The dancers are arranged behind their captain in two rows. When the music starts the captain dances the zortziko executing the combination of steps that he knows, displaying his skills. Following this all the dancers perform the principal call and then the zortziko. Once the principal call has been completed the dancing of the set begins. The set starts with the whole group; following this the call is danced and afterwards the set is danced by the quartet; finally the whole group dance the call again on the spot and then repeat the last set..

1. Zortziko The captain
   
2. The Principal Call danced on the spot
   
3. Zortziko in four corners
4. The principal call is danced
5. The whole group dances the set
6. The Principal call danced on the spot
7. The central quartet dance the set
8. The set danced by the whole group

At the beginning of each phase of the set the dancers make a little jump and put their left foot forward. The dancers stay in the same position while they dance the set with their companion in the adjacent row. In the second part of the set – the part where the dancer begins with the dancer situated in his same row — he will make four steps to the rhythm of the music. Starting going right he should move while carrying out these steps so that by the fourth step he is in his new position and with his left foot forward.

See dei nagusia (The principal call

See zortzikoko sentziloa (The simplified version of the zortziko

To dance the four corners zortziko, the dancers execute a step called the zortzikoko sentziloa (a simplified version of the zortziko). On executing the simplified version of the zortziko with the right foot, the dancers dance looking forwards relative to the position of the group at that moment. To put it another way, when carrying out this move the dancers perform the corresponding moves and finish facing the new direction. The movements start with rows of dancers crossing each other. The crosses are always carried out to the right of each dancer. When the simplified version of the zortziko is performed with the left foot, each dancer will finish facing the dancer at his level in the adjacent row and will dance the first txingo step and then both will dance the simplified zortzico opposite each other with the left foot.

When dancing the four corners zorziko the group will modify its orientation with each move. The general orientation of the group will rotate in an anticlockwise direction so that in the second movement the group finishes facing left, in the third movement facing backwards and in the fourth facing right. The first dancer in the right hand row ( identified in the diagram with a number 2) can be considered a reference point for carrying out the first turn. This dancer is situated in front of the group during all the movements and will be the reference point for the moves of the whole group.: The direction that this dancer is facing on finishing a movement will be the direction that the whole group will turn in the following movement.

In the set danced by the whole group, the movements will be the same, but the group will not face forwards in each movement. The rows will join longtidtunally and will end up opposite each other. In the set with the quartet of dancers the movements are made in an anticlockwise direction. In both the set for the whole group and the set for the quartet, each dancer should execute his move in four steps and finish in his new position with the left foot forward.

Tools

With the buckler in the left hand and the stick in the right hand the dancer separates his elbows a few centimetres from his body and extends the forearms until they are parallel with the ground. The basic set of the brokel-makilena is made up of five parts (blows)

The fist two parts of the set are performed with the stick being blow on the buckler, shield or cymbal of the dancer opposite. Traditionally the dancers divide themselves into two groups the “jotzaileak” (hitters) and the “hartzaileak” (receivers). This distinction is made depending on the first blow, that is to say it depends on whether the dancer makes or receives the first blow. The first blow is carried out by the dancer situated at the extreme front right of the group, who is followed by the dancers situated in zigzag relative to the first. So following the numeration used in the diagrams the dancers (hitters) will be the following: 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 y 11. The rest of the dancers stop the blow with the buckler. The second blow is carried out the other way round: this time the dancers nº 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 y 12— make the blow with their stick on the bucklers being held by the dancers opposite.

The rest of the blows are made by clashing bucklers against bucklers. The first blow is made by the dancers in the same row: 2-4, 1-3, 6-8, 5-7, 10-12 and 9-11. The second blow is exchanged between the dancers of the two rows.: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, and the third once again by the dancers in the same row.

Blow Pair The hitter Tool The receiver Tool 1 Between rows: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, ... The hitters Sticks Receivers Bucklers 2 Between rows Receivers Sticks Hitters Bucklers 3 In the same row: 1-3, 2-4, 5-7, 6-8 Everyone together Bucklers Everyone together Bucklers 4 Between rows Everyone together Bucklers Everyone together Bucklers 5 In the same row: Everyone together Bucklers Everyone together Bucklers

This is the basic set. The first time it is danced without the dancers changing their positions and is started by the dancer situated in the opposite row. The second time it is started by the dancer in the same row and the dancers move by taking four steps. Both sets, the one where the dancers don’t change position as well as the set where they do are performed alternately until the dancer returns to his original position.

See the Brokel-makilena set in the video