3. Progressive Rocks

Progressive Rocks can most easily be described (from the mans part) as a forward and back rock followed by a full walk. The entire figure begins with the man rocking forward on the left foot, back on the right, and then fully transferring weight forward on the left foot. The pattern is then repeated, beginning with the right foot. The lady has the natural opposite. The rocks are danced as quicks and the walks are danced as slows, giving us a rhythm of QQS QQS.

The rock actual steps do progress a bit, but traveling is not the emphasis. The rock steps should be compact enough to be able to show quick, accurate movement, but not so small that one can barely see a weight transfer. Besides keeping the size of the step a bit shorter, the main thing to keep in mind while dancing a rock step is that you cannot fully transfer your weight. You should transfer enough weight so as to be able to briefly pick up the moving leg, but not so much as to completely balance over the standing leg. There are two reasons for this:

• Even if it is possible to fully transfer weight back and forth in the given time, the movement will look heavy and sluggish
  
• In terms of leading, if the man fully transfers his weight on the forward rock, the lady will interpret this as a forward walk and probably be unable to respond to the change of direction quickly enough. Even if she manages to catch up at the last moment, it will feel heavy and awkward for both parties.

In the video, the figure is preceded by 1-2 of 8-count basic (two walks) and is followed by 3-5 of 8-count basic (tango close).