As most of you know, Fran and his partner, Pat Altman, have been with Firehouse Tango since we started and are a major reason for our success.
Fran is one of the most highly regarded Argentine Tango teachers in New York City. He teaches at Dance Manhattan and the Argentine Consulate and is dance director and emcee for Stardust Dance Productions. He is a also very successful freelance writer, who even takes over this newsletter when I’m out.
July 3, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. If you've been reading these Tips week after week, you know that we're in the process of discussing the "Building Blocks" of Tango" brick-by-brick. Right now, we're up to the somewhat complex skill of relating to the music, and the technique we've been talking about for the past two weeks has been traspie. This week, as promised, I'm going to describe what I consider to be the third fundamental traspie technique -la corridita (the little run).
The corridita is a rhythmic doubling technique, consisting of two or more very short traveling movements initiated by the leader, in which his feet pass each other, simulating a little run. In my opinion, the corridita is by far the most difficult of the traspie techniques to lead and follow comfortably. And yet it seems to be the technique most inexperienced leaders try to execute over and over again, without actually learning how to lead properly.
If this movement is led successfully, the couple seems to glide effortless through the sequence in complete comfort. If it is led badly, it often causes the leader to step on the follower's feet, send her off balance, and often bring the entire dance to a crashing, painful halt.
Let's learn how to lead and follow a corridita correctly. We'll begin with a very popular version of this technique, which we'll refer to as a "" corridita. This will involve the leader taking three very short forward, shuffling steps in sequence. At the same time, the follower will be taking three shorts backward steps.
First, I'll address the leader's movement:
The legs:
· With the knees comfortably flexed, slide the feet along the floor, keeping the front of each foot in contact with the surface.
· Option -- If you elevate your body slightly, it will bring your heels up about an eighth to a quarter of an inch from the floor. (Some leaders elevate, some don't.)
· Execute this sequence in double time.
The connection:
Create a snug body-to-body connection with your follower so that it becomes easier for her to feel what's going on during the sequence. If you're too far apart from her, the corridita will tend to fall apart.
The body:
· Lean forward toward the follower throughout the sequence in order to create a sense of continuous forward momentum.
· Rotate your body in a deliberate way, with your left shoulder moving backward during your left step(s) and your right shoulder moving backward during your right step(s). This will enhance the sense of double-time action, which you're trying to convey.
· At the end of the three-beat sequence, curtail these leaning and rotating actions, returning to "normal" movement.
Now, let's talk about the follower's response:
· You will feel the leader lowering slightly (as in a normal traveling lead), and leaning forward toward you. This lets you know that you will be executing a backward movement.
· He may also elevate his body slightly, giving you the sense of being lifted to the balls of your feet.
· His body will rotate somewhat more vigorously than during normal movement, and in double time.
· All these indications will tell you that he's leading a corridita.
· As the sequence begins, you won't know what its duration will be until he finishes by returning to normal movement. In the sequence we're describing here, there will be three beats to the corridita; however, the action could be longer (more than three beats), or even shorter (as little as two beats).
I have tried to describe the lead and follow for this technique in as much detail as possible, in part because I want you to be aware of just how complex this action really is, but perhaps more importantly, to give the leader an overall guideline for communicating this complex sequence to the follower.
Lots of practice is crucial in order to make the corridita feel comfortable. Be patient. Don't expect instant success. And feel free to ask me or your regular teacher for any help you need in making this sequence work for your dancing.
June 26, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Last week, we looked at a form of traspie sometimes called a cunita. (I'm counting on the fact that you've read last week's Tip - if not, go to the Firehouse Tango archives, and read it now, okay? It will familiarize you with the basic definition of traspie, and describe the first fundamental traspie technique.)
This week, I'm going to describe what I consider to be the next fundamental traspie technique - movement in place. An in-place traspie consists of two or more weight changes (done in double time, of course) without traveling through space. I've heard Argentine people sometimes refer to this action as una cadencia - which means a cadence or beat.
First, I'll describe the action, starting in place:
· Leaders, take a single step in place with your left leg. Next shift your weight in place from left to right, then right to left, and finally to the right. Your timing will be "slow--quick--quick--slow." (You could, of course, do the same thing, starting on your right leg; but for purposes of keeping it simplefor the time being, we'll start with the left.)
· Once you feel comfortable doing this yourself, ask your partner to join you, and try to lead it. Hold your follower in a snug embrace without squeezing her excessively. She's going to feel your lead from this connection.
· Remember that an in-place lead consists of "leaning" in the direction you want your follower to go - without lowering at all. (Lowering means traveling.) This tells her you want her to make a weight change in place - rather than travel through space.
· When you make the movements described above in the timing I've defined, make sure that your torso moves laterally in the appropriate direction as you move your legs. This is where the lead comes from. If you pick up your feet and plop them down without moving the upper body, she won't be able to feel a lead, and therefore won't respond the way you want her to.
