‘Ocho Cortado’. The word ‘cortado’ translates into English as ‘cut’ or cutted (which isn’t a word) or an Ocho that is Cut. In today’s version of the modern Ocho Cortado it rarely resembles its ocho variations or ocho roots. It’s no wonder when people say the words for the first few times they get a little confused and can’t see the embedded ocho properties that are sitting there. When we think of ochos, we tend to only think of BACK (Traveling) Ochos, not their forward variety which is where the confusion comes from. Further still it’s the interruption that of the ocho (hence the ‘cut’ part) that people don’t see which creates more confusion. Today’s Tango Topic takes the idea of Ocho Cortado and adds a few nuances to it that you wouldn’t ordinarily think of or consider, this particular variety of the Ocho Cortado are considered variations on a theme, or ‘Options’. Think of these ideas as what you can do with the Cortado before, during, and, after you execute one. This is nuance vocabulary, variance vocabulary. Ideas to give you a starting point to expand on and to play with. Hence today’s topic, Ocho Cortado ‘Options’.
What are Ocho Cortado Options? This video is a companion piece to Ocho Cortado Wraps. In that video we deal with optional wraps or enganches within the Ocho Cortado. In this video we deal with ALL of the OTHER possible options available to a Lead or Follower with the Ocho Cortado, and in specific the LINEAR Ocho Cortado, not the Circular variety. It should be noted that video starts out with the basis for the movement itself, the Linear Ocho Cortado and then drills down to a whole host of options and opportunities for both roles.
Free Tip – The Follower’s step prior to their crossing step. You want to move your foot in line with the Lead’s closest leg/foot. Why ? Because it places the cross back in front of your lead which is ideally what you want. Otherwise you end up in the Lead’s arm pit. From a Leading perspective, because a lot of Followers aren’t going to do this you have to remember to readjust them towards doing this.
About The Video. This video comes in at 14m:31s in length in 7 Sections. Both lead and follower technique is combined and integrated in the video.
For most dancers their embrace is theirs and theirs alone. It’s what separates them from everyone else. It is their signature. Regardless of whether or not that embrace is desirable or not. Mind you they may not realize that their embrace is not desirable, they may not realize that the quality of their embrace is desirable. We like to believe that our embrace is the finest thing since sliced bread, and yet it is that embrace that causes more problems than it’s worth for a greater number of dancers. Take for example an aspect that is frequently passed onto dancers learning close embrace (which turns out to be a grand fallacy) that the Follower must apply ‘Resistance‘ (which generally ends up as ‘Rigidity‘) in order for the Lead/er to feel them. Or still another that the Follower should wrap their left arm around their Lead’s shoulders.
Each of these issues, and many more that aren’t listed here create physiological stresses on the couple that we don’t want. And as a result we end up having to compromise our natural bodily structure to compensate for what essentially amounts to an uncomfortable embrace.
To be clear, and fair, the embrace is not the only problem child here. The other major component to nearly every issue that you can think of comes from one other place, it’s the walk. Or more importantly, one’s stability in one’s walk. Do not discount what you’ll hear in the videos above, and this article as “Ahhh I just need to fix my embrace and then all will be magical!”. Nope. You must, must, must, must, must … let’s stress that one more time with feeeeeling -> you must work on your walk, and in specific, your stability in your walk. And there are loads of exercises you can do to correct for that, one of which has already been covered here “The Ballet Rise“.
What is an Arm Pit Dancer ? Put simply the Arm Pit Dancer is where most Leads place their Followers in their arm pit in order to dance with the Follower. Here’s the strange part > Most Followers willingly go there and stay there! To be fair, most Leads have a compressive embrace with their right arm so the Follower can not necessarily change their bodily position even if they were a.) aware. and b.) wanted to do so. Why is this a problem ? Read on….
The Problem: The embrace is massive component to the dance being successful on any level, and yet there is another component is just as important but very infrequently talked about. What’s that ? Body Position and Body Placement for both Lead and Follow! Body Position is where you place yourself within the construct of the embrace, Body Placement is what you do with it (e.g.: vocabulary). The issue is that getting this topic right is the dividing line between ‘ease‘ and ‘work‘, between ‘pain‘ and ‘pleasure‘, between “ouch” and “aaahhhhh“. And yet, no one talks about this thing. So what specifically is the issue ? The fact that a good 90% of the time both Lead and Follow will enter into an untenable embrace structure based on their respective Body Positions right from the start of the dance where the Both dancers will quite literally either place the Follower into their Lead’s Arm Pit, or the Lead will readjust to have the Follower there from the start. And in that we have what is known as “The Armpit Dancer“.
From a Following Perspective, this issue is as much yours as it is the Leads’ issue! You either went directly to the Lead/ers arm pit or more importantly you drifted there by means of every cross, turn, and ocho you were ‘asked’ to execute. In short, you are just as responsible for this as the Lead is for allowing the problem to happen in the first place. Let’s go on the theory that you went there by comfort, not by drift, that will happen later anyway. By comfort means that you don’t know anything else. You went right into the armpit of you Lead because you don’t know any thing different. It’s all you know. And quite honestly no one has probably told you that you have a responsibility to be actively ontop of being in front of your lead, and being in their armpit is not that place. Placing yourself in the armpit is less then desirable on several levels: 1.) You’re making work for yourself. 2.) You’re instantly behind on everything that is being asked of you. 3.) You’re more than likely going to end up in long forward steps because of your position.
Let’s be clear about something, there are certain aspects to the Modern Follow that did not happen 50, 30, and maybe even 20 years ago that does happen today. One of those things is that certain pieces of vocabulary mentioned above are all yours. The Lead may ASK (operative word) for it, but you’re the one that has to execute it with some degree of precision and awareness. And that means that while there’s nothing that you can do about the speed of one of these pieces of vocabulary, there is something you can do to change how things are executed because you’re the one that’s doing the execution! Put simply you are responsible for Forward, Side, & Back, and just how much disassociation you engage to execute X, Y, and Z that is being asked of you. You must place yourself in the right places at all times to allow for these things to occur. That means a.) Execute. b.) Get there in a timely fashion (read that as being on beat). This part is optional, but mostly quite desirable c.) With elegance! Generally the problem is that you have allowed yourself to ‘slip’ in any one of those three steps, in specific the back and forward steps of your Molinete as well as the back step prior to the crossing step of the Argentine Cross.
To ‘slip’ means that you are out of alignment with your lead. While the video above talks about the Follower’s Molinete where this occurs repeatedly, it also occurs in the Argentine Cross, and you as the Follower need to take control so these things don’t happen. One of the things in your way, unfortunately is a Lead’s embrace that is restrictive that won’t allow you the freedom to move across and around your lead’s body. If the embrace isn’t restrictive, you have the tools you need to accomplish your goals! Technique, and Space! Now the only thing you need to do is execute.
