An Intro to Close Embrace - Ocho Cortado
Please log in to start testing your knowledge!
There is a good video by Oscar Casas which shows ocho cortado and many different things you can do. It seems very fun to us.
- Artist Name:
- Juan D'Arienzo
- Song Title:
- La Comparsita
- Album Title:
- Juan D'Arienzo - Rca Victor 100 Anos CD
Known as "El Rey del Compás" (King of the Beat), his music is played often at milongas. The instrumentals are the classic rhythmic tangos with a strong staccato dance rhythm.
- 00:28
- So, as we do this, this is ocho cortado,
- 00:30
- and the lead is hard
- 00:33
- I know, but it's really fun for the follower. And you can do it in either close or an open embrace.
- 00:37
- Yes. So first...
- 00:40
- We're going to give you a little bit of an intro,which is not entirely necessary, but it'll help make this step easier.
- 00:46
- So we start it like the basic, side,
- 00:49
- Oh, sorry, I forgot, close embrace, yeah
- 00:51
- So it goes side, through, rock and return
- 00:56
- So the first two steps are like the basic, and after that we do a small rock, it's actually a check-step.
- 01:01
- Side, through, check and through.
- 01:04
- And on that step, when we're outside partner here,
- 01:07
- I'll actually take a smaller step, and she'll take a smaller step, because otherwise our thighs will bump,
- 01:12
- and we'll get in to much in a way if you try to take a big step on that one step.
- 01:22
- And then right there our opening shall reach a step side around me, that opening comes from the turn of the right side of my body,
- 01:28
- It goes side, through, check and step
- 01:31
- Right here, I do it not only with my upper body, I do it... there.
- 01:36
- So I'm actually bringing my right foot open and almost to my left foot, sort of like a Charlie Chaplin
- 01:45
- I'm sure he was a good dancer
- 01:46
- I'm sure he was
- 01:50
- And then here you'll see the opening of that foot
- 01:52
- Now, afterwards make sure she knows to cross, I'll shift a tiny bit to my heels,
- 01:58
- which brings to a hairfold, I'll turn her around her axis,
- 02:01
- and I'll take her back over the line between my left shoulder and her right shoulder.
- 02:07
- And then I'll shift her back to cross.
- 02:09
- So, roughly speaking, when she's here in a side step position... Let's do it sideways to the camera...
- 02:14
- When she's in...
- 02:15
- This is not sideways to the camera
- 02:16
- Oh, frontwards to the camera
- 02:17
- When she's here in a frontwards side step position,
- 02:21
- if I took her that way, that would take her back.
- 02:28
- If I took her that way, where it's going in front of her standing leg, and I rotate her,
- 02:35
- that takes her into the cross, and that's what we're doing.
- 02:38
- By rotating her, as we're taking the line of her free leg in front of her standing leg.
- 02:54
- It is hard to learn, but once you learn - it is kind of fun.
- 03:08
- And then I'll step way through.
- 03:10
- And there's also lot of places where the guy could put his free leg, and bents in a lot of cool ways
- 03:15
- That, once again, will be a later chapter.
