All back-steps should be STRAIGHT BACK during a performance (not angled).
When you’re in a crowded milonga, angled back-steps make sense. But during a performance, they look kinda of clumsy and steal your opportunity to showcase a nice line.
Need me to spell out the issue?
The issue is when leaders start rotating their body counter-clockwise as they step back. Instead of a long back-step going straight back (showcasing the leader and follower’s leg lines), they do a short angled back-step with the right foot and start rotating early.
When you step back in an angle:
- it looks like a small trip step
- cuts your follower’s forward step short (looks really awkward if she was preparing for a much deeper forward step)
- and less visually appealing to the eye because you don’t cover as much space with that step.