Take 4 - Deriving Front Ocho
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Our version of front ocho is based on principles of stabilized and supporting core and of 2 people moving completely together. But you can have different principles and those different principles would lead to a different kind of ocho.
Two for instances:
In close embrace, almost there is no front ocho, it's almost a cross in place because of the requirement that the upper torso be almost glued together. Back ocho, also changes and becomes about the swing in the hip socket rather than the extension through the pivot.
Another instance is the kind of "counter" ocho where the leader actually goes to the opposite side of where the follower's stepping and then sort of pulls her into the pivot for the next step. This kind of ocho is not about being excruciatingly together each moment but rather about a rubber band like effect to create the pivot.
- Artist Name:
- Lucio Arce
- Song Title:
- La Ultima Moyeja
- Album Title:
- ¿Trajiste la guitarra?
- Artist Website:
- https://www.facebook.com/lucio.arce.9
Lucio Arce has an authentic caberet feeling to his guitar playing and singing. There are overtones, sometimes, of jazz and playfulness.
- 00:05
- This is "Take 4", and we want to talk about deriving front ocho.
- 00:10
- The reason we're doing this is that we think that these concepts that we're presenting are such core concepts and they're so interesting,
- 00:17
- that we're hoping that they'll create a dialog, so that... spark a dialog, so that you guys can talk about them too.
- 00:24
- So let's just start. So for the followers, if we're doing front ochos,
- 00:30
- And let's assume, that yes, we want to go side, and change weight and step...
- 00:36
- So let's assume that that's the generic shape of the ocho, but, you know, of course more beautiful than that
- 00:41
- Then you'd ask "Well, here's some thought", excuse me, "Some fine details", as we step side, right here I lift up through the ball of my foot, I...
- 00:51
- I'm lady, by the way
- 00:52
- I stand still, and you'll notice my hips go all the way, and my upper body returns
- 00:57
- And some people... And if we do ochos you'll see that it stays that way, I step all the way over, hips go all the way, upper body returns. So my hips are in a line with my motion.
- 01:07
- And why is that? Let's say that again, why is that? And in my way of thinking
- 01:15
- I do that because I want the hips to be in line with the body, this lets the energy go through the leg.
- 01:22
- So if you see me do that, this is a lot more whole than, for example, if i face her a hundred percent with my chest
- 01:30
- That's just silly
- 01:32
- And you can do it
- 01:34
- Some of us can do it
- 01:35
- Some of us can do it, but that's not the ideal
- 01:39
- It also got the same sense of yearning towards me, which is really, to us, more tango than if he'd actually succeeded.
- 01:47
- So it's both more whole for his body, but it's also to us more tango if he doesn't succeed in going back into my face like that.
- 01:56
- So, if she's leading me in front ochos this way, when we go here and I come to her, you see I'm not facing her, I'm trying to, and then come back to the dissonance.
- 02:07
- For the follower... Oh, that was for the follower, for the leader, as you do this
- 02:13
- I do something very interesting that's different, I think, from many people, and that's that I keep the hips still and I move the upper body.
- 02:19
- So you'll see, if I'm leading front ochos, side, change, pivot, I stabilize with the hips and then extend.
- 02:25
- And why is that? And the answer for me, and this is a new thing I didn't introduce before, but I'll cheat, is that it let's us be more together.
- 02:36
- So if I rotate here, then when we step, I'm not really stepping forward, I'm not stepping side, but she's going up your way, and that takes me away from her, this turn of my hips
- 02:48
- Where's if my hips are here, facing her, you'll see she's completely hidden by my hips, which is maybe not a bad thing.
- 02:55
- No, not for me it's not bad
- 02:57
- Well, that's not what I mean at all
- 02:58
- I know, i know
- 03:03
- That right here, the facing of my hips, brings me more towards her, and makes us more together.
- 03:07
- We actually looked at that, we looked at doing the ochos in the other way, where he would be angled and starting my pivot before he starts his step
- 03:16
- And what he gave you just then was our conclusion about it, which was that we like it better when his hips completely flat, because that's making him completely with me.
- 03:24
- So I'm going to give one more piece of material, that may be too much.
- 03:28
- She's like "I'm going to cut this off, David"
- 03:30
- Though maybe not
- 03:31
- And I'm going to show you that, because it was a really interesting way of doing an ocho
- 03:35
- So I could, instead, step side, and then I could pivot her and turn myself as I change.
- 03:42
- I can step then I can start to lead her pivot early.
- 03:45
- So you see, I'm pivoting in my hips to motivate her pivot, so instead of the hips stabilizing. And it has a radically different feel.
- 03:51
- So we did look at several different ways before we decided we like the one that leaves us the most together.
