The Rock Turn has the distinction of being the only figure in the beginning / intermediate Tango syllabus that turns to the right. It begins with a forward walk (or walks), and turns to the right through a type of turning back rock action, and ends with a Closed Finish.

When the man's left foot is free, as it typically is following most figures, the Rock Turn begins with two forward walks (LF, then RF). In certain circumstances the first walk is omitted (or overlapped as the last step of the previous pattern), such as when taken after a Progressive Side Step, or steps 1-3 of the Promenade Turn.

The right side lead that is normally present in the Right Foot Tango Walk is absent in the second step of the Rock Turn. There is instead a slight CBM action on this step, which facilitates the right turn between the RF Forward Walk on step 2 and the first step of the turning Rock Step on 3.

The turning rock step action taken on steps 3-5 are similar, but not identical to a LF Back Rock. The primary distinction, of course, is the 1/4 turn to right that takes place gradually over the three steps. A common mistake is to complete the turn by the beginning of step 3, which results not in a Rock Turn, but a simple Back Rock. Care should therefore be taken not to turn too much between 2-3, allowing a more gradual rotation and resulting in a step 4 that is taken side and slightly back.