(BachaZouk) Carlos' DJ turn, fully decoded! The BachaZouk papa who holds the answers · 2024 Tour by K-Sensual Wongung & Yoni #bachata

“You bring your body in and do the contraction, bend your knees, keep the frame, and step forward.”

CONTEXTDemonstrating how the turn begins, with the contraction and keeping the frame

“When you're turning, you have to stay parallel the whole time — parallel, parallel, parallel.”

CONTEXTHammering home staying parallel through the turn

“Keep your weight slightly forward, but don't rise up through your legs.”

CONTEXTA note on weight distribution during turns

“When you do the head turn to one side, it doesn't matter if it's down or up. You don't need a spot here.”

CONTEXTExplaining when spotting isn't necessary, depending on the direction of the head turn

“All I have to do is be right here. I don't do anything else — just the weight.”

CONTEXTExplaining that the follower's job is to stay on the spot and simply give weight

“This turn is really easy. It gets complicated when you try to do something — when you try to help your partner, or try to turn yourself. That's when it starts getting hard.”

Teaching a turn and explaining that it actually gets harder when the follower tries to intervene on their own

“Remember this grip. Thumb up, the rest of your fingers down. Hold the grip that way.”

Breaking down the hand hold in detail

“If she's in contraction, what am I in? Extension, or contraction? If I'm in extension, this movement travels way further out.”

CONTEXTUsing a question to explain that the lead's and follower's contraction and extension have to work in opposition

“As I come in, I give space for her head. And now I can keep the movement really close to my body, and I get a lot more control over it.”

CONTEXTExplaining how the lead moves inward while giving the follower space, and controls the movement at the same time

“She should always be right in the center of your position. You're not walking together.”

CONTEXTExplaining that the lead shouldn't walk along with the follower, but keep the follower centered on their own axis

“The energy has to keep going, without breaking. Don't chop it up like 'one, two.' You just keep it going.”

Stressing that the flow of energy shouldn't break during the turn

“First I change my head, and as I go up I do the extension. Then she can just stay right there. She doesn't need me.”

CONTEXTExplaining that the follower can hold their own balance independently, without the lead's movement propping them up