Paradas: general technique and three examples

I love paradas (stops, from the verb parar, or "stop") because they are a prime place in tango where I, as a follower, get to adorn and play with the music, the feeling of the dance, and the leader! As a leader, I enjoy doing paradas because it creates a natural pause that goes with the pauses in the music; and it lets the follower have time to ornament the dance and express the music in a way that complements mine.

Main concept: A PARADA IS LED WITH THE TORSO, NOT THE FOOT. The foot helps the follower know it is a parada, and creates a situation that often requires the follower to do a pasada (step over the foot of the leader). This makes it look more exciting, but the lead is in the torso, with a little help from the foot and the embrace.

Each parada is named after the step the follower has completed. A front parada is done at the follower's front step. A side parada is performed in relation to a follower's side step. A back parada blocks the front foot of the follower as the follower transfers weight to the back foot in a back cross step.

Follower technique

• Be on your axis. Make sure you adjust your weight so that the free leg is truly free. If you are off-balance, try adjusting your hips back first (at the hip joint, not the lower back), which helps the femur nest into the hip joint for more balance.
• Relax your joints: keep your ankle, knee and hip joints, both in the support leg for balance, and in the free leg for ease of movement and adorning.
• Pivot at the floor/feet, not just at your hips and knees. The leader's foot/ankle should adjust to give you space; if they don't, there are ways to adjust so that you don't get hurt.
• Collect with your ankles under you with a relaxed, balanced look. The next time you dance in a mirrored space, check that your knees are together, ankles are together, etc. What I often see is the free foot trailing out behind like a kickstand: tidy it up!
• Adorn! Although not all leaders give you time to adorn at paradas, if the music says PAUSE! perhaps you can influence the leader's musicality by taking your time and adorning. Remember: you can influence the leader's timing, but you are not the leader.
• Protect your body: If the leader is pushing you off balance, adjust by rebounding onto your "free" foot, and then moving your "support" over a tad (usually a bit away). At this point, wait for the stepover lead.  You will be on balance, and the leader will probably think that you just did an elaborate adorno. You will look good, be on balance, and be able to complete the move.
• For pasadas (stepovers): Don't rush! The leader leads this move. Give the leader energy to play with, but don't take over. There should be a clear torso lead here to tell you when to move. After all, here is your time to do adornos.
• When there is no pasada: This is simply half of a front ocho, which you know how to do :-)
• When you step over, take a normal sized step, carefully staying the same distance away from the leader (unless led to do something else). Think of it as half of an ocho, with a roadblock.

Leader technique:

• The TORSO is the main way to stop your partner; just stop moving your torso, and the follower stops.
• The foot placed against the follower's foot or ankle (depends on the move, see below) helps the follower know you are leading a parada--and it looks cool, too!
• The embrace helps the follower feel the torso's lead. Often, I mark the parada by LIGHTLY lowering my body and the embrace, perhaps 1/16 of an inch (no one should see this, but the follower can feel it). This grounds the follower, making it less likely that s/he will continue to travel.
• Hint: Keep the follower near you. That way, you don't have to reach out to find their feet.
• Adjust your foot/ankle around the follower's pivot to facilitate elegant movement for the follower and to protect joints.
• Give the follower time to adorn (more on this below)! This is a soulful move, not a 1-2-3-4 count kind of move.
• Lead the pasada (stepover): This is NOT up to the follower to decide when it's time to go!
• On the other hand, being sensitive to the follower's dance makes you look good (i.e., if the follower did an adorno and is not pausing for you to lead the pasada, maybe you should do it!).

Most paradas can be done in open or closed embrace, as long as you are willing to dance in a V (and that V changes from side to side sometimes for paradas). I prefer to dance in a V-shaped close embrace, opening up for any moves that don't work in closed position; and then returning to close embrace.

In class, we have done only one kind of each parada, and this blog entry would be WAY too long if I put all the possibilities in, so I'll cover one direction, one variation only for now.