From a Leading Perspective, this one is as much your issue as it is the Followers! Why are you responsible for this issue ? 1.) It’s your embrace. 2.) You have control. 3.) You’re the one that’s choosing vocabulary, not the Follower. 4.) Navigation! 5.) One of your jobs as a Lead (you have 3), is Music. Your job is to select the beat that the couple is dancing to and on. That is why you are responsible.
Let’s go on the theory that you are ignorant of why placing the Follower in your armpit is not desirable. That you’re doing what you’re doing out of your own physiological comfort and ignorance:
Put simply, the Follower has a ton of physical work to do. You, my friend, have a different kind of work to do. While the role of the Follower is all about the physical, your role is intellectual – it’s all about planning. You think, they do. Mind you if you think and do for them, there’s not a whole lot for them to do except look nice and smile. Which is precisely what Tango was for many decades. That’s not the case in today’s Tango world, it’s changing…slowly. The role of the Follower has expanded more over the last 2 decades. And as a result, they have more to do, and you have less to do. The more ? They’re essentially being asked to execute a turn – the how the turn is done, but not when that turn is done (that’s still your job). Still another instance is that they cross their feet automagically because you’re not leading it 90% of the time. Still another is that in traveling ochos (what you call ‘back ochos’), they’re deciding how to ocho and how far that ocho goes, constantly. Put simply, they’re doing the heavy lifting, while all you’re doing is thinking about what should be done in time to the music.
Those three things (and there are more, these are just the prominent ones) are physical labor for the Follower. Specifically the 1st and the last. Why ? Because they require disassociation and applied disassociation (what you mistakeningly think of as a ‘pivot’) on the Follower’s forward and back steps of their Molinete, and their ochos. 9 times out of 10 you’ll start a turn to the Open side of the embrace (Lead left), using the Follower’s backstep as the opening step either from a stop (bad idea by the way, see a future WHIC video on this topic), or from an ocho (better idea). That disassociation (from you) and applied disassociation in your follower tends to land them right in your armpit and thereby makes it difficult for them to get around you (for a variety of reasons which are not discussed here) for the remaining steps of the turn. The same is true of the ocho! In short, this stuff is work for them, and every time they move from the armpit, they’re having to stretch to go further around you just to end up in the same place. What makes that even more challenging is that you compress the embrace, you turn away from them in turns and in crosses you place them in your armpit deliberately, and you move the center of the circle or you close the distance in crosses, and/or pull them with your left arm, your head is in the way of the turn or cross (watching their feet). Each and every time that you do this it makes their job harder and harder.
The Dancing Reality. The reality is that this stuff is going to continue to happen. And these words will make no difference. You’ll keep doing this stuff and stressing your heads, bodies, and dances to the breaking point. The reality is that you like dancing like this. You like dancing in pain. You like working harder than you have to. You like force, tension, compression, and resistance. That’s the reality. You see other people doing it and seemingly having fun and think, that’s what I should be doing. What you may not realize is that these people are ignorant of what’s supposed to happen. It’s only after they start rubbing muscles and tendons, that are seemingly strained for some odd reason (!!!!!), and they need a massage or a chiropractic visit the next morning that they realize that Tango is the cause! So ‘no’ you shouldn’t be doing that. What you should do is fix it!
Paying For The Soup. Change can happen, but only if you want it to happen. And ‘want’ is the key word. First and foremost you have to see that this is an issue. If don’t, then so much the better, that means less work for you. But the reality is that this is a ton of work for both Lead and Follower. Further still you are contorting your bodies to make it happen, and then you wonder why you’re paying a chiropractor every few weeks for an ‘adjustment’. There’s a reason for that, and that’s because you’re contorting your bodies to dance like this. Here’s a helpful hint – STOP DOING IT! As arrogant as that may sound, and quite frankly the whole thing is arrogant, the fact is that it’s not arrogant if you see it as a helpful bit of advice that can stop you from being in pain.
Your Free Tip. A key component in this stuff is really about body orientation. One’s own orientation within a given piece of vocabulary, within the construct of the dance changes everything. There are minute changes that must occur every second of the dance, and this must be done without tension, resistance, or force. There should be no pulling or pushing to make these slight orientation changes. These are micro changes really, and unless you make them, sliding into your partner’s armpit or placing them there as a result is going to cause you more problems in 2 or 3 steps than you can possibly imagine. There are a few more components to creating a dance that does NOT end up in someone’s armpit and for that little piece of information, you need to see the entire series on the embrace, and that means you’re going to have to subscribe.
Most people when they hear the word “Molinete” think of the turn that the Follower is ‘supposed’ to do. They generally commingle the Lead’s role of the ‘Giro’ (which is first person singular, from the root Spanish word ‘Girar’, which means “I turn” when translated from Spanish to English). Generally this is the common turn that is taught to all beginners as what the Follower does in order to turn. Generally speaking, nearly all, social dance possess a turn like the Follower’s Molinete, it’s called a ‘Grapevine Turn’, which basically consists of some form of a backstep, some form of a side step, and some form of a forward step. It’s just that in Argentine Tango’s version that version usually contains disassociation and then applied disassociation (or ideally we’d like it to contain that, but frequently does not). For the most part, the line of reasoning is that the Giro/Molinete construct is Follower vocabulary only. However as the title of Today’s Tango Topic implies, you’ve been fed a line of reasoning and gap that doesn’t necessarily add up. Which is to say that this is not jut for Followers! A Lead can and should engage in this idea as well! So without further adieu, today’s Tango Topic is on The Lead Molinete.
What is a LEAD Molinete ? It is exactly as described, a Grapevine Turn, that consists of an applied dissociative backstep, a ‘circular’ side step, and a dissociative forward step. That’s it. It doesn’t get any more complex than that. The only difference is that instead of the Follower doing this vocabulary, the Lead does it. However, this particular version of the Molinete can be done in Open Embrace and in Close Embrace, and almost any embrace format that you think of. It can be done to the Close Side, which is perceptional-ly easier (that’s a fallacy by the way), and to the Open Side of the the embrace. Typically you would think that going to the Close Side would be harder, it’s not. It’s the same amount of work going in either direction.
About The Video. This video comes in at 22m:07s in length in 8 Sections. Separate Follower Technique and detailed Lead Technique is explained here in the video, as well as the combined elements of what has to happen in order for a successful Lead Molinete to function.