· Practice the movement until it feels smooth and comfortable.
Followers, there's no way you can take control of this movement. It happens just too quickly. As with the cunita from last week, try to remain alert and flexible - and enjoy the ride.
Leaders, once you're able to lead this action in place comfortably, try it from a forward walk:
· Take a few steps forward, maintaining the beats of the music.
· At some point, after you've stepped on your left leg, traveling forward, do the traspie as a quick--quick--slow sequence in place.
· Then, without a pause, continue to move forward again with normal steps, keeping time with the music.
· A typical iteration of this idea might consist of two slows (steps in normal timing), the traspie sequence (quick--quick--slow), and finally
two or more slows.
After you feel comfortable with executing the traspie sequence from a walk, try initiating it from the other leg. Everything will be the same except for the fact that you'll be starting on the other side.
Add this new idea to your traspie vocabulary and practice both over and over with music. Next week -- la corridita.
June 19, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. For the past several Tips we've been focusing on rhythmical ways to respond to the music of Tango. Up to now, we have the following:
1. Moving to every beat (pulse, half note)
2. Moving to every other beat
3. Extended pause
Today, I'm going to continue our exploration of rhythmical techniques with "Building Block" #18 - traspie.
In Spanish, the word traspie means a "stumble" or "slip," or perhaps "tripping over one's own foot." When we use the term in regard to Argentine Tango, we're referring not to an accidental slip, but rather to a doubling of the rhythm.
In ballroom technique, we often talk about the internal rhythm of a particular pattern as a series of slows and quicks; e.g., one of the basic figures in Foxtrot is called the "progressive basic," which consists of two slows and two quicks. (Slow-slow-quick-quick). In Tango a basic traspie might be thought of, therefore, as quick-quick.
Traspie isn't a just one movement. Rather it is a category of many related possibilities, which can add a great deal of rhythmic complexity to your dance. In analyzing traspies for teaching purposes, I've identified three major categories of basic movement:
1. The rocking traspie (sometimes called la cunita)
2. The in-place traspie (sometimes referred to as la cadencia)
3. The little run (maybe we could call it the corridita)
Today, we'll describe the first of these techniques - the rocking traspie. To create this movement, the leader typically moves forward with his left leg, then backward with his right leg, then forward with his left.
As he moves forward with his first step, he actually stops his momentum about halfway through the movement, not allowing his weight to continue through until the end of the step. As he does this, he bends his knees slightly in order to lower himself - it feels as if he's putting on the brakes.
· With his second step, he moves backward in the same way, not completing the action by coming into final balance. Rather, he puts on
the brakes again, lowering himself a bit in preparation for a final forward movement.
· With his third step he moves forward, this time completing the step, and bringing himself into normal balance.
The timing of this sequence is quick, quick, slow.
In order to make certain this somewhat abrupt multiple change of direction sequence is comfortable to the follower, the leader makes sure that her upper body is very close to his own; i.e., that they are virtually sharing a single axis during the movement. If the couple maintains distance between the two torsos. The entire sequence will tend to feel as if it's falling apart.
As follower, there is no positive action that can be taken to enhance or control the traspie. In fact, the woman can't possibly know when a leader is going to create this traspie. There is no way she can try to control the multiple movements of the sequence without interfering with the rhythm, and making the whole thing feel forced and tense. In the ideal, she simply lets the movement happen to her, taking a lovely ride with the leader, whose impeccable leading skills will make it seem effortless.
Although I described the rocking traspie as being initiated by the leader's left leg moving forward, it can also begin with his right leg forward. It can also commence with either of his legs moving backward.
Here's a simple exercise for practicing your rocking traspie:
The leader moves forward several walking steps, moving to every beat of the music. When it feels appropriate, he created the rocking traspie by altering one of his left forward movements in the way described in detail above. At the end of the traspie sequence he resumes walking forward to every beat of the music. Throughout all this action, the follow relaxes and enjoys the ride.
Try this exercise this week, and see if it works for you. If you have any questions, ask Pat or me. Next week, more on the subject of traspie.
June 12, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Over the last two weeks we've been talking about moving rhythmically to music. We're listening to your copy of "La Cumparsita," which I trust you're firing up on your player right now.
Two weeks ago, we discussed moving to every beat or pulse of the music. (If you're a musician, these are the half notes.) Last week, we talked about moving to every other beat of the music. This feels as if you're moving twice as slowly as you were during the previous week. If you have any questions about either of these skills, refer to your Tango Tips for those two weeks. (And if that doesn't help, ask me.)
This week - with "Building Block" #16 -- we're going to decide as leaders which of these two possible timings we want to use in any given moment during the dance. Sometimes we'll choose moving to every beat; sometimes it will be every other beat. In other words, we're going to create a rhythmical improvisation, using these two possibilities. The movements themselves will come from your basic vocabulary; i.e., forward, backward, to the side, or in place. The leader's job will be similar to what we did last week and the week before - except that now we'll be changing the timing from one to the other whenever we choose.
