CONNECTED Embellishments vs DISCONNECTED Embellishments

There are many kinds of embellishments for leader and follower and it’s hard to know which ones to use and when to use them. For this guide only, I make the distinction between connected vs disconnected.

“Connected” embellishments will affect the upper-body as you move your free leg. Your partner can feel some sensation in the embrace and perhaps even the upper body will embellish as well.

“Disconnected” embellishments will affect only the lower-body. Only your free leg moves and your partner should not feel anything in the embrace, he or she might not even know you’re doing something underneath.

This is important to think about not only in terms of how it feels, but also how it looks.

• Connected embellishments are a great way to ask for time from your partner and alert him or her to know that you are about to need something and may need extra support, space, etc. This communication can also help free your partner to do his or her own embellishments. Aside from this function, connected embellishments can also look more dramatic from the outside since your entire body is moving.
• Disconnected embellishments are a great way to keep from disrupting your partner and or allow you to change weight without your partner noticing. From the outside, it can also look more quiet, sleek, and slick. When used excessively or incorrectly, it could give you the appearance that you like to dance alone (selfish) but this is a subjective opinion.
• You could also do a mixture of both where it FEELS like a connected embellishment but LOOKS like a disconnected embellishment. As always in tango, we have many extremes and a wide range in between.