Ballroom Blitz #009

Progressive Side Step in Tango - Feb 23, 2023

Transcript

Ian: Hey guys and girls at the end webs I'm Ian,

Lindsey: and I'm Lindsey,

Ian & Lindsey: and this is the Ballroom Blitz.

Lindsey: On today's blitz we're looking at the beautiful Tango, so we're still in our modern dances, and the figure is Progressive Side Step, let's have a look.

[Demonstration without music]

Lindsey: The progressive side step is just a figure of three steps long so it's not terribly complex, and it's a nice sort of gentle turning figure so it's good for repositioning yourself on the floor getting round corners or out of scrapes.

This one is completely in a closed position a lot of our figures in Tango sort of switch between promenade and closed this one just stays in closed. So, if we are in a proper closed position with our partner then it's a nice sort of easy one to get through.

So, we want the leader's weight to be on their right foot followers on their left. This figure starts with the leader forward on the left and because it's forward on the left and turning it's going to be a reverse figure turning anti-clockwise and we have.

[Demonstration with counts]

Ian: So, leaders your steps are really quite simple it is left right left. Have your weight on your right foot in your standard closed Tango position. You're going to take a quick-quick across your body into your follows space in a regular Tango fashion. Moving about a quarter over the next step, quick, and then essentially a Tango walk forward, slow.

You can turn this a little bit more if needed it will feel like you're walking around a circle but you want to maintain that nice closed position.

[Demonstration with counts]

Lindsey: Followers we have the natural opposite so we're ready to go on our right foot and in true Tango fashion we're really trying to wait to have our leg picked up the leaders step on their left is going to come right into our space so we'll feel our leg being shifted backwards and across.

[Demonstration with counts]

Lindsey: Of course none of our Tango figures work terribly well unless we are nice and low in a nice strong position with each other and waiting for each other. But, once we've got that in place this is a very useful figure and it feels great too so try it out next time you're on a Tango floor.