Adornos: Shoe Taps and Elevadas

Now try the last two patterns again, but this time at the end of each side step do a new kind Golpecito. Rather than tapping the floor with the ball of your foot, tap the side of the shoe on your supporting foot with the side of the shoe on your free foot. This is called the Zapatazo (Shoe Tap).

The Elevada (Elevation) is another kind of Adorno: lifting your feet higher off the floor than good tango style normally requires. Try dancing this way now with some music, with just a Forward Stroll. How high and often you step should be dictated by good taste, the situation, and the music. You must also be careful when you’re in an Inside position not to do high Elevations with your inside foot, lest you hurt your partner!

When you do Ochos the same thing goes: normally you should keep your feet near each other near the floor as they pass during the pivots. However, you can also do Elevations at that point. This swings your lower leg up till it points straight back or even higher. This turns your Ochos into Ochos Picante (Spicy Ochos). Practice this now a few times.