The upside of using this more sophisticated rhythmical technique is that the dance will become more interesting to both the leader and follower. The downside is that leaders actually have to lead it. Two week ago, when we practiced moving to every beat of the music, it became very simple almost immediately for followers to move right along with us - because they were able to quickly determine that we were going to be moving to every beat. This meant that they weren't necessarily following our lead; in fact, some of them may have actually been moving by themselves. (Oh horror!) The same thing happened last week, when we moved to every other beat. Because the rhythmical approach was consistent, it became only a matter of a few steps before followers were able to keep the rhythm of the steps without actually being led.
With "Building Block" #16, however, everything suddenly changes. Because the leader is using two different timing techniques at random, it becomes incumbent on him to lead these changes of rhythm. At the same time, - it becomes crucial that his follower wait for the leads, rather than assuming that the rhythm will be consistent, and therefore move by herself. So, with this "Building Block" we're right back to fundamental lead/follow technique.
Practice these two timing techniques this week. Try to get to a point where can use a variety of basic elements in either timing - inviting your follower to move with you effortlessly. Next week, we'll talk more about additional techniques in rhythmical improvisation.
June 5, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Over the last two weeks we've been talking about moving rhythmically to music. We're listening to your copy of "La Cumparsita," which I trust you're firing up on your player right now.
Building Block # 16
Two weeks ago, we discussed moving to every beat or pulse of the music. (If you're a musician, these are the half notes.) Last week, we talked about moving to every other beat of the music. This feels as if you're moving twice as slowly as you were during the previous week. If you have any questions about either of these skills, refer to your Tango Tips for those two weeks. (And if that doesn't help, ask me.)
This week - with "Building Block" #16 -- we're going to decide as leaders which of these two possible timings we want to use in any given moment during the dance. Sometimes we'll choose moving to every beat; sometimes it will be every other beat. In other words, we're going to create a rhythmical improvisation, using these two possibilities. The movements themselves will come from your basic vocabulary; i.e., forward, backward, to the side, or in place. The leader's job will be similar to what we did last week and the week before - except that now we'll be changing the timing from one to the other whenever we choose.
The upside of using this more sophisticated rhythmical technique is that the dance will become more interesting to both the leader and follower. The downside is that leaders actually have to lead it. Two week ago, when we practiced moving to every beat of the music, it became very simple almost immediately for followers to move right along with us - because they were able to quickly determine that we were going to be moving to every beat. This meant that they weren't necessarily following our lead; in fact, some of them may have actually been moving by themselves. (Oh horror!) The same thing happened last week, when we moved to every other beat. Because the rhythmical approach was consistent, it became only a matter of a few steps before followers were able to keep the rhythm of the steps without actually being led.
With "Building Block" #16, however, everything suddenly changes. Because the leader is using two different timing techniques at random, it becomes incumbent on him to lead these changes of rhythm. At the same time, - it becomes crucial that his follower wait for the leads, rather than assuming that the rhythm will be consistent, and therefore move by herself. So, with this "Building Block" we're right back to fundamental lead/follow technique.
Practice these two timing techniques this week. Try to get to a point where can use a variety of basic elements in either timing - inviting your follower to move with you effortlessly. Next week, we'll talk more about additional techniques in rhythmical improvisation.
May 29, 2010
Hello everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Remember last week's "Building Block" #14 - moving to every pulse (beat, half note) in the music? I hope you've been practicing this skill, and are now ready to continue moving rhythmically as you listen to "La Cumparsita."
This week - with "Building Block" #15 -- we're going to move continuously to every other pulse or beat in the music. So grab your copy of this well-known Tango, fire it up on your player, and let's find out what moving to every other beat is all about.
Start by clapping to every beat of the music as we did last week. Got it? Now, as you clap, nod your head at the same time. Your clapping and the nodding of your head should coincide precisely. Once you're able to do that comfortably, eliminate every other clap, while continuing to nod your head to every single beat. In this way you'll be acknowledging all the beats with your body, but only clapping to every other beat with your hands.
The next step is to substitute motion with your feet for the clapping action. Moving by yourself, start taking forward steps, back steps, side steps or weight changes in place - always moving to every other beat of the music. Once you feel okay with this, you can stop nodding your head - because now you're relating to the music, stepping to every other beat.
Finally, try this with a partner. At first, you may have to go back to nodding your head on every beat in order to make certain you're fully connected to every beat of the music, while actually moving only on every other beat. But eventually, you'll be able to move comfortably with your partner to every other beat.
Once you've got this new skill under you belt, you will have two very definite ways of relating to Tango - moving to every beat, and moving to every other beat. Practice both these skills during this week, and you'll be ready for "Building Block" #16, which we'll explore in next weeks' Tango Tip.
