Lesson Six
The Side Cross Step
Another important variation of the Two-Step Walk is the Side Cross step. If you're a woman, stand facing in toward the center of the dance floor. If you're a man, stand facing out toward the edge of the dance floor. Then each of you will take two steps straight along the the line of dance.
|
If a woman, step sideways to your right and pivot to your right. Cross your left foot across in front of your supporting foot and pivot to your left. If a man, step sideways to your left and pivot to your left. Cross your right foot across in front of your supporting foot and pivot to your right. |
|
||||||
|
If a woman, step sideways to your right and pivot to your left. Cross your left foot behind your supporting foot and pivot to your right. If a man, step sideways to your left and pivot to your right. Cross your right foot behind your supporting foot and pivot to your left. |
|
||||||
The Grapevine
An important figure in tango and several other dances is the Grapevine, also called the Chain. The basic building block is the Side Cross step. Try this: two Side Cross steps, the first one a Side Cross Front, the second a Side Cross Behind. Now try two more Side Cross steps, but this time beginning with a Side Cross Behind followed by a Side Cross Front. Notice the pattern your feet make on the floor; you'll see why this figure is called Grapevine or Chain.
Now try moving around the dance floor doing a continuous Grapevine. It doesn't matter whether you start with a Front or a Side Cross Behind Step, only that you alternate the two. As this pattern becomes more automatic, try curving your path in various ways, the way you would if you were dancing in a crowd on a regular dance floor.
Lastly get together with a partner and do the Grapevine. When one of you is doing a Side Cross Front the other usually will do a Side Cross Behind. (This of course is the choice of the leader. Advanced tango dancers sometimes do a Grapevine where both partners do the same Side Cross step: Front with Front, Behind with Behind. Also, instead of alternating the two versions of the Side Cross, they may instead do successive Fronts or successive Behinds. However, it's probably best for you to postpone such advanced technique till you become expert with the usual way of doing the Grapevine.)
Starting and Ending the Grapevine
Before you can do the Grapevine as described in the previous section, you must turn from an orientation along the LOD to one with the leader facing out and the follower facing in. There are several ways to do this; one way is a variation of the Side Cross. Begin in a Right-Foot-Inside position.
If you're a man, pivot 45 degrees to your right then step forward left; this will move you at a diagonal toward the outside of the floor. Pivot 90 degrees to your right so that you face out and a little back along the LOD. Take a second step by crossing your right foot behind your body straight along the LOD. Pivot 45 degrees to your left and follow through to the neutral position. You'll have done a variation of the Side Cross Behind.
If you're a woman, pivot 45 degrees to your right then step back right; this will move you at a diagonal toward the outside of the floor. Pivot 90 degrees to your right so that you face in and a little forward along the LOD. Take a second step by crossing your left foot in front of your body straight along the LOD. Pivot 45 degrees to your left and follow through to the neutral position. You'll have done a variation of the Side Cross Front.
Now you can do a Grapevine -- though in one sense, because you both have just done a variation of the Side Cross, you are already doing one. If you're a man, do a Side Cross Front then a Side Cross Behind. If you're a woman, do a Side Cross Behind then a Side Cross Front. Then repeat this four-step Grapevine as many times as you want.
To turn back along the LOD you can do another variation of the Side Cross that reverses the action of the variation that began the Grapevine. If you're a man, pivot 45 degrees to your left and step left forward; pivot another 45 degrees to your left so that the second step of this Front Side Cross variation is a step straight along the LOD in the RFI position. If you're a woman, pivot 45 degrees to your left and step right backward; pivot another 45 degrees to your left so that the second step of this Side Cross Behind variation is a step straight back along the LOD.
(This pattern may also be done from a RFO position and return to that position. This is a little more difficult than the RFI position so you should wait until these two transition patterns become easy before you tackle the RFO position.)
Grapevines and Ochos
You can easily combine Side Cross steps and Ochos because they are variations of the other. Look closely at a Forward Ocho done by a woman as described in Lesson Four. She pivots a bit to her left to bring her into a Right Foot Outside position. Then she steps forward right and pivots to the right, forward left and pivots to her left. Compare that to a Side Cross Front. She steps side right and pivots to the right, crosses left in front and pivots to the left.
In other words, the first step of the Forward Ocho is forward and the first step of the Side Cross Front is to the side, but both steps use the right foot and end in a right pivot. Similarly, the second step is a forward or cross step with the left foot and ends in a left pivot. So the common parts are the rules "when you step right, pivot right" and "when you step left, pivot left."
The Backward Ocho and the Side Cross Behind are also variations of each other. In the Backward Ocho she steps back right and pivots to the left, back left and pivots to the right. (The Backward Ocho is the reverse of the Forward in every way, including the rules "when you step right, pivot left" and "when you step left, pivot right.") The Side Cross Behind steps side right and pivots to the left, crosses behind with the left foot and pivots to the right, matching the rules of the Backward Ocho.
