There are Five ‘Social’ Figures that we use all the time when dancing Argentine Tango. The reason they’re called ‘Social’ figures is becasue they adhere to a simple principle of Tango Floorcraft > They don’t take up space on the dance floor, they’re done meticulously compact so as not to disturb others or their dancing experience. While there are LOADS of figures in Argentine Tango, these 5 are done with such frequency, that they really are common elements. Hence the moniker > Five Social Figures which are:
1.) Walks
2.) Ochos.
3.) Turns.
4.) Crosses.
5.) Cortados.
Within each one of these there are multiple types of X. Where ‘X’ is the Social Figure. As follows:
The 6 Ways of Walking,
The 8 Types of Ochos,
The 8 Types of Turns,
The 256 Types of Argentine Crosses,
and The 8 Types of Common Cortados.
When you stop and you think about it, and I have, and do the math on this, the possible variations number in the millions. Specifically 7,864,320 variations with every step you take! And if you want to get granular here, that’s > The 6 Ways of Walking * 8 Types of Ochos * 8 Types of Turns * 256 Types of Argentine Crosses * 8 Types of Common Cortados. Which yields a total variations = 6 * 8 * 8 * 256 * 8 or 7,864,320 possibilities with each and every step.
So when I say employing the Five Social Figures of Argentine Tango Methodology that it creates a vast amount of options and opportunities for both roles. That’s NOT an understatement.
Oh and yes there’s a video on this stuff, actually lots of video on this stuff. However the best place to start is with the Five Social Figures video itself, and it’s addendum > Five Social Figures Variations in DIASS.