Section 1 – Introduction – 00:01:47 Section 2 – Follower Technique – 00:03:48 Section 3 – Lead Technique – 00:02:56 Section 4 – Combined Lead & Follow – 00:04:28 Section 5 – Close Embrace Version Technique – 00:04:36 Section 6 – Close Embrace Example – 00:01:11 Section 7 – Open Side Turn – 00:01:24 Section 8 – Ending – 00:01:13
The word ‘Cortado’ translates into English as ‘cut’ or cutted (which isn’t a word in English) or an Ocho that is Cut. In today’s version of the modern Ocho Cortado, it rarely resembles its Ocho roots. It’s no wonder when people say the words for the first few times they get a little confused and can’t see the embedded Ocho properties that are sitting in front of them.
When we think of ochos, we tend to only think of BACK (Traveling) Ochos, not their Forward variety which is where the confusion comes from. Further, still it’s the interruption that of the Ocho (hence the ‘cut’ part) that people don’t see which creates even more confusion.
Today’s Tango Topic looks at this venerable Tango Turn and Vocabulary and looks at the Linear version of it, known as “The Linear Ocho Cortado”. So named because it’s done along a line. It should be noted that Tango Topics contains several variations of this venerable piece of vocabulary and that you really should check them all out. There’s lots and lots and lots of variation with this stuff. Further, still it should also be noted that this Linear Ocho Cortado is the ‘vanilla’ version of the Cortado. It’s the most common form and in Today’s Tango Topic we will not be showing any of the variations of the Cortado. For that, you really should go visit the link below and look at the other options. That said, let’s dive right into Today’s Tango Topic: The Linear Ocho Cortado.
What is a ‘Linear Ocho Cortado’ ? The are multiple versions or ideas of the Cortado. However, this particular piece of vocabulary is also what we consider to be one of the Seven Foundational Moves of Tango that every dancer must learn in order to be a socially competent dancer. Note that we said, not ‘Lead’, not ‘Follower’, but ‘Dancer’. That’s because both roles have a responsibility to this piece of vocabulary which we detail below. The Linear Ocho Cortado or ‘LOC’ as we’ll refer to it from here on out, is not something that is learned in a very specific progression of ideas. First and foremost you must learn how to walk, then Disassociation and Applied Disassociation which translates to Traveling Ochos, then Turns (Usually the Follower’s Molinete to the Lead’s Giro, and the Milonguero Turn as well), then the Argentine Cross, and finally the LOC. The LOC gets its name from the fact that it’s done in a line or along a linear path within the Line and Lane of Dance and does not break that convention. The LOC has multiple uses, from a Parallel System walk (shown in the full video above) to an endpoint or completion element. Meaning that you’ll use it as a resolution from a Molinete/Giro structure (mostly) as an example. The vocabulary itself is done on the beat, while the variations on a theme can be done in half-time, as well as double time. The LOC can be interpreted many, many, many different ways from a musical perspective. That’s one reason why it’s so venerable and versatile.
About The Video. Total runtime for this video is 26:19. Lead and Follower Steps and Technique are separated. The item in bold is unedited and is at the top of this article as a sample.
Introduction – 01:46 Lead Steps – 04:08 Follower Steps – 03:02 The Couple’s Posture – 01:46 Lead/Follower Steps Together – 02:37 The Importance of the ‘Replacement Step’ – 02:23 The Follower’s Side Step Error – 03:04 The Close Embrace Version – 01:05 The Walking Example – 02:20 The Embrace Reminder/Closure – 03:16
In Buenos Aires there is a type of pastry that will blow your mind which is freshly made, hot, and right out of the oven (especially at La Viruta at 5 am – they buy theirs from a local panaderia, con Café con Leche). Truthfully they’re almost like heaven. They’re also insidious, fiendish really, as you can’t have just one! Nooooo. You must have a whole bag of them! No matter how strong your willpower is, trust that you will have several of them, several times a week, and go to your local panaderia (bakery) and you’ll pick them out yourself, and then go to pay for them with a gleeful smile, knowing what’s in the bag! You won’t be able to make it all the way to the front step of your apartment without having one, maybe 3! These pieces of delight are called ‘Medialunas’ and they’re like Crack Cocaine because of their addictive quality! They’re lightly sweet, incredibly fluffy, and soft to the touch…sort of like a croissant but better, muuuuuuch better and oh so delicioso!
Frequently for the Tango dancer they’ll hear this word and think of the pastry. There is however a piece of Tango vocabulary that has nothing to do with the pasty that causes a bit of confusion, and that’s the Argentine Media Luna, and obviously they’re not the same things. One is a pastry and the other…well, the other is one of the 8 types of common turns that we find in Argentine Tango. The 8 Types ? 1.) The Follower’s Molinete (open embrace, and close embrace) & the Lead’s Giro. 2.) The Milonguero Turn. 3.) The Rock Step. 4.) The Ocho Cortado. 5.) Calesitas. 6.) Walking Turns. 7.) Single Axis & Colgada Turns. There’s one more that doesn’t get used a whole lot and is the subject of Today’s Tango Topic: The Argentine Media Luna.
What is an Argentine Media Luna ? The words, “Media” & “Luna” when translated from their Spanish to English cognates, translate as “Half” & “Moon” or in this case, “Half Turn”. It is exactly what it sounds like but with a Tango twist. In many ways it resembles the Follower’s Molinete. And if you don’t know any better, you could swear that they’re exactly the same. On paper, meaning technically, they consist of the same basic moves, with one major difference: In the case of the Follower’s Molinete, there’s Applied Disassociation on the Back and Forward steps. In the case of the Argentine Media Luna, there is no Disassociation or Applied Disassociation from the Follower!
The Media Luna is used primarily as one way of turning the couple. Not necessarily the Follower, but the couple, down the line of dance. It is frequently used as a stepping stone or entry point to executing something else, as there are many options out of the Media Luna. However in it’s base form it can and should be used to as a navigational element. It’s also, because of its lack of use, a nice surprise to the Follower and a bit of a change up from the same Follower’s Molinete to the Open Side of the Embrace OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again! So quite rightfully, this is a great turn to add to your repertoire from a Leading perspective AS WELL AS from a Following perspective.
The Free Tip. There is one thing about the Media Luna that isn’t mentioned or shown a lot, is that the closed side of the embrace version (the dark side) is awkward. Really awkward. So awkward in fact that more than likely the Follower will look at the L/lead that attempted it and will ask, “Are you out of your ever lovin’ mind ?”. And the reason ? The outside partner step feels strange. It’s not that it’s not doable, it just feels strange.
About The Video. This video comes in at 15m:16s in length in 11 Sections. Both lead and follower technique is combined and integrated in the video.