May 22, 2010
Hello everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Remember last week's "Building Block" #14 - moving to every pulse (beat, half note) in the music? I hope you've been practicing this skill, and are now ready to continue moving rhythmically as you listen to "La Cumparsita."
This week - with "Building Block" #15 -- we're going to move continuously to every other pulse or beat in the music. So grab your copy of this well-known Tango, fire it up on your player, and let's find out what moving to every other beat is all about.
Start by clapping to every beat of the music as we did lat week. Got it? Now, as you clap, nod your head at the same time. Your clapping and the nodding of your head should coincide precisely. Once you're able to do that comfortably, eliminate every other clap, while continuing to nod your head to every single beat. In this way you'll be acknowledging all the beats with your body, but only clapping to every other beat with your hands.
The next step is to substitute motion with your feet for the clapping action. Moving by yourself, start taking forward steps, back steps, side steps or weight changes in place - always moving to every other beat of the music. Once you feel okay with this, you can stop nodding your head - because now you're relating to the music, stepping to every other beat.
Finally, try this with a partner. At first, you may have to go back to nodding your head on every beat in order to make certain you're fully connected to every beat of the music, while actually moving only on every other beat. But eventually, you'll be able to move comfortably with your partner to every other beat.
Once you've got this new skill under you belt, you will have two very definite ways of relating to Tango - moving to every beat, and moving to every other beat. Practice both these skills during this week, and you'll be ready for "Building Block" #16, which we'll explore in next weeks' Tango Tip.
May 15, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. If you're following along with your Tango "Building Blocks," you've been practicing improvisation, using all five fundamental elements of the basic dance. Now, it's time to move to music.
The music of Tango has a pulse or beat, which we use as a guide to our own movement. With older Tango music the pulse is very obvious; with modern music the pulse can sometimes be a bit more difficult to find. Unlike most American- and European-based dances, Tango has no fixed basic step, or basic rhythm pattern. Every rhythmic response to the music is improvised. Because leaders don't have a memorized rhythmic pattern to simply repeat over and over, moving to the music of Tango can feel a bit more challenging at first. Eventually, however, it will become far easier than it may feel initially.
Let's listen to a version of "La Cumparsita." Do you have one handy? Play the song, listen carefully, and try to clap to the obvious pulses or beats. If you're like most people, you're probably clapping to what musicians would denote as "half notes." (If you're having trouble with this, call your teacher immediately, and set up an appointment to listen together. The teacher will be able to show you exactly which are the appropriate pulses in the music.)
Once you're able to clap to the pulses of the music, try standing in place, and move from one foot to the other by yourself instead of clapping. This may take a little time to master with accuracy and consistency; but if you work at it, you'll get it.
Now, do the same thing with your dance partner. As you're a leader, you're role is to keep moving in place to the pulses. If you're a follower, your role is to move with the leader in whatever rhythm he sets. (If you're following a leader who isn't keeping proper time, you still have to keep his time. Sorry about that ....)
Once you've become comfortable with moving in place to the pulse of the music with a partner, it's time to start using the other elements in order to create an improvisation just as you did without the music last week. But this time, you'll be using the music as a rhythmic guide - which for leaders will add considerable difficulty to the process.
"Building Block" #14, then, is moving to every pulse (beat, half note) in the music. : Move with a partner, employing forward steps, back steps, side steps and weight changes in place. For now, don't use pauses.
This is one of the ways to respond to the music of Tango. Next week, we'll explore another way.
May 8, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. I'm sending this week's Tip from my brother's house in the very small, picturesque village of Leigh in Dorset, England. In fact, as I write this, I'm looking out the kitchen window at his lovely backyard vegetable garden. Birds are singing; squirrels are gathering nuts; dogs are running around the nearby fields -- not a Tango dancer in sight. Except, of course, Pat, who is at the moment busily enjoying a delicious breakfast of tea, country bread with homemade jam and sundry other goodies. Who can think about Tango at a time like this? Well, as it happens, I can.
If you've been following our ongoing, multi-part series on the "Building Blocks" of Tango, you have no doubt been dutifully practicing what we've covered so far with your partner in the Tango embrace. Up to now, you've been exploring all the fundamental movements of the dance - including forward, backward, side and in-place steps, combined with pauses. These are the individual components of what some teachers call the "linear" dance. It is these elements which enable you to improvise a basic dance, travelling around the line of direction, starting, stopping, and moving in place.
At this point, a question leaders might ask is: "How do I use these elements in my dancing - what about the steps?" Here is where we come to "Building Block" #14 - improvising the dance. If you're used to the contemporary American way of learning to dance, you know that teachers normally provide patterns of steps from a fixed syllabus, which students are called upon to memorize right from the start. As the learning process continues, leaders amass a sizeable repertoire of patterns, which are divided into categories such as "basic," "intermediate," and "advanced" - or perhaps "bronze," "silver," and "gold." Students gauge their own progress in the learning process by their class level. If you're in a basic class or learning basic steps, you're a beginner; if you're in an advanced class or learning advanced steps, you're an advanced dancer. The faster you can move through basic steps to those which are more advanced, the sooner you can call yourself an advanced dancer.