Practicing Grapevine/Ocho Combinations
Now you should try some patterns that combine Grapevines and Ochos. First do the following. It will be a foundation pattern for this section.
- Transitional Side Cross so that the man faces out and the woman in, then a four-step Grapevine, then a transitional Side Cross to go back to the LOD.
Now do the following Ocho pattern a few times to get familiar with it. If you're a man, pivot 90 degrees to your left and do a Backward Ocho: (back left and pivot right 180 degrees, back right and pivot left 90 degrees). If you're a woman, pivot 90 degrees to your left and do a Forward Ocho: (forward right and pivot right 180 degrees, forward left and pivot left 90 degrees).
Now do the foundation pattern a few times with the following two differences.
- The Ocho before the four-step Grapevine
- The Ocho after the four-step Grapevine
Now do a different Ocho pattern. If you're a man, pivot 90 degrees to your right and do a Forward Ocho: (forward left and pivot left 180 degrees, forward right and pivot right 90 degrees). If you're a woman, pivot 90 degrees to your right and do a Backward Ocho: (back right and pivot left 180 degrees, back left and pivot right 90 degrees).
Next do the foundation pattern a few times with this difference.
- The new Ocho pattern in the middle of the four-step Grapevine (after the man's Side Cross Front, the woman's Side Cross Behind).
Molinetes
You will not often do the Grapevine in a straight line. As the dance floor curves and other couples get in your way you will have to curve the Grapevine. If you curve it so that it comes back to a starting point you'll make a circle. As the circle becomes smaller whoever is on the inside will have to take ever-smaller steps. When the circle become very small, the person on the inside will just stay in place and do a giro (turn) of some kind. This makes a figure of intermediate difficulty called the Molinete (Wheel). The one in the center is usually the man; his spot is the "axle," the woman's path the "rim."
If you're a woman, first do this variation of the Behind Side Cross. Step side right and pivot 180 degrees on your right foot, then step straight back left. Next do this variation of the Side Cross Front. Step side right, bring your left foot near your right and step straight forward, then pivot 180 degrees on your left foot. This should bring you back to where you began.
If you're a man, you can do your giros several ways, such as variations of the military about-face. Here is one of the easier ways. Step side left two or three inches, turning about 90 degrees leftward on the ball of your foot and turning your body to match. Twist your body to spin 90 more degrees on the ball of your left foot and step onto your right foot. You should now be facing the opposite direction. Then repeat to turn another half turn to make a complete 360 degree turn.
Try this a few times. Notice that you're using your left foot as the center of this turn. After a while you'll become so practiced at this turn that it will evolve into a 360 degree spin on your left foot.
The Molinete you've just learned uses two Side Cross steps. It's also possible to make Molinetes out of three or even four Side Cross steps, but this is a more advanced topic best left till you've mastered this smallest Molinete.
Leading and Following
Normally leading a Molinete consists just of the man turning his upper body in the desired direction. His hands are used only as extensions of his upper body. The woman will be predisposed to do a Side Cross Behind followed by a Side Cross Front.
If you're leading a relatively inexperienced dancer she may try to do a second Side Cross Behind rather than a Side Cross Front. In this case you should briefly press the heel of your right hand into her back just as you begin turning your upper body past the 180-degree part of your 360-degree turn, just before her second side step.
If you want to lead a Molinete that begins with the woman doing a Side Cross Front step rather than the more usual Side Cross Behind step, use the heel of your hand as just described but just as you begin the Molinete. She'll then normally do a Side Cross Front followed by a Side Cross Front.
Practicing Molinete/Ocho Combinations
Molinetes, because they are a variation of a Grapevine, combine well with Ochos. Practice the following two combinations. In the first the woman does Forward Ochos after the Molinete, in the second she does Backward Ochos.
- The normal Molinete, then one or two woman's Forward Ochos. The man can do a Backward Rock or Backward Ocho for each of her Ochos.
- Molinete that begins with the woman doing a Side Cross Front followed by a Side Cross Behind (see the previous section to review the lead for this), then one or two woman's Backward Ochos.
The Cross Side Step
If you want to do the Grapevine with the leader facing in rather than out you need to use a Two-Step Walk variation called the Cross Side step, very similar to the Side Cross step. The difference is in the order of the side step and the cross step. The underlying skills are the same, so when you become comfortable with the Side Cross step and the Grapevine made up of it, mastering the Cross Side step and the Grapevine made up of it should be easy.
The Cross Side step is also useful if you want to do a clockwise Molinete instead of the counterclockwise Molinete you just learned.
Lesson 5
Lesson 7