Section 1 – Introduction – 00:00:25 Section 2 – The Vocabulary – 00:01:43 Section 3 – The Turning Component – 00:00:45 Section 4 – The 2nd Media Luna – 00:01:13 Section 5 – Without The Lead Back Step – 00:00:37 Section 6 – With The ‘Embrace’ – 00:01:15 Section 7 – The Close Embrace Version – 00:01:14 Section 8 – Media Luna Examples – 00:02:55 Section 9 – The Dark Side Media Luna – 00:02:18 Section 10 – The Shorter Side Step – 00:00:37 (edited version above in the sample) Section 11 – The Dark Side Solution/Wrap Up – 00:01:03
The Argentine Calesita. Tango consists, surprisingly so, of an almost dizzying array of ‘steps’ that it quite honestly boggles the mind. Really when you stop and you think about it, it’s just 2 feet, well 4 really, and you can’t even begin to imagine what you could do with 4 feet. The possibilities are nearly endless! Which brings us to Today’s Tango Topic: The Argentine Calesita.
Calesita is not a word that you hear all that often, and quite frankly even if you look it up to translate it, you’ll more than likely be more than a little confused. In the annals of Tango Vocabulary this is one of those things that quite literally have to ask, “What on God’s green earth is a Calesita ?”.
What is anArgentine Calesita ? The word “Calesita” roughly translates as ‘Carousel’ or in English, a ‘Merry-Go-Round’. Anytime you see a ‘sita’ or ‘cita’ ending on a Spanish word, it means that whatever object is being modified is small, or made smaller, tiny. So this is a small carousel or a small ‘Merry-Go-Round’. The Argentine Calesita is basically a small walking turn! It’s nothing more than a variation on a El Giro De Caminando or The Walking Turn with a ‘twist’, there’s always a twist! So what’s the twist ? Instead of the couple walking in a tiny, tight circle, one partner walks in a tight circle around the other. This is Lead vocabulary as well as Follower vocabulary. Meaning that you shouldn’t necessarily get all persnickety that the Follower alone should do this. Many Leads employ this very useful turn as a way to reposition themselves to do something else. It’s a great navigational tool as well. And, obviously, can be used to Interpret the Music. It’s also not that hard, once you get it through your head that you’re not going to employ the Follower’s Molinete or a Milonguero Turn. The reality of this type of motion for the couple is that unless it’s been led before, the Follower will default to their training. The Lead on the other hand, because this is self-led will have issues in different areas.
One More Thing. This stuff is really not that hard to envision but there’s one overriding reason why we actually want to add this into our dance, and it has everything to do with heat. Heat ? Yes, bodily heat. Typically the dance can generate a lot of body warmth and as such, things can get overheated quite easily. So engaging the Argentine Calesita tends to release that heat trap temporarily. Ok, that’s not a real reason but it sounds like one, no ? A good reason that we want to engage the Argentine Calesita is purely a musical one. A good Calesita can be used in any number of ways to accentuate the upbeat, the downbeat, dropping a beat, playing with 8th or 16th notes (almost patter like). This is the primary reason why we use them!
The Free Tip. There is one thing about the Calesita that has not been mentioned above, and it this: 2 or 3 Millimeters of distance is all that it takes to move a Calesita from usable to undesirable. Meaning that it is all too easy to create a Calesita (from a Leading or Following perspective) that is wholly unstable! The entire video shows you how to correct for this problem.
About The Video. This video is 01h:14m:13s in length in 15 Sections. Both lead and follower technique is combined and integrated in the video.
Section 1 – Introduction – 00:01:10 Section 2 – Caveats – 00:05:35 Section 3 – Lead Set Up – 00:07:01 Section 4 – Lead Forward Calecita – 00:02:49 Section 5 – Follower’s Forward Calesita – 00:07:40 Section 6 – with Close Embrace – 00:05:23 Section 7 – with Milonguero/Lazy Ochos – 00:03:47 Section 8 – Calesita with 2 Turns – 00:03:42 Section 9 – Close Up – 00:05:09 Section 10 – Errors – 00:11:42 Section 11 – Footwork – 00:03:11 Section 12-Follower Technique – 00:05:15 Section 13-Lead Back Step Calesita – 00:05:54 Section 14 – Follower Back Step Calesita – 00:05:13 Section 15 – Closure – 00:00:42
There are Eight Turns in Argentine Tango that Tango Topics has identified as Commonly used or Social Turns. There are a few others that are outside of the common eight but for the most part, accept in this moment that there are eight.
Today’s Tango Topic deals with two of those common eight turns and combines them into one movement so that they actually turn down the line of dance. This is an unusual vocabulary for Tango Topics to display because it is one of the very few figures that we teach/show to our Intensive Level Students (in Level 2 & 3) in the combined version that you’re seeing it here. We typically teach these as separate elements and leave it to the student, later on in their level 2 development of solving Tango Problems, to put them together as a possible solution set.
Some things to keep in mind:
In order for a Rock Step, by itself, to function as a turning element a.) there must be multiples of them, and b.) they must ‘curve’ OR there must be a resolution of some sort from one to the next element.
In order for a Linear Ocho Cortado to be used as a turning element, the step prior to the crossing element must be rotated by the Lead, and/or the Follower’s side step must be curved or rotated slightly.
In either case, these pieces of venerable tango vocabulary are at best ‘quarter turn’ vocabulary. Meaning that they’ll only turn about 90 to 120 degrees under optimal conditions. However, combining these two turns increases the rotational from 90 to about 150 to a potential 180 degrees, under optimal conditions.
If all of that seems very technical for you, think of it this way: By themselves, they’re smaller, individual turns or rotationals. Together they have a bigger and better turning radius. Further still, it’s a kind of cool combined turn to do.
Today we’re going to explore this combination, so without further yapping, Tango Topics presents: The Rock Step & Linear OchoCortado!
What Is A Rock Step & Linear Ocho Cortado ? First we have to be very clear, if it wasn’t clear above that these are two very different pieces of vocabulary. Very different. And they’re frequently commingled due to the fact that the opening step of the Linear Ocho Cortado (not the Circular Ocho Cortado) looks very similar to a Parallel System Rock Step without the Resolution. Secondly, we need to be clear about the difference between a Rock Step and that opening step of the Linear Ocho Cortado, which is called a ‘Check Step’.
