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TOCA STUDENT · Lesson 32 · Kizomba technique

Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second

A movement fails almost always for the same reason, the weight was not clearly placed. So the recovery is always the same too. Return to your axis first, land on a clean support, and only then decide what happens next.

Dawou Tarraxo, pioneer of Tarraxo. Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second

Do not force the figure back. Let it go. A transition is already dance, never a dead beat. Link with the soft, cut with the sharp, both are honest exits.

And look at the cause, not only the repair. Most breaks come from anticipation, you left before the information arrived. If you are not sure, wait a fraction, the information always comes.

Train it on purpose. Break a figure deliberately, and rebuild inside one beat.

Recovering cleanly is a kizomba skill you can train on purpose.

Recovering when the movement breaks, step by step

  1. EVERY DANCE BREAKS. WHAT MATTERS IS THE NEXT HALF SECOND.
  2. A movement fails when the weight is not clearly placed. Return to your axis first.
  3. Do not force the figure back. Let it go and land on a clean support.
  4. A transition is already dance, never a dead beat.
  5. Link with the soft. Cut with the sharp. Both are honest exits.
  6. Most breaks come from anticipation. You left before the information arrived.
  7. If you are not sure, wait a fraction. The information always comes.
What do you do in the second after it goes wrong?

The full carousel

Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second, slide 1 of 9 Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second, slide 2 of 9 Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second, slide 3 of 9 Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second, slide 4 of 9 Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second, slide 5 of 9 Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second, slide 6 of 9 Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second, slide 7 of 9 Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second, slide 8 of 9 Every dance breaks. How to recover in the next half second, slide 9 of 9

This lesson comes from the book

Page 161 of The student's book by Dawou Tarraxo, the TOCA Method page this lesson comes from
The student's book · page 161

The student’s book takes dancers from the first foundations to real feeling. The teacher’s guide gives instructors the structure to pass it on. Both in English, French and Spanish, on Amazon and Apple Books.

The student’s book The teacher’s guide

The method

T O C A

Two bodies. One connection.

TTouchThe connection with your partner. Feeling through contact, never through force.
OObservationListening to your partner’s body, energy and tempo.
CControlMastery of your own movement. Precision without tension.
AAwarenessFull presence: with yourself, your partner and the music.