The problem with this system is that because it consists exclusively in memorizing patterns of movement, it doesn't in any productive way address the very fundamental - yet very complex -- ability to actually move comfortably in partnership with another person. In learning Tango, memorized patterns are irrelevant. Moving together in a skillful way is where the dance begins. What we've been learning so far is how to move together. And instead of applying this ability to the execution of pre-determined patterns, Tango consists in creating improvised movements in the moment.
Using your developing repertoire of fundamental movements -- i.e., forward, backward, in-place , side and pause - try to create or make up your own patterns of movement. This will consist of starting with one of the basic movements, then after each step choosing the next, the next, and so forth. Because there is no pre-set pattern to follow, as a leader you'll have to choose each movement you make. And, of course, you'll have to apply all the skills we've addressed so far in order to lead (or to follow) these individual movements. If you're used to pre-determined patterns, this will all be somewhat difficult at first. But eventually, you'll begin to get used to it.
This is the way in which Argentine people dance Tango. I recommend that you try this without music. It is important as a leader to develop the ability to move from one element to another without feeling pressured by the insistence of a musical beat. Next week, we'll begin to discuss how to relate to the rhythm and tempo of music.
May 1, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. We're one step away from completing our "Building Blocks" for what some teachers refer to as linear movement. (That's when the couple moves together in a counterclockwise fashion around the line of dance.)
Today, with "Building Block" #12, we're going to describe the leader's backward step, accompanied by the follower's forward movement.
Please remember that any traveling lead is produced through a very slight lowering of the leader's torso, immediately following by a leaning in the direction he wants the follower to travel.
For his backward step, the leader is going to lower (just enough for his follower to feel it), then lean backward in order to clearly indicate that he wants her to move forward. As he moves his torso backward, the leader does not tilt his upper body back, falling backward from the top. Instead he moves his entire torso directly backward -- perpendicular to the floor -- as he extends his leg backward (in the same manner as described for the follower in her backward step).
This backward movement is somewhat different from the way in which the follower moves in the same direction. While she moves in two successive motions (first her leg, then her body), the leader moves both his upper body and his leg at the same time - in order to produce the lead. (If he moved his leg first, mirroring the follower's technique for stepping backward, his follower wouldn't feel a thing, and would therefore have no choice but to remain still.
As the leader moves backward, the follower moves forward, taking a single walking step. As this occurs, the leader must take great care not to inadvertently pull the follower forward with his right arm. Instead, he allows her to read the movement of his torso, and to respond accordingly. In this case, she will, of course, feel his torso moving away from her, and in reading this movement will accompany him by taking one step forward.
At the end of this collaborative movement both partners will have achieved perpendicular balance individually, and both will therefore be ready for the next lead/follow interaction.
As many of you know, Pat and I will be in England next week for our annual visit to our relatives. While we're gone, we hope you'll take every opportunity to practice the
12 "Building Blocks" we've described so far, and that you'll be ready to continue, when we return.
Keep dancing!
April 24, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your tango Tip of the Week. Have you been practicing all your Tango "Building Blocks" up 'til now? (I'm referring to the multi-part series we've been running in the Firehouse Newsletter over the past several weeks.) If so, you know that after discussing the basics in considerable detail, we've now formed the Tango embrace with a partner, and we've learned how to lead and follow three of the five basic elements of the Tango walk; i.e., weight changes in place, side steps and pauses.
Are you all caught up, and ready to continue? Today we're going to talk about "Building Block" #11 -- the leader's forward step (accompanied, of course, by the follower's back step). Moving forward is a traveling step. That means that the lead for this movement is:
Lower and lean.
As described last week, lowering tells your follower that you're asking her to move. Leaning provides her with the direction you want her to move to. You offer this information immediately prior to actually traveling through space - in other words, IN ADVANCE. This is all the information a skilled follower needs to know exactly what you want her to do, and to execute the movement in an efficient and timely way.
Having given the follower the lead, the leader advances forward one step, finding his balance at the end of the movement, and bringing his legs and feet together neatly. He takes great care not to lean on his follower, and not to propel her backward, using his body or arms. From the time he feels that she has received the lead and is executing the movement, he allows her to move and to balance herself at the end of the step on her own. At the end of his forward motion, the leader takes special care not to lean forward into the follower's space, which would send her off balance into an unintended additional step.
