Ocho

Although all tango women can do ocho, many fail to grasp its importance and dedicate sufficient time to practicing it. However, if there is one step that can significantly enhance a woman's tango, it is ocho. This is because ocho encompasses all basic techniques that are essential in women's dancing, including embrace, posture, connection, torso communication, pivot, dissociation, gear effect, cadencia, and the ability to return to the home position in a timely manner after each step. A woman who can do ocho well will also be good at other moves, and a woman whose ocho is clumsy won't be good at other moves either. Moreover, ocho is the most frequently used female step in tango. It can best express a woman's feminine beauty, such as her softness, gentleness, suppleness, lightness, grace, and elegance. A woman's tango can be truly stunning only if she can execute ocho beautifully. While some may argue that molinete is another quintessential female step, it is merely a sequence of forward and backward ochos.

The term "ocho" originates from the Spanish word for "eight". In this figure the woman traces the shape of an S on the floor with one leg and then repeats the same with the other leg. The two S shapes overlap in opposite directions, creating the visual effect of the number 8. To execute ocho, the woman begins by rotating her hips and walking to one side of her partner. She then pivots, rotates her hips again, and walks in the opposite direction.

It's crucial to perform ocho with excellent connection, balance, flexibility, smoothness and elegance. Women who use open dance hold tend to turn their entire body instead of rotating their hips, causing a breakdown in connection and lack of intimacy. The correct way is to keep your torso connected to your partner and swivel your hips before making the step, as shown in the following video (6:10-10:00), so that you can maintain close physical interaction with the partner as you perform ocho.

Most tango instructors emphasize dissociation, i.e., the rotation of the hips, when they teach ocho, while neglecting to teach another important technique, cadencia, or the swing of the body. However, combining dissociation and cadencia adds elegance to the movement while creating a swaying feel that enhances the pleasure of the movement. In order to swing the body, it is important to moderate the dance tempo. Many students dance too hastily, leaving no time for their bodies to sway. The man should give the woman sufficient time to execute each step, while the woman should perform each move with poise, sophistication and elegance, as the following vedio demonstrates.

Ocho can be danced in a variety of ways. It is the most colorful step of all tango steps that can fully display a woman's feminine, gentle, soft, pliable, graceful and creative beauty. Here are some examples.

Mastering these variations can make a woman's dance more captivating. Tango women should make practicing them a part of their daily routine, dedicating 10-20 minutes every day until they have internalized the movements and developed their own personal style. The key word here is internalization, which enables the woman to concentrate on her partner rather than the steps. A bad tendency at present is to use too many variations to show off. Women must overcome the urge to swagger. They may know many variations of ocho, but it's better to use the normal form and only add some variation occasionally, instead of overwhelming themselves with too many options.

Ocho can be a very seductive move due to the physical interactions between the partners. (See Dissociation and Gear Effect.) Instead of concentrating on her own performance, the woman should focus on the physical interactions with her partner, devoting her attention to making him feel good, and establishing a deep and meaningful communication with him as she dances ocho. This is only possible when she has internalized the movement. (See The Four Stages of the Tango Journey.)