Tarraxa Quadradinha

CountFour steps across eight counts; each step occupies two beats. Counts 1–2: forward (leader) / back (follower). Counts 3–4: lateral step to one side (both partners). Counts 5–6: back (leader) / forward (follower). Counts 7–8: lateral step closing the square (both partners). The figure may repeat immediately from count 1 or may pause on count 8 before the next square. Gradual rotation across repetitions is common practice but is not metered to a fixed arc per individual square.

Song timingMost comfortable at 55–85 BPM (slow tarraxinha and ghetto zouk tempos), where two beats per step allow full hip settling and body articulation between each directional impulse. Functional up to approximately 100–105 BPM on faster tarraxo or Afrobeats tracks, where each step compresses to roughly one beat; above that range, the figure's deliberate quality and hip articulation become difficult to sustain.

• Tarraxinha close-embrace hold: chest contact, relaxed arm frame, hip-to-hip connection
• Basic hip articulation and body-weight settling on each step
• Sensitivity to partner torso impulse and weight shift as the primary directional signal

• ✕Leading with the hands or arms rather than transmitting direction through the shared torso and hip contact — the hands in close embrace are connective, not directive.
• ✕Stepping in metronomic equal time without pausing for the hip settling that completes each count before the next impulse is offered.
• ✕Collapsing the square into a diagonal or a two-point oscillation by shortening or skipping the lateral steps, so the couple never traces the full four-corner pattern.
• ✕Follower anticipating the forward step (counts 5–6) before the leader's torso initiates it, producing a gap or collision rather than unison travel.
• ✕Allowing the embrace to open between steps, losing the continuous body contact through which direction, weight, and timing are communicated.

• ≠Salsa or bachata 'box step': traces a similar square floor pattern but employs a break-step accent against the beat and an open or semi-open frame; the Quadradinha is body-led in sustained close embrace with no break accent.
• ≠Brazilian Zouk 'quadrado': a similarly named square figure that uses a flowing, inclined upper-body connection distinct from the upright, chest-contact frame of tarraxa.
• ≠Kizomba lateral two-step figures: share the close-embrace format but oscillate laterally between two points rather than progressing through four directional corners to trace a square.

• Angola and Portuguese-speaking diaspora (Luanda, Lisbon, Paris)

  Quadradinha

  The canonical attested name; Portuguese diminutive of 'quadrado' (square), describing the square footprint the couple traces. This is the originating term, not a translation of an English source name.