The follower pays careful attention to the leader in expectation of his lead. When she feels the lowering and leaning from his torso (in this case he leans forward into her space), he executes a backward step in the manner discussed in an earlier "Building Block" Tango Tip. First, her leg extends backward from the hip. Then she transfers her weight backward one step, bringing her body over her extended leg, finding her balance, and bringing her legs and feet together. At the end of her movement, the follower takes great care not to fall backward past her balance, which would produce an unintended additional step, and tend to pull the leader off balance with her. She all does these things by herself, never relying on the leader for support or balance.
At the end of the movement both partners have achieved perpendicular balance individually, and both are therefore ready for the next lead/follow interaction.
The description above is what I think of as the ideal way for this movement to happen. With students of the dance, achieving this ideal takes a great deal of time and practice. Start today. Somewhere between next week, and two or three years from now, I know you'll get it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask Pat or me about it.
April 17, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango tip of the Week. If you've been reading our Tango "Building Blocks" series up to now - and you've been practicing everything we've been describing - you know that last week we connected through the Tango embrace, and executed weight changes in place. Since we also stopped between these movements, we also learned what it feels like to pause; i.e., to remain connected in the embrace without moving at all. Both the weight change in place and the pause are important elements of our Tango improvisation. Therefore, the skills necessary to lead and to follow these elements are also important.
To briefly review:
In general, a "lead" is information given by the leader in advance, so that his follower knows exactly what she's supposed to do before making the movement.
To "lead" the pause the leader simply remains still. Since the follower feels no lead, she also remains still.
To lead the weight change in place the leader simply leans his entire perpendicular self in the direction of the change. Immediately after he begins to lean, he takes himself from one lateral balance axis to the other. The follower feels him leaning laterally, and makes a weight change with him.
It's like whispering gently in her ear: "We're going to change weight" -- except that the invitation is accomplished through body movement rather than speech.
Now, with "Building Block" #10, we're going to start traveling through space!
The movement we're going to begin with is as follows:
The leader will move one single step to the side. At the end of this movement, he's going to bring his legs neatly together, find his balance and stop - just as he did with the weight change in place. The follower will feel this movement through the embrace and travel to the side with him.
Before we try moving to the side, however, let's talk about the lead and the follow. As we did with the weight change in place and the pause, the leader and follower will begin by forming the Tango embrace according to the description we offered in a previous Tango Tip ("Building Block" #3).
Remember: No leaning on one another, no pushing or pulling.
A movement to the side is a traveling step. However, it involves the exact same lateral weight change as the weight change in place. This presents the leader with a problem. If he simply leans to the side for a weight change in place, and if he also leans to the side for a side step, the follower has no way to distinguish one movement from the other. We need a way, therefore, that the leader can clearly define for the follower the difference between a step to the side and a weight change in place - so that she doesn't have to guess which one is being led at any given time.
What the leader will do is the following:
When he wants his follower to execute a side step, he will lower his body very slightly prior to leaning in the direction he wants his follower to travel. Think of it as an almost imperceptible compression through the knees - not unlike setting oneself in a slight crouch before jumping - but much, much smaller! This lowering action will be followed immediately by a leaning action to the side; i.e., the direction the leader wants his follower to travel.
To say this very simply: The lead for the side step is lower and lean.
The role of the follower in the step to the side is to wait for this very specific lead described above. When she feels it, she executes the movement, and finishes by bringing her legs neatly together, coming to a complete stop.
Once the step has been successfully led to one side, try moving to the other side. Eventually, try to combine this movement with the pause, as well as with the weight change in place in an improvisational way. When traveling through space with a partner, your strong inclination will be to lean on one another both during any given movement and at the end of each step.
Don't do it!
Maintain your independence from the beginning of each movement through its end. If you do happen to find yourself leaning on your partner, try to find a way to stop doing it. With practice, this will become easier over time.
April 10, 2010
This week, we'll begin to talk about using the embrace as a means of communication between leader and follower -- in order to create the movements, which comprise Tango at a fundamental level. "Building Block #9," as we're going to call today's Tango Tip, begins with a leader forming the embrace with a partner. Here are a few reminders from the past two weeks:
Leaders: Make absolutely certain that you're not pulling your follower toward you with your right arm. Simply let your hand rest gently against the center of her back. Make sure you're not grasping her right hand tightly with your own left hand. Just hold hands, palm to palm, and gently press your palm slightly toward her. Make sure you're not in any way leaning on her.
Followers: As you place your left arm on your leader's shoulder, neck, upper arm, or around his back, make sure you're not leaning it on him. Using your right hand, connect your palm to his, pressing forward into his palm slightly - but don't push. On the other hand, don't be completely loose. Make a palm-to-palm connection with him. Don't lean on your partner. Maintain your own balance, as he will maintain his.
