An Intro to Close Embrace - Back Ochos

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For the Leader:: This step requires a lot of sensitivity to the follower in the understanding of the angle of the follower's hips. Without clarity of lead and sensitivity, it can look, and feel, like you're just stumbling around.

For the Follower:: The experience of back ochos in close embrace requires a lot of flexibility in the hip sockets. Whereas in open embrace, we say pivot tons and then step straight back, in close embrace there is very little pivot and a reaching around and back through the hip. If you don't have enough flexibility, you can bend your standing leg so the other leg can cut better.

Artist Name:
Francisco Canaro
Song Title:
Angelitos Negros
Album Title:
Te Acordas Hermano?

Known for his early Golden Age compositions, wikipedia says he made his first violin from an empty oil can.

00:04
In the back ochos, this is actually a very different technique in close embrace an in open.
00:10
And... Basically, this is because my arm is wrapped around her and she doesn't have the freedom of movement in her upper body
00:17
And so there's much more use of the low back and the swing through the hips and the thighs to create the cross
00:22
And the lead becomes more subtle, instead of pivoting her all the way, there's just this
00:28
Here's a demo
00:40
And now for the leaders, as you do this,
00:43
I want you to first be aware that it's now going to turn a 180 the same way if it were an open embrace back ocho
00:50
So I'm doing a sort of zig-zag with my feet.
00:52
I'm going side, change, and then I'm going a little bit zig,
00:55
and a little bit zag.
00:56
If I'm doing it to the camera, I'm doing a little zig, and a little zag,
01:01
almost as if it were like a diagonal stairstep.
01:03
For the followers, notice the way she pivots in her lower back,
01:09
and swings sort of in her left hip socket
01:11
to find the room, and then in her lower back and in her right hip socket.
01:19
As we do this,
01:21
for the followers, also I want you to be really cautious not to lean back, so as you go back on that foot...
01:26
Oh, boy, yeah
01:27
There's this instinct to pull the leader, right, so you do it too good, and I forget what to say
01:33
She's like it's a great burden
01:34
Yeah, this is a tough world
01:38
And otherwise it's the same, as if that's the same. Lot of things different.
01:43
Try it.
Series:
An Intro to Close Embrace
Tags:
Ocho, Back Ocho, Close Embrace
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