A Rock Step, put simply, is a step where the Follower is led to stepping backwards, engaging a weight change, and then led to a rebote (rebound) into a forward step that may, as an option, resolve into another step. Usually a side or forward step. These steps can be done in Parallel System (meaning opposite feet – lead left to follower right, and lead right to follower left) or Cross System (meaning same feet – lead left to follower left, and lead right to follower right). The most common of the Rock Steps is a Parallel System Rock Step that starts with the Lead left/Follower Right and does not engage a Resolution, but rather curves a bit, about 45 degrees. Further, and lastly, it should be very clearly noted that while the language above is quite ‘passive’ as to what the Follower is being ‘led’ to do, the Follower is by no means a rag doll here or what Tango Topics calls a ‘dead fish’ in the Lead’s arms. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Nor should they be. They can, and should, when engaging in any of the 8 possible Rock Steps, own them completely and step into them with gusto!
A Linear Ocho Cortado, is an North American construct, at best. Why this idea is more prevalent in the United States and Canada is beyond Tango Topics but it is. In this version of the Ocho Cortado, the Follower is led to a Check Step, then a forward step across their Lead’s body, then a side step, and then led back to a crossing step (more on this later). It should be noted that the Follower does have some level of choice in this particular piece of vocabulary. Not just in where they step, but how the cross is executed, more on this particular element in a bit.
Ok, so now that we’ve defined what these things are, we need to combine them, and in doing so, we create a much more dynamic, and not to mention but we will anyway, a far more useful social turn than the turns are by themselves! This is the Rock Step & Linear Ocho Cortado vocabulary.
The Free Tip. Oh boy there’s a ton of possible tips that I could give you here but probably the biggest one of all, aside from the Replacement Step is that you really do want to create variances with your Linear Ocho Cortado, mostly in the Crossing Step and the Side Steps. There are loads that are possible. But keep something in mind, any variation you make must fit musically on the beat, within the pauses. And if you don’t know what a Musical Pause is, then you really should subscribe and go look at the 5 Musical Pause Types, which will invariably lead you (no pun intended) to the 14 Days of Tango Music, and then Tango Del Dia Part 1 and then Part 2. And once you’ve done that, then it will be time to look at how to interpret all of that stuff with actual vocabulary in the Musical Interpretation Series. Let’s be clear about something, musical interpretation is NOT just a Lead thing. It’s as much attributed to the Lead as well as to the Follower for a variety of reasons.
About The Video. This video is 16m:44s in length in 9 sections. Both lead and follower technique are combined and integrated into the video.
Introduction – 00:04:48 (this is the video above) – Linear Ocho Cortado – 00:00:54 – A Check Step – 00:00:13 – A Rock Step – 00:00:23 – Parallel System Rock Step with Resolution – 00:00:22 – The Explanation – 00:00:53 – The Creepy Lead Lunge No-No – 00:01:17 – The Socially Acceptable Idea for the Rock Step – 00:00:45 The Follower’s Replacement Step – 00:01:32 The Rock Step/Linear Ocho Cortado – 00:00:54 The Cross System Version – 00:01:54 The Open Side Version – 00:04:19 The Curving Version – 00:01:20 The Closing Ideas – 00:01:24
The Argentine Rock Step is a very venerable piece of tango vocabulary it’s used quite often as a way to avoid a hazard, and infrequently as a what is primarily supposed to be used for as musical interpretation. More often than naught for a lot of people the addition of the Rock Step is where they stop developing kinesthetically. This becomes their experience, their go to move, and they don’t realize that this is the case. So let’s talk about Today’s Tango Topic: The Argentine Rock Step.
What is A Rock Step ? First let’s define what the word ‘Rock’ means. According to Webster’s Dictionary, the English word ‘Rock’ in this case is being used as a verb. It has a noun form, which means “a mass of stone”. In its verb form, it means “to sway back and forth”. Next, when we apply that idea to Dancing, a‘Rock’ Step means that you have a step that is going to go from weight transfer to weight transfer, very quickly.
An Argentine Rock Step is a little different. It refers to a very specific construct and is not swaying to from side to side, but actually weight transfer to weight transfer (usually back and forth) sometimes with a Resolution (more on that later). In a lot of ways, a ‘Rock’ Step appears to look like (operative word) as if the couple dancing is a Rocking Chair. The Argentine Rock Step is in the family of ‘Alterations’ of Tango Vocabulary. Meaning that due to a possible Resolution, the Follower’s direction (orientation) changes as a result. One more thing: There is a distinct and clear difference between an Argentine Rock Step and a Check Step and/or Incremental Step as shown in the video below:
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The video above shows the difference between the two (and one possible error that happens quite frequently). A Check Step has no weight transfer forward (for the lead) and backwards (for the follower). In the case of the Rock Step there is a clear, and definitive weight transfer backwards AND THEN forwards. 🙂
The Free Tip. Stop squeezing your partners! This really about intention, or the lack therein. You lock your arm frame and think that in doing so it will stop your partner from moving. No. All it does is put more money in their chiropractor’s pocket! How does this relate to the Rock Step. Frequently the Rock is led and followed as a ‘jerky’ motion. The Rock Step out (the back step for the Follower, the Linear forward step for the Lead) isn’t the problem. It’s the coming back to resolution part, that is usually jerky, the Lead will PULL their partners back to them instead of stepping back gracefully. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Pre-Requisites: Walking. Weight Changes. Extensions. One does have to have mastered one’s walk and possess stability in their embrace without using the embrace for stabilization against their partners before they can initiate these ideas.
About The Video. This video comes is 14:16 in length in ONE section broken up by markers. Both lead and follower technique are combined and integrated in the video.
Section 1 – Introduction – 00:00:48 Section 2 – Lead Technique/Follower Technique – 00:01:15 Section 3 – Side Step Resolutions – 00:02:06 Section 4 – Parallel Linear Rock Steps (Example: Close Embrace) – 00:00:20 Section 5 – Parallel Linear Rock Steps/Resolution (Example: Close Embrace) – 00:00:18 Section 6 – Cross System Rock Steps – 00:01:27 Section 7 – Cross System Resolutions – 00:02:38 Section 8 – Cross System Examples with Resolutions – 00:01:20 Section 9 – Linked Rock Steps (Multiples) – 00:01:50 Section 10 – Chained Rock Steps with Resolutions & Closure – 00:01:57.
Notation: There is another version of this topic that’s in your archive. Now you have a second one that’s a bit more comprehensive and detailed. One is not more important than the other. They both serve as tools for both roles!
Every social dance has a variation of a very old idea known as a “Grape Vine Turn”, which is generally 3 steps in either a circular or linear pattern. Argentine Tango is no exception to this. Truthfully Tango has spawned and borrowed and given 8 types of turns. The Eight functional types of turns of Tango are: 1.) The Milonguero Turn. 2.) The Walking Turn, 3.) The Rock Step. 4.) The Ocho Cortado (Linear & Circular). 5.) The Media Luna. 6.) The Argentine Calesita. 7.) The Colgada Turn (including The Single Axis). And #8, the topic of Today’s Tango Topic: The Follower’s Molinete/The Lead’s Giro.
