Bonus

The bonus is essentially a Traveling TurnTraveling Turn where instead of stepping in front of the follow to prepare, the lead steps behind the follow, proposing to do a turn and half rather than a single turn. There are two kinds of bonuses, right bonus and left bonus. The left bonus is a particular case because it is actually a kind of sequence.

Right Bonus

Let’s go over the follow footing in isolation first. Because the follow is turning right, it means they are likely stepping with their right foot as their projection step. This means that the follow is in the Red PhaseRed PhaseThe first 'boom chick chick' in the music, and every subsequent odd phase. Part of Music & Rhythm during this turn.

The bonus is done by doing a full turn with exactly the concepts as the Compass StepCompass StepThe fundamental footwork mechanic of stepping and pivoting on the ball of the foot to change direction. and Traveling TurnTraveling Turn. However, at the end, during the beginning of the next Blue PhaseBlue PhaseThe second 'boom chick chick' in the music, and every subsequent even phase. Part of Music & Rhythm, there is extra torsion in such a way that the follow does an extra half a turn - facing the direction that they came from.

Solo Right Bonus

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Feet Hips Chest Line

Solo Right Bonus

If you notice at the end of the right bonus, the follow has their right foot back, weight on their left, and they are about to go into the the Red PhaseRed PhaseThe first 'boom chick chick' in the music, and every subsequent odd phase. Part of Music & Rhythm. This means they are perfectly aligned to step right into Basic Back and ForthBasic Back and ForthAdding forward-and-back to the basic step pattern..

Left Bonus

The left bonus requires an extra step, because if you do exactly the same thing as the right bonus but with inverted feet and turns, you’ll find that the end step is actually in the wrong place for a regular basic. This would lead to an inverted basic.

To fix this, we simply add a Traveling TurnTraveling Turn at the end! This also changes the nature of the back step - the Control StepControl StepA step that absorbs and redirects energy with energy on the ball of the foot. Part of Stepping and Ground StepGround StepA step that anchors you back into the floor with energy distributed across the whole foot. Part of Stepping right before the traveling turn. This turns into what’s known as a Patinha (literally means little paw). The patinha is a step that you use to absorb some energy, and it’s nice to use it as an opportunity to do a bit of hip movement as well. In essence though, it’s not much different that the two back steps of a regular basic, except with inverted feet.

Solo Left Bonus

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Feet Hips Chest Line

Solo Left Bonus

Notice how at the end of this bonus, we arrive back on the Red PhaseRed PhaseThe first 'boom chick chick' in the music, and every subsequent odd phase. Part of Music & Rhythm with the weight on the appropriate foot ready to go into Basic Back and ForthBasic Back and ForthAdding forward-and-back to the basic step pattern..

Lead Steps together

In general, the leads only job is to step into the follow line but on the other side of what you would do normally with the Traveling TurnTraveling Turn. This is what proposes to the follow to do an extra half turn, by the concept of Seeking Chest ConnectionSeeking Chest ConnectionThe follow continually tries to seek chest connection of the lead Part of Communicating Intention. Other than that, the lead is still applying the same concept as the J turn. The only exception is that with the left bonus there is the Patinha. This is lead usually by keeping a hand connection (although this is optional, as Seeking Chest ConnectionSeeking Chest ConnectionThe follow continually tries to seek chest connection of the lead Part of Communicating Intention would apply), but the hand doesn’t have much energy. In other words, the lead is not “pulling” on the hand for the patinha. It’s implied that the follow will catch her energy with her back foot and then come back to the follow on her own accord. The J signal is just for extra clarity.

Diagrams coming soon!

Variations

Just as with any move, but perhaps especially with the bonus, there are an inexhaustible amount of variations of the bonus.

Bonus Videos