progressive side step/intl tango

[fascination]

in my international tango routine there is a progressive side step...back /side slightly forward (quick quick)...as I am watching the tape of my instructor, it almost looks as if he is doing an underturned heel turn btwn the two steps....does that make sense? am I right? is that just a little peice of information that I haven't been blessed with yet :wink: ?

 

[Chris Stratton]

If you mean the 'progressive side step reverse turn' syllabus figure, I don't believe the feet are supposed to actually close anywhere in it, though I could be wrong about that. This is a wonderful figure though - an opportunity in Bronze to do a sharp and precisely presented line-like thing that would be perfectly at home in open competition.

Actual heel turns in tango are a bit different than in the swing dances - the feet are placed with more of the turn already accomplished, so there is only minimal turn after arriving on the foot. You'd see this in the lady's sharp reverse turn into the gold oversway, which is just a more developed version of something commonly seen is social/bronze american style.

 

[fascination]

this progressive side step is part of a u turn sequence (?)....

two curving steps back , the progressive side step, then large step back on right, briefly collect, to lunge shaping left....

it looks like btwn his back step and his side step he does a slight heel turn but perhpas he is just brushing...it isn't the best quality of video(poor lighting)

 

[Kitty]

the man is doing a turn there, and as you noticed, the figure looks like like a U-turn. But I don't think there supposed to be a heel turn. Maybe it looks like feet are together because the steps are small?
mans steps during this turn seem to me more like rocking in place

so the figure (man's part) looks like this to me:

2 walks(slow slow, roughly along LOD),
rock rock rock (in place, while turning, QQS)
lunge (counted slow. sharp step forward, against LOD)

can't find the book around, but I'll find it if you still have questions about this step.


in syllabus I know both parts for pretty much all steps I danced. I was very thorough. In open I don't even want to be so thorough: the routines are too long and I struggle to remember my own footwork and steps right now. sigh. I wish one day I'll be in control again...

 

[fascination]

thank you kitty...I think some of my confusion was the lighting and angle of the tape