Now, it's time for the leader to invite movement, and for the follower to respond. Leaders, you're going to shift your weight to one side (weight change in place - remember? We learned how to do this ourselves in a previous "Building Block."), thereby inviting your follower to move with you. Followers, you're going to feel the leader shifting his weight to one side through his torso, which will serve as your cue to move with him. Throughout the movement, leaders, your arms will remain neutral, resisting the impulse to push or pull her in order to "assist" her movement - and resisting the urge to hold her up (help her balance) at the end of the movement. Followers, you'll maintain you own equilibrium, resisting the urge to lean on your partner for balance.
Once the leader has completed this single weight shift - and his follower has responded with a weight shift of her own - both partners will pause with their feet together, balancing themselves independently - without in any way attempting to hold each other up. This will complete our first movement together.
To continue, the leader will shift his weight to the other side and the follower will join him, again pausing at the end of the movement with feet together as above.
The specific lead for this weight change in place consists of the leader moving his entire upper body - all the way from his torso area down through his knees - from one side to the other. When the follower feels this lead, she will respond as described above by shifting her own weight, coming to a complete stop with her feet together at its conclusion.
April 3, 2010
Hello everyone, Pat here. I'm hoping that many of you will have read Fran's Tango Tip last week in which he addressed the misconceptions that can occur amongst leaders when they take the Tango embrace. This week, we will examine some of the most prevalent false impressions that followers have adopted.
Followers, think for a moment - as you get up and prepare to dance with someone - what are your expectations and your actions as you take the embrace? Do any of the following sound familiar?
Are you expecting your
movements to be controlled by the leader, and do you believe that he will literally move you around the room?
Are you worried that you "won't know your part," and therefore you have developed an unfortunate habit of anticipating your movements?
Do you automatically tense your arms and grip his hand in preparation for being able to stay upright during the dance?
Do you immediately drape yourself on your partner, putting your arm all the way around his neck and leaning on him, so that you are completely off your axis and your balance?
All of these notions are incorrect, and could very well be exactly what's wrong with your dance. The Tango embrace is the single most important component in the dance, creating a connection that is intimate, strong, flexible, soft - changing with the dance and with the music, but ever-present throughout. In my opinion, a Tango embrace that remains fixed in one position means the dance is not alive.
So, let's describe the components of the embrace from the follower's point of view. The follower stands directly in front of her leader. They are close - their bodies may even be touching, but the follower is completely on her own balance, standing up straight. As the leader encircles her upper torso with his right arm (not pulling her towards him, we hope!) she does not move. She places her left arm in a gentle, relaxed way on the leader's shoulder, back or arm wherever it feels comfortable for her. This will depend on the physical and height differences between the couple. Her left arm and hand can be on her leader's shoulder, slightly behind his shoulder, on his upper arm, possibly around his neck as long as it doesn't pull her forward. It is not hung all the way around his neck with her leaning on his chest.
As the leader offers his left hand with palm facing inwards, the follower should place her right hand in his open palm, still standing upright on her balance, and not moving. This is a moment when sometimes things go wrong. As the hands come together, all the tension that may be lurking in either partner is manifest in a vice-like grip from one or both, the arms become rigid, and before it has even started, the dance has become virtually impossible! Followers, relax...place your hand gently in his...relax...and feel a gentle two-way pressure between the two of you. This is your connection, and it should remain this way throughout the dance.
At this point, the leader and follower should be standing straight and close, their elbows facing down, and on their own balance with their connection running through their hands and arms and into their bodies. Followers, your head position can be either turned to the right (looking at your hands), or looking over your leader's shoulder. Preferably, your eyes should be cast down, not looking around the room! And neither leader nor follower should be looking down at the floor!
So followers, if you can successfully form an embrace as described above, you will have a chance to shed your misconceptions. You won't need to worry that you will be pushed around the floor or that you have to know your part, because you will be on your own balance -- not tipped over or contorted in any way -- and you will be able to feel the lead! You won't need to be tense, and you won't need to be draped and leaning on your partner. The result for both of you should be a real Tango embrace, which will result in a real Tango dance. Good luck!
March 27, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Last week, I identified two important misconceptions that virtually all of us seem to have, when we start dancing Tango. The second of these is the following:
We'll be physically holding a follower in our arms, or being held by a leader in his arms. If we're leading, we'll be controlling her actions - actually moving her from place to place. If we're following, we believe that our actions will be controlled by a leader - that we will be physically taken from place to place without any control over our own movements.
As I said last week, this idea is absolutely not true. However, most people dancing Tango today do precisely that. Starting this week, I'm going to address this notion in great detail. First, we're going to learn how to get connected with another person. Next, we'll learn the two distinct roles we play in creating movement. Finally, we'll begin the process of actually moving together.
Let's talk about the Tango connection, the Tango embrace, el abrazo del tango. The Tango connection is a physical bond between two people, which makes it possible for them to dance together. For purposes of this description I'm going to refer to "the man" and "the woman," since in Argentina these are the accepted roles of leader and follower. In this country today women, of course often lead (though regrettably men are almost universally unwilling to act as followers). So, if you're a woman who is learning to lead, please forgive the gender specificity.
