“Dois Pra Lá, Dois Pra Cá”: Understanding Forró’s Side-to-Side Basic Step
Updated: 6 days ago
“Dois pra lá, dois pra cá” is a familiar Brazilian expression associated with dancing forró. Literally, it means “two over there, two over here.” In the context of dance, a more natural translation is “two steps to one side, two steps to the other.”
Many Brazilian students arrive at my classes already knowing this phrase. Some have been shown the movement informally; others have heard that forró is simply dois pra lá, dois pra cá.
When we start learning a more compact basic, they sometimes ask: “But what about dois pra lá, dois pra cá?”
To understand the connection, it helps to look at both the expression and the movement it describes.
What Does “Dois Pra Lá, Dois Pra Cá” Mean in Brazil?
In spoken Portuguese, pra is a common shortened form of para. Here, pra lá suggests movement “that way,” while pra cá suggests movement “this way.” You may also hear the phrase in reverse: dois pra cá, dois pra lá. Both versions express the same alternating idea, without specifying which foot or direction must come first.
For many students I teach, the phrase offers a familiar image of forró before they have learned about timing, weight transfer, or connection with a partner. It works as an informal description and an easy way to remember the sideways movement.
What Movement Does “Dois Pra Lá, Dois Pra Cá” Describe?
The familiar traveling version involves stepping to one side, bringing the other foot closer with a weight transfer, and stepping in the same direction again. The pattern then reverses toward the other side.
Starting toward the right, the sequence of supporting feet is right, left, right. Returning toward the left, it becomes left, right, left. The “two” refers to the two sideways traveling steps, with an intermediate weight transfer between them.
This is the movement many Brazilian students have in mind when they arrive at a forró class. But it is not the version I usually teach as the starting basic.
Where Is the “Dois Pra Lá, Dois Pra Cá” in My Classes?
In my classes, I usually teach a lateral basic that preserves the rhythmic pattern and alternating weight transfers without requiring two traveling steps to each side.
You can step sideways and complete the other weight transfers in place. The basic still has a lateral organization, but the body does not need to keep walking sideways with each step.
For someone who grew up hearing that expression, or learned the traveling version informally, the sideways travel may seem to be what defines the basic. When they see a more compact version in my classes, or in other forró classes, they may not immediately recognize the relationship.
My explanation starts with the weight transfers. Stepping and traveling are not the same thing: you can change the supporting foot without taking the body farther across the floor. In the lateral basic I teach, those changes of support remain, even when the two consecutive traveling steps are reduced to a single sideways step.
To demonstrate this, I compare the familiar traveling pattern with the compact variation, keeping the same timing and sequence of supporting feet. Students can then feel how the two movements relate, even though they look different.
I use this compact lateral basic extensively in the contemporary forró I teach, drawing on universitário and roots approaches. It gives us a practical foundation that can adapt to the embrace, the available space, and the movements that follow.
Why Do I Teach a More Compact Version?
In my experience, a compact basic makes the early stages of learning easier. It requires less space and helps partners coordinate their feet within a closer embrace.
On a crowded dance floor, smaller steps also make it easier to adapt to the available space. Partners can keep dancing comfortably without repeating a wide lateral movement throughout the song.
The traditional dois pra lá, dois pra cá, with its greater sideways travel, can still be an enjoyable part of the dance. I tend to use it as a playful variation or a reference to the dance’s history, rather than as a basic to repeat continuously. Especially with faster music, maintaining that lateral travel can require considerable energy.
For practical reasons, I favor the compact version as an everyday foundation and treat the traveling pattern as part of the movement vocabulary we can draw on when it suits the music and the moment.
If you would like to practice this compact lateral basic and the other foundations I teach, my online beginner course guides you through them step by step, with exercises to develop your timing, weight transfers, and coordination.
In the video below, I demonstrate three variations of the same pattern:
weight transfers in place, without traveling;
the side basic I usually teach, traveling only on the third step, on the strong beat;
and the traditional dois pra lá, dois pra cá, with two traveling steps to each side.
Notice how the sequence of supporting feet and the timing remain consistent while the amount of sideways travel changes.
From the Traditional Basic to Today’s Dance Floors
The relationship between the traveling basic and the compact version is part of a broader development in forró. Even before the forró universitário movement, dancers were already combining the lateral pattern with variations, openings, and other movements. Forró universitário expanded those possibilities, and the later development of roots brought further approaches to footwork and connection.
Today, I see that diversity at established forró venues and at festivals such as Itaúnas, Rootstock, and international gatherings, including Forró New York Weekend, which I produce in New York.
On these dance floors, you may rarely see the traditional dois pra lá, dois pra cá repeated in its most recognizable traveling form. Its influence remains present through variations and adaptations, alongside the wider movement vocabulary that dancers have incorporated over time.
If you would like to explore how these developments appear in forró universitário, I discuss them in more detail here:
To explore the main foundations I teach, you can read:
For a broader explanation of how rhythm, embrace, and movement work together, continue here:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rafael Piccolotto de Lima is the Founder and Educational Director of Forró New York, as well as a Latin Grammy-nominated composer, arranger, and music director.
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