Just as a side note, up until about 1980, oddly enough, The Follower’s Molinete/Lead’s Giro was NOT the predominant turn. That honor goes to first turn on our list above, the Milonguero Turn. So what happened ? Why was the turn supplanted ? You can thank Gustavo Naveira and Fabian Salas for that. If for no other reason these two men aren’t considered the father’s of Modern Argentine Tango than it should be their introduction of the Follower’s Molinete to the world. Which, strangely enough, had been around in various forms for almost 50 years before they came along and … ahem … ‘discovered’ the Molinete.
The turn itself is taught to every beginner dancer, and every dancer uses this very functional and foundational turn. As this is the case, the turn is so predominant that it is the default motion for every Follower/every Lead whether they realize it or not. The moment that a Lead starts to rotate their body, the Follower will default to the Follower’s Molinete. It should be noted that the Follower’s Molinete doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens due to the other side of the equation: The Lead’s Giro. The Lead’s Giro and the Follower’s Molinete co-combine to create the standard turn in Argentine Tango when we talk about turns. So without more yapping, let’s dive into Today’s Tango Topic: The Molinete Giro Structure.
There are obviously two parts of this conversation that need to get talked about independently of each other. However, at the same time, one can not talk about one and NOT talk about the other. First let’s dive in the Follower’s Molinete and then the Lead’s Giro component.
What is the Follower’s Molinete ? The term “Molinete” means Wind Mill in English when translated from the Spanish. And as it relates to Argentine Tango this is a Grape Vine Turn with 3 steps. Forward, Side, and Back that executed by the Follower. Which is the reason for the distinction in the moniker, calling it The Follower’s Molinete. So that would lead one to believe, and rightfully so, that there is a Lead’s Molinete. And there is. But that’s a topic for a different Tango Topic. There are two primary versions of the Follower’s Molinete. And the primary distinction is whether or not The Follower’s Molinete is done in Close Embrace or Open Embrace. While the two turns themselves are functionally the same, there are some very nuanced differences between the two. However, at the 50,000 ft level, the turns consist of the 3 steps: Forward, Side, and Back. When you stop and you think about it though, there are actually 4 steps, not three. Even though we would like to use only 3 and it can be done quite easily with practice. There is a fourth step, and it’s a second side step after either the forward or back step. The Follower’s Molinete can start with either the Follower’s Forward step or the Follower’s Backstep. Both will lead to slightly different outcomes. However, the setup for both turns is usually the same: Traveling Ochos! In either case, both the Forward Step, and the Back Step are Applied Disassociative motions which are mostly, and erroneously, thought of as ‘pivots’, which lead to the Follower then extending into a rotating Side Step. It should be noted that of all the foundational moves that the Follower must master, that this is the hardest thing, physiologically speaking that they’ll ever have to do. Ever. It takes considerable time, patience, practice, and did we mention ‘practice’, solo, with a partner, in private instruction to make the Follower’s Molinete fluid. This is not watching a 9 minute video and bam, you have got it down. No. This is going to take a while. A long while. A very LOOOOOONG while. Years. However, having adequate reference material is absolutely key to that process.
Follower’s Perspective. Because the Molinete and its benefits have been discussed to death, all this section is really going to touch on are some very simple ideas that you may have forgotten about, but are relevant here for a variety of reasons not the least of which is that it opens other options for us, as leads, to play with. When we’re doing fiddling the options, we’re then going to answer one singular question. But before we get to that stuff, let’s do a bit of history. You probably learned the Follower’s Molinete and understand what you have to do in order to generate one. However, more than likely you never actually did the job yourself. A great man once said, “Never ask a man to a job for you, unless you’ve done that job yourself!”, the “walk a mile in someone’s shoes” methodology. Practicing this methodology gives you great perspective, and not to mention but we will anyway, appreciation for the amount of work, care, and detail that goes into that specific thing, or in this case a Molinete. With that thought in mind, it’s probably an eye-opening experience for you to do this amount of work just once, not the millions of times you’ve led this on a Follower and thought to yourself all the things that they should be doing but aren’t, thereby blaming the Follower for their lack of execution. And now that execution is on you IF and ONLY IF you want to execute a nice Follower’s Molinete!
It’s 3 steps really. It doesn’t get any more complicated than that. Back. Side. Forward. And in those 3 steps you have any one of 27 possible combinations to play with, if we start with particular or dominant step first, which would be:
The reason we’re discussing possibilities here is that, frequently, we only see one possibility over and over again, the BSF option. There are 26 other possibilities for us to engage in. Exploring these possibilities adds not only spice but variation to our repertoire. However, more than likely you’re still thinking like a Lead and not like a Follower here, in that YOU want to lead YOURSELF to do these, not the Follower. This is just a reminder that there are other options besides BSF out there. That’s all. See ? Simple reminder.
However, let’s be clear about something, 9 times out of 10, you will NEVER engage in any of those 26 other possibilities nor will you be able to do what you like to accent those ideas, because there’s no space for you to do that. Mostly because your Lead isn’t creating space for you to do that. There are some things you can do to mitigate that prospect but they all rely on choosing a partner who creates space for you to engage ideas. Without that, none of those other 26 variations are possible!
Follower’s Awareness: Stepping around the…
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The Follower’s Practical Reality. You have to understand something about your Molinete. At this point in the life of Tango, this move has become standard behavior, expected. Which is to say that the moment that your Lead starts to rotate, you immediately default to a Molinete, even when that may not be what’s asked of you! What I tell my follower students is that unless there is disassociation, in that rotation, your default behavior SHOULD BE a Milonguero Turn and NOT a Molinete. Most Leads are looking for the Molinete, however that view is changing, so having both in your arsenal is helpful. So it’s important to learn to hear the difference in the type of request that you’ll get. To be clear >
IF THERE IS NO DISASSOCIATION coming from the Lead > MILONGUERO TURN. IF THERE IS DISASSOCIATION coming from the Lead > MOLINETE.
Are we clear ?
Moving on from there, now we address 2 issues that are implied in the video but not specifically stated:
1.) Everything is around your lead in 3 steps, not 4.
Everything Is Around Your Lead. This means that all 3 steps, BSF/FSB/FFF/BBB/SSS and all the common variations of that idea, are steps that go around your lead > NOT AWAY FROM THEM. This means NO LOOKING DOWN at your FEET on your forward step. This also means being as close to your Lead as is humanly possible. This also means that every step you take is step up for the next step. I have a whole video series on just this topic in the Follower’s Technique section of the library.
2.) MOVE YOUR ASS!
