Every week, you’ll find on our blog class notes and a summary video from our Wednesday and Sunday tango group classes.

These video and notes are meant to help our students remember what they’ve done in class.

Dimension: Directions- Theme: Backward ocho combinations

In this class, we started with the classic backward ocho. For intermediates, we looked at a double backward ocho which is very musical and nice on rhythmical orchestras or at the end of musical phrases and a mini giro which can be led at a sandwich.

Summary video

 

Beginners & improvers: Backward ocho

Top tips

  • Leaders: Make sure you dissociate first and the step together with your partner, whilst keeping your dissociation.
  • Followers: Make sure you don’t change weight in the pivots. You should be stepping with the leg far to your partner.

 

Intermediates & up: Double backward ocho

Top tips

  • Leaders: You can lift your partner to make sure she can keep the speed.
  • Followers: Try and do 2 nice ochos with a proper step and pivots. Try and not merge the moves.

 

Intermediates & up: Mini giro

Top tips

  • Leaders: Open the chest to the left to lead the mini giro.
  • Followers: Stay on the ball of the feet to maintain the speed.

 

Homework

Top tips

  • All: No matter which level you’re at, it always pays to work on the technique of something as fundamental as the backward ocho.