see.

There are a few benefits to adding a Wrap in this position, one of them is that it allows for variation to occur. More variation instead of the same-ole, same-ole. Furthermore, it also adds a bit of fun for the Follower to engage a really wonderful Wrap or Enganche to the Lead’s invocation. The Wrap component on the side step is not the only possible wrap that’s sitting there. There’s an Enganche on the Follower’s step out of the Side Step. There’s also a Lead Enganche on the step into the Ocho Cortado! Then there’s the reverse Linear Ocho Cortado where the couple would invoke a Linear Ocho Cortado only from the open side of the Embrace. 🙂 There’s also a possible back cross that can occur in either variation as the closing step.

The Free Tip. The Wrap from the Follower’s perspective is ENTIRELY OPTIONAL, it’s not required. Ever. Meaning ? That the wrap itself is always, always, always, always the Follower’s CHOICE. If they don’t feel safe, or taken care of, then they quite rightfully should not wrap at all, ever. That means no pushing, no pulling, no squeezing, and the invasion of the wrap itself should be just enough to indicate the wrap but not forceful enough to push them into it. They must be given the choice to do it. The wrap itself is entirely learned behavior, this is not something that the Follower is going to do on their own by default. So if you lead it, don’t sit their and expect that it’s magically going to happen. It’s not. There’s a reason why this particular wrap occurs, and you as a lead must create those conditions. And so that we’re absolutely clear here, one of those conditions is not using your arms at all!

About the Video: This video comes is 21:44 in length in 14 Sections.

Section 1 – Introduction – 00:00:20
Section 2 – Ocho Cortado Review – 00:00:48
Section 3 – Lead Reminders – 00:02:22
Section 4 – Follower Reminders – 00:03:23
Section 5 – Ocho Cortado Both Roles – 00:00:23
Section 6 – The Wrap For Leads – 00:01:33
Section 7 – The Wrap for Followers – 00:01:42
Section 8 – Wrap and Cortado Together – 00:01:43
Section 9 – The Open Embrace Version – 00:00:50
Section 10 – The Close Embrace Version – 00:01:14
Section 11 – The Open Side Cortado Wrap – 00:00:40
Section 12 – Why This ? – 00:01:56
Section 13 – A Double Wrap – 00:01:53.
Section 14 – Adding a Lead Gancho – 00:01:19.
Section 15 – Closing.

April 25, 2017

Tag: enganche

Argentine Wraps

Ocho Cortado Wrap