MOVE YOUR ASS. Means that you need to be aware that you have mass, and that the turn itself can lag. You can not. In other words, be quick, be expeditious, and be precise in your execution of the move!
3.) There is Disassociation for a reason!
Do NOT throw one leg behind the other crossing over. This is cheating the turn structure and doesn’t actually make you look good. You want to engage the Disassociation, and you want to actually use it. Let me be clear here > There are some Leads that rush thru the turn that force you to feel rushed. Which makes employing disassociation nearly impossible. So you have to employ the sloppy method implied at the beginning of this section! So in this instance when the Lead is moving to goddamned fast, USE A MILONGUERO TURN! Got it ?
The Follower’s Fine Print: Probably the most prominent issue in the fine print is the ….
(ommitted)
The Primary Fact: The key to the Follower’s Molinete, is the Follower’s ability to correctly and aptly engage in Disassociation and Applied Disassociation.
That means in simple parlance, if you haven’t mastered your those skills, so that they become second nature to you, then your back step of the Molinete will fail, and you will be out of position in order to stay with your Lead.
To be fair, most Lead’s are wholly unaware that they need to stay with their Follower and instead rush ahead of them in their own Giro, thereby leaving the Follower behind and out of position. So what can you do ? Pick a better Lead next time. Seriously. In the moment, there’s not a lot you can do because that’s that Lead’s default behavior and because no one has told them to stop doing it, they’ll continue to to do so. The prevailing wisdom with that line of reasoning is that the Follower should just ‘hurry up’. This is not true.
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The Full Ocho Exercise
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The Fundamental Stepping Stones! The only way this stuff works is Disassociation and Applied Disassociation. That’s it. Fortunately for you, Tango Topics has an extensive video on both of these very important topics for sale, but also included in the video subscription. Follow the links included herein and educate yourself. Or Subscribe. Either way. 🙂 Of course it wouldn’t hurt for you to study the Molinete from the Follower AND Lead’s perspective, so you might need another video for that as well. Fortunately, that particular video is available immediately, just follow this link! What would be helpful here is also a study of what Tango Topics calls “Fred Torture”, as it would help you to define and clarify the Molinete structure in its base elements.
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Tango Disassociation
Next we have to talk about the Lead’s side of the equation, or The Lead’s Giro.
What is the Lead’s Giro ? Put simply, and literally, it means that the Lead turns themselves. The literal part comes from the fact that the word ‘Giro’ comes from the Spanish verb ‘Girar’ which means ‘To Turn’ in English. ‘Giro’ is the first person singular of the verb, which translates to ‘I turn’. The Lead’s Giro simply means that the Lead acts as the center of the Follower’s Molinete. They’re center pole as it were. Not the center piece but the center pilar that the Follower revolves around. It’s imporant that you recognize that aspect as a Lead. Meaning that as the center pilar, if that pilar moves from it’s position, then the Follower’s Molinete will ‘wobble’, and Follower will end up having to do a BOATLOAD of extra work to stay with Lead’s Rotation! Secondly the Lead Rotates and the Follower Revolves. Typically what happens is the Lead Rotates at their own speed and the Follower has to catch up with that. Which makes the Follower feel rushed. Instead of setting up the turn so that it rotates in time to the music and doesn’t rush the Follower. In other words the Lead has to go at the speed at which the Follower is capable of moving. And sometimes that means, that the turn MAY NOT be completed in time to the music! Which means dropping a note or 3. And rushing the Follower to go any faster isn’t going to help anything. And in fact tends to make things worse in more ways than one. Lastly, speaking about music, while there are multiple ways to address the musical concerns of how the Molinete/Giro structure is applied, this article will not cover this aspect except to address this singular point > One Note = One Step.
All of that aside the Lead’s Giro consists of two parts:
1.) The ‘Foot’ Component. And 2.) The Upper Body Rotation and Embrace component.
There are 4 ways for the Lead to turn their body with their feet:
a.) The ‘Pie Wedge’ Methodology. b.) The ‘T’ Step Method. c.) The ‘Paddle’ Method. And d.) The ‘Applied Disassociative’ Method.
All four of these methods do the job of the Lead turning the Lead’s body with their feet. This is shown in the video, so please reference it there. However, the most efficient of the methods is probably ‘d’. From a dancing perspective, the easiest one to execute is ‘c’. The simplest of the four is ‘a’ but it’s not exactly elegant but it is functional. And while ‘b’ is very functional it tends to ‘drift’ a bit. Drift in the sense that you can and will move the center point of the Follower’s Molinete if you’re not paying attention. Which, as a result, means more work for the Follower. The same is true of ‘a’ and ‘c’ to a limited degree for different reasons. Item ‘d’ does not move the Lead’s center point at all. It should be noted that in item ‘d’ that the Lead’s feet, always, always, always stay together and over one foot or the other, not both. But the heels are always kept together and do NOT split apart. Nor should there be a weight transfer in ‘c’ or ‘d’. However, there are obvious weight transfers in ‘a’, and ‘b’. Speaking of weight transfers, and in specific ‘c’, there is a push-off the from the free leg, but not a weight transfer! In other words do not wobble back and forth using ‘c’ as you push off! Oh and regarding ‘d’ and the term “Applied Disassociation”, this refers to when the upper body rotates in Disassociation but the lower body has to catch up with a slight delay (which is deliberate). That delay is the application of disassociation! You are releasing the torsion and tension built up by the disassociation, and that release is contained rotation of the legs and feet over a singular point.
The Lead’s Upper Body has two methods of motion.
a.) Rotate your …
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If all that sounds like deep technical details, that’s because it is. It’s the kind of clarity that must happen for the Lead kinesthetically everywhere. And that’s just in this move alone when it comes to what they’re doing. However, typically what happens, for most Leads is their embrace collapses, and their footwork is sloppy! They tend to use their arms, apply pressure, tension and force to ‘move’ their followers instead of applying intention to INVITE their followers. Do you see the difference. Intention is a huge component in the application of the Lead’s Giro. Without that, then you’re literally pushing and pulling your follower around. There are LOADS of Tango teachers that will tell you in no uncertain terms that you must apply tension, and force, or RESISTANCE in order to use the Molinete/Giro structure. And there is a certain amount of truth to that > IF AND ONLY IF you want to scream at your dance partner and be a lethargic weight! I can hear the commentary now, assuming you’ve gotten this far, that the you don’t do that. Trust me when I say this, you do. You just don’t know it. Nor have you had anyone, like me, point it out to you.
