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CHAPTER 8 - The Giro

Excerpt....."In the giro, the basic element of the lead is simply the continuing rotation of the leader’s trunk. Therefore it is quite feasible to initiate a giro from a stationary position, but leaders beginning to play with the giro may find it useful to consider the follower in two important ways.

The first is to begin the lead in such a way as to enable the follower to start her giro with a sidestep in the appropriate direction. As ever, this will necessitate the leader having a full awareness of which foot the follower is standing on. If you want her to sidestep to her right, for pity’s sake, start when her weight is on her left. Secondly, though the follower will want a good, clear indication, she will not appreciate it if you spin with reckless abandon, particularly since her second step is a back step, which needs a substantial pivot before it can be done. Often the giros that feel the sweetest begin quite slowly and accelerate from the back step onwards.

A similar thoughtfulness is required at the resolution of a giro. The good leader already has a clear idea about the purpose of the giro and how far round the follower will go. Sadly, most of us get into a giro and try and fudge our way out of it as best we can. How do we stop it before we are both so dizzy we can barely stand? Ideally, we give our follower notice by slowing down the lead to rotate. If we then come to a halt in a sidestep, the follower simply halts in a fairly useful neutral position in front of us. If, however, we stop dead in this position without warning, she is likely to try to continue as she was and stop halfway on to her next comfortable position. In any event she will feel uncomfortable, and that is the last thing we want our follower to feel.

By far the easiest way to exit from a giro is to realise that the follower is taking sidesteps every other step and grasp the opportunity to accompany her in any one of those. As Stephanie Gögelein, a dear friend and the very first person to show me the true face of tango, puts it, “The follower’s boat is going that way. Get on the boat.” This is a good image for the leader. If a boat was moving along a bank and you wished to leap aboard without grief, you would need to plan the leap and time it to perfection, with your own body motion matching that of the boat exactly."

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