Front paradas

For those who like to classify movement, the move we did was a front parada from the first half of an ocho cortado (or a right turn), using the leader's right foot; with a pasada to exit. Front paradas are led as the follower makes a forward step, either in an ocho, a giro (turn) or just walking.

1. Lead the follower to take a front step of an ocho, turn or walk (easiest in ocho or turn).
2. As the follower's right foot hits the ground, place your right instep alongside the follower's instep, on the side near you.
3. As the follower pivots to face to your left, adjust your foot/leg so that you end up in the famous S-curve shape: the edge of your little toe on the ground; your instep wrapped around the follower's ankle; your heel up off the ground; your knee lightly flexed; your leg rotated to the right in the hip socket, as far as it will go. This lets you FEEL where the follower's axis is, right at the floor.
4. MEANWHILE, slow down your torso and stop, so that the follower feels a pause in the movement. There is no correct length of time to pause: it depends on the  music, your follower, your interpretation of the music, etc.
5. You can use "la marca" or "mark" the parada by applying a TINY bit of pressure to the embrace, with a teensy downwards movement. I usually do this when I am leading the follower's leg to slide out into a darting motion (suggesting a specific adorno).
6. Suspend the body (TINY lift up of your body/embrace/the follower) to prepare for the pasada (stepover).
7. Lead the stepover by rotating around own torso, so that follower steps over your foot and completes a second front step (basically, an ocho with a roadblock).
8. Exit.

Side paradas

For those of you who are structured, we did a side parada to the leader's left (in parallel system), blocking with the leader's right foot; leading into a pasada (stepover) and exit.

1. Lead the follower to take a side step with the right foot, to the leader's left, while taking a step to the left with the left.
2. As the follower's right foot hits the ground, place your right foot alongside your follower's foot BEFORE the follower collects, so that your foot is in between your partner's feet.
3. Make sure you leave enough room so that the follower can make a V around the front of your foot (the follower's heels need to be able to collect together, or this move looks really awkward in a skirt).
4. As the follower pivots to face to your left, adjust your foot/leg so that you allow the follower's foot to pivot as much as needed.  You will probably end up with your foot next to theirs.
5. MEANWHILE, slow down your torso and stop, so that the follower feels a pause in the movement. There is no correct length of time to pause: it depends on the  music, your follower, your interpretation of the music, etc.
6. Suspend the body (TINY lift up of your body/embrace/the follower) to prepare for the pasada (stepover).
7. Lead the stepover by rotating around own torso, so that follower steps over your foot and completes a front step around you.
8. For the side parada, I like to suggest adornos after the follower's foot has lifted to step over, but before there is a weight shift.
9. Exit.

Back paradas

A back parada stops the follower's "front" foot as the follower transfers weight for the back step. For our class, we learned a back parada in the right turn, blocked with the leader's right foot.

1. Lead the follower to take a back step of an back ocho, turn or walk (easiest in ocho or turn).
2. As the follower's right foot hits the ground, place your right instep alongside the outside edge of the follower's foot.
3. MEANWHILE, slow down your torso and stop, so that the follower feels a pause in the movement. There is no correct length of time to pause: it depends on the  music, your follower, your interpretation of the music, etc.
4. Transfer the follower's weight onto the right foot while moving to make a "sandwich" around the follower's left (front) foot. Make a nice V with your feet, heels touching.
5. [optional] Adorn! This is your moment, leaders! Play!
6. Step back onto your right foot, moving your ENTIRE body (leave your left foot in place) so that the follower can transfer weight and collect around the front of your left foot.
7. [optional] You can use "la marca" or "mark" the parada by applying a TINY bit of pressure to the embrace, with a teensy downwards movement. I usually do this when I am leading the follower's leg to slide out into a darting motion (suggesting a specific adorno).
8. Suspend the body (TINY lift up of your body/embrace/the follower) to prepare for the pasada (stepover).
9. Lead the stepover by rotating around own torso to the right, so that follower steps over your foot and completes a front step.
10. Exit.

OK, I think we're moving into TMI land, so I'll leave other variations, etc., for another post.