The Lead’s Practical Reality. The matter of the fact is that your Giro the Follower’s Molinete has become the staple of the dance. Further, there’s a reality you must understand that for the most part, the Lead’s Giro here is purely decorative and performative. Meaning that you’re not actually doing a whole lot. Nor do you need to! The fact is that the due to certain factors of the state of the dance, and because this move has become so ubiquitous, that the moment the lead starts any kind of rotation, the Follower will default to their Molinete in either BSF or FSB depending on what position they’re in. In this instance, you don’t really have to ‘lead’ per se. And as one of my early teachers put it, the Follower is the Engine of the TURN! They’re literally going to turn us! The only thing you really need to do here is guide them thru to where you want to come out of the turn facing in what direction. That’s it. That’s all. However, if you want to get fancy you can break up that turn. And in that respect you want to go look at the Molinete Giro Variations video I produced a while back. That the game changer. Aside from that, this is now a staple of the dance and you as the Lead don’t need to push, pull, compress, squeeze, or use your arms to direct your Follower! Got it ? To be fair there are some Followers that have not mastered this turn and will lag or step away slightly. And for that reason I have a whole video series on both of those things. They’re in your library, go look. However, in either case, you should not need to direct your Follower with your arms which is what a LOT of Leads do and this is NOT desirable.
These are just some of the Lead’s choice of course, to engage them or to not engage them.
The Lead’s Fine Print.
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About The Video. This video comes in at 1 hour and 22 minutes and goes over Follower Technique in the 3 steps. Lead Technique in the 4 types of steps for their Giro. And then Applied Disassocation and what that looks like for both roles. And then presents some examples which is what the video above is all about.
The Milonguero Turn is a very useful piece of tango vocabulary and yet it is almost never taught anymore, sadly. It has been supplanted by its sexier kissin’ cousin, the Follower’s Molinete. Put simply, when you really stop and think about the Milonguero Turn, is nothing more than a backcross, a side step, and a forward cross (from the Follower’s perspective). This isn’t rocket science, it’s Argentine Tango, and as such there’s not a whole lot of complexity to this particular well worn, and exceedingly useful, but highly underrated Tango vocabulary. The fact is that this was the predominant turn for almost 70 years before Gustavo Naveira came along and changed everything with the sexier Follower’s Molinete, so the story goes. So without further yapping, let’s dive into The Milonguero Turn!
What is AMilonguero Turn ? First let’s define the words there, as they require a bit of clarity. ‘Milonguero’ is yet another made up word used for marketing purposes that is a bastardization of the true meaning of the word itself. A ‘Milonguero’ is someone who was raised in the milongas, they would pick up discarded tickets to get into the milongas to then watch how people danced and then emulate that so that they could then dance with the pretty girls. This all happened in a 25 year time period from about 1930 to about 1955. If you were born in that time period and ran with this crowd of dancers, then you could rightfully (and distastefully, because it was a term of disparagement in those days) be called a ‘Milonguero’. There are very few of these men left in the world. Very few.
These men didn’t take classes. They didn’t go to special Tango schools. No. They didn’t have the money. They learned on the floor while watching other people dance, and deconstructed what they saw. They then tried to one-up each other, trying to outdo each other with tricks and what not. While the game was certainly about getting the girl, it was also about showing off. In a lot of ways, the Milongueros of yesteryear bears a striking resemblance to the forerunners of modern hip-hop, minus the gang mentality. This is a ‘Milonguero’.
The term, so the story goes, was developed as a marketing tool, as a way to describe what one specific teacher saw in the clubs and milongas of Buenos Aires. This was called ‘Milonguero Style’ dancing.
A Milonguero Turn, on the other hand, is representative of the type of turn that existed prior to Gustavo Naveira (re)discovering the Follower’s Molinete. Again, so the story goes.
In it’s simplest form, the Milonguero Turn is where the Lead or Follower, typically the Follower, is led to a clean back-crossing step, an arced side step, and then a clean forward cross. The cleanliness of the crossing steps is noted elsewhere on tango topics, known as the “Dirty Cross“. The Milonguero Turn is one of the easiest of turns to accomplish with regards to Argentine Tango for a variety of reasons, most notably because there is no hip rotation for the partner that is performing the turn, there is no ‘pivot’, nor is there any Disassociation or Applied Disassociation. The turn allows of the couple to stay with each other and also allows for an easeful experience vs. the Follower’s Molinete that is the default turn today. And last but not least, it allows for the partnership to stay facing each other, while at the same time not expending a great deal of energy to ‘turn’ whereas the Follower’s Molinete does precisely that. While the Milonguero Turn is not sexy, it is in our estimation the more desirable and elegant turns. It is, however, easy to see why it was abandoned in favor of its sexier cousin. That said, don’t discard it simply because it’s not sexy, use it because it is insanely functional!
Huge Update: This video, even though it’s only 7 Minutes in length has been expanded upon in 3 other videos on the subject:
The Milonguero Turn Trick – Which will generate the Milonguero Turn with ANY Follower regardless of whether or not they’ve been trained to do the turn or not.
Also there 4 of the 32 videos in the Follower Technique archive that go over in detail the idea of the Milonguero Turn.
And now the rest of the sales pitch…
From A Following Perspective the Milonguero Turn is insanely easy for you … IF you were to subscribe to tangotopics.com
From a Leading Perspective the Milonguero Turn is definitely a challenge for you to learn to lead. Mostly because you haven’t subscribed to tangotopics.com
The 3 Gotchas! There are, as always, some areas of concern that you need to pay attention to.
One: SUBSCRIBE
Two: SUBSCRIBE
Three: SUBSCRIBE
From a Dancing Perspective as has been indicated, is not used all that often, sadly. However, there are parts of this article you can not see because you haven’t become a subscriber. And all the deets that you want or need are in thext of the subjects above that are screaming at you to subscribe. But because you read this far, you get …
The Free Tip. Posture, posture, posture. Far too often when engaging a turn a lead will look at or watch the Follower’s feet while engaging their own Giro, and or at the same time, they’ll engage The Lazy Man’s Turn. The Milonguero Turn can not engage either of these two errors. Instead, you want to engage ‘better’ posture at all points along the turn itself. Followers a small tip for you, you’re going to want to step away in the Milonguero turn on your backcross and more importantly in your side step, and you can’t, you want to step around your lead!
About The Video. This video comes in at 07m:10s in length in 7 Sections. Both lead and follow technique are combined into the video.
Section 1 – Introduction – 00:00:25 Section 2 – Lead The Backcross – 00:02:41 Section 3 – Follower Technique – 00:00:55 Section 4 – Lead Details – 00:00:38 Section 5 – Follower’s Big Side Step – 00:00:40 Section 6 – Lead Footwork – 00:00:30 Section 7 -Example/End – 00:00:47
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