Who’s in charge of the movement?

In our world, leaders are often perceived as ‘responsible’ for the movement.

It is not 100% accurate, but there is some truth in it. If the leading is not clear, the follower can’t dance.


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But if there one movement for which women have most of the responsibility it is the giro. Yes, ladies. In the giro, we are the ones creating power through the whole sequence, and bringing stability to the embrace.

Let’s make them shine too!

Our leaders are constantly offering us opportunities to shine with decorations: they pause after a parada, slow down as we decorate our cohos, wait for us during the pauses….

And the giro is one of the moments where they can really shine too (with enrosques and a lapiz for example!)

But that can only work if us followers do our job correctly: by powering through the giro and giving them stability.

So let’s return the favour and make them shine with beautiful giros. The three tips below will help you improve your own axis and sense of balance, and make sure you give him power and stability.

They can only shine if us, followers, do our work correctly – so, how can we do that?

1. Really go around the leader

During the giro, the leader is on one spot and invites you to go around him. Often, when followers do the giro pattern they step a little bit too far away from the man. Instead of really stepping next to him – at the point in the floor below his shoulder – they step a little bit outside of him.

If you do this, you are making it harder for yourself: you go further away from your leader than you should, so you have to tilt your torso foward to stay in the embrace. And when you are tilted, it is much harder to keep your balance during the rest of the giro.

So, make sure you really go around him, as he is inviting you to: in doubt, step closer to him than you think you should.

In doubt, step closer to him than you think you should

2. Push into the steps

Because the leader is on one spot, he can not really push onto his legs to give power to the dancing, the way he does when he is walking or leading other dynamic movements. So, the person in charge of bringing power to this movement is the follower.

And yet, because the giro is a complicated movement, followers often do it slowly, or without enough power.

In the giro it is very important that we really push into the steps to take the man with us. That means that you need to use the projection technique you learnt when you practiced walking. Your supporting leg is powerfully sending you into space, and your pivot is fast but controlled.

We need to push into the steps to take the man with us

3. Activate the arm in the open side of the embrace

We spoke about how the follower is responsible for power in the giro. She also needs to help the man with his balance when he is decorating.

When he is decorating, the leader is doing a 360° pivot on one leg while the free leg does the decorations (enrosque, lapiz or planeo). Talk about hardcore dancing and crazy balancing! So he needs our help: he must be able to use our right hand like a wall he could gently push against, to help with his pivot.

(You know, how it is much easier to practice your pivots and ochos against a wall than alone? same for them, I know, crazy right?!)

So, if your right arm is floppy the leader will tend to fall towards you and lose his balance. You need to make sure that the frame of your embrace doesn’t move and that you are activating the arm in the open side of the embrace.

You need to make sure that the frame of your embrace doesn’t move

Note that activating does not mean tensing up. Think of it as a gentle, constant push, and always keep the same shape with your embrace. That way the leader will be more comfortable and you, the follower, will feel lighter.

For more on powerful giros, you can check TANGO CORE™, our online course with two video lessons dedicated to dynamics and decorations in the giro.

So, ladies, yes we run the world, but let’s make our partners shine!

Wishing you fun, powerful giros,

Abrazos,

Anne

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