Lasso
in Santo Domingo 🇩🇴
A circular arm lead that traces an arc over the follower's head — like drawing a halo with your hand connection.
Why it matters
The lasso teaches arm path awareness — both partners must maintain clean circular geometry while managing hand grip rotation. Leaders learn to create smooth, predictable arm paths that the follower can track. Followers learn to read overhead signals and manage their own arm weight during elevated movements. It's also the entry mechanism for many advanced figures: sombrero, neck-wrap, and certain dip entries all begin with a lasso-type arm path.
The lasso is a figure where the leader guides the joined hands in a circular arc over the follower's head, creating a visually striking overhead loop that resembles a cowboy's lasso in motion. It's a transitional figure that can lead into wraps, turns, or position changes. The circle can be full (360 degrees over the head) or partial (an arc that redirects). What makes the lasso elegant is the continuous, fluid quality of the arm motion — it should look like drawing a perfect circle in the air, not like waving a flag.
Beginner
From open hold, leader: lift your left hand (holding her right) in a smooth arc to your right, passing over her head in a clockwise circle. Keep the circle wide and slow — if the follower has to duck, your circle is too small or too low. The elbow should stay soft, not locked straight. Complete the circle and return to open hold. Follower: let the hand guide you, keeping your arm relaxed with just enough tone to stay connected.
Intermediate
Use the lasso as a setup tool. A lasso that continues past the head can wrap into a sombrero. A lasso that reverses mid-arc becomes a copa-type redirect. Practice lassoing into different positions: into cuddle, into sweetheart, into a back-to-back. Also experiment with lassoing on different counts — a lasso that starts on count 1 versus count 5 creates different rhythmic feels.
Advanced
Chain lassos into complex arm choreography. Double lasso (two rotations), alternating-hand lasso, lasso with a body wave pass-through. At this level, the lasso is a phrase, not a figure — you start it, weave other movements through it, and resolve it when the music says so. The arm path becomes a continuous ribbon that wraps and unwraps the partnership like calligraphy.
Practice drill
Solo practice first: hold a water bottle in your hand and trace slow, perfect circles overhead. The water shouldn't slosh. Then with a partner: 10 lassos clockwise, 10 counterclockwise, focusing on maintaining a perfectly round path with consistent speed throughout.
Lasso in Santo Domingo
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