From the man's (traditional leader's) perspective, the embrace consists of the following elements:
The man stands very close to the woman, close enough so that their bodies may make a physical connection slightly above the leader's center. (Since men are usually taller than women - this initial physical connection will generally be between the man's sternum area, or slightly below, and the woman's chest.) In making this physical connection, neither the man nor the woman lean on one another, although their upper bodies may be poised forward.
The man encircles the woman's torso with his right arm, placing his right hand at about the center of her back. His right elbow is not raised -- as it would be in contemporary competitive ballroom dance practice. It could be inferred from the appearance of this part of the connection that the man is, in fact, holding the woman in his arms. This is not the case. Though his arm is placed as described, there is no snugness in this part of embrace, and he is not pulling her toward him, so that she in any way surrenders her balance. (As the man encircles the woman's torso, she places her arm in a specific way on his shoulder, back or neck. Pat will discuss this in detail next week.)
The man offers his open left hand, raised to approximately the level of his face, his left elbow pointing to the floor. As the woman takes his hand he gently closes his hand around hers - without squeezing, pushing or pulling. He exerts a G-E-N-T-L-E pressure against her hand, and she returns this pressure in order to solidify the connection. (More from Pat about this next week.)
These are the basic physical components of the man's embrace. Next week, Pat will talk about the basic embrace from the woman's perspective. Until then, leaders, practice your part without a partner. Think about it. Look forward to what it will feel like, when you're actually connected with a partner. Read the misconception I began with above. Try to visualize that your embrace will not feel like that.
March 20, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. When we make a commitment to learning how to dance Tango, most of us probably believe that the following two things will happen:
1) We'll be performing some kind of (unnatural) physical movement ourselves either as leader or follower (probably a group of memorized steps that we'll learn from a teacher).
2) We'll be physically holding a follower in our arms, or being held by a leader in his arms. If we're leading, we'll be controlling her actions, actually moving her from place to place. If we're following, we believe that our actions will be controlled by a leader that we will be physically taken from place to place without any control over our own movements.
Both of these prevalent ideas about Tango are absolutely wrong; yet the overwhelming majority of dancers do exactly that. Leaders see dancing as a group of steps they're supposed to memorize, and then execute on the dance floor. Followers somehow think they have to learn their parts in dancing complex sequences. Leaders grasp their followers tightly, usually pulling them off balance, in order to control their actions. Followers grasp their leaders, lean on them, and hold on for dear life in order to prevent themselves from falling during the whirlwind they're about to experience on the dance floor.
With our first six Building Blocks (read the last six Newsletters on the Firehouse Web site, if you don't know what I am talking about) we focused on the first of the misconceptions about Tango, stated above. We discussed in some detail the idea that in Tango instead of an encyclopedia of memorized figures, we move by ourselves in increments of single steps. We learned that these steps consist of natural human movements: we can move in place, forward, backward, or to the side. And, of course, we can pause. We learned how to hold our bodies (posture) while moving or standing still. We learned how to balance ourselves on one leg, when we're at rest, or at the end of any of our traveling movements. In general, we learned to focus our energies not on what we're doing (as in a series of memorized steps) but on how we're moving during each individual step that we take.
The problem with most attempts to learn how to dance is that leaders begin to try to move with followers long before their skill levels are up to the task.
So, what's Building Block Number 7. I can say it in a single word: Patience.
If you've been practicing the individual lessons I've outlined for you up to now with Building Blocks 1 & 6, you have a fairly good idea that movement in Tango requires a great deal of conscious concentration in order to be successful. So what I'd like you to do this week is practice all your movements by yourself. Be very, very patient. Move in place, move forward, move backward, move to the side, and stand still, balancing yourself on one foot. Make up any sequence you want, involving these movements. Find balance at the end of every step. Notice every mistake you make. Notice every success.
Nota bene: It's crucially important for you to be aware that most Tango students never, I mean, NEVER do this. They just grab a leader or follower and start bouncing around a room. Of course, the results are pretty much ALWAYS horrible. And these students never, ever get any better -- no matter how many complicated sequences they pick up from teachers, from videos, from YouTube, or from their friends on the dance floor.
In order to dance Tango with any degree of skill, we first have to perfect our own individual ability to move. Only then can we direct our attention to forming a partnership with a leader or follower. Speaking of leaders and followers next week, we're going to begin getting the two together. Because by then, we should be ready.
March 13, 2010
Hello everyone, Pat here. Last week, Fran discussed Brick #6 -the leader's back step--in his ongoing series, The Foundations of Tango--Brick by Brick. This week, I am taking the opportunity to talk about the follower's back step--a movement that we consider to be the single most important part of her fundamental technique. It is surprising to us how many followers who are not complete beginners have never learned this. They will take a back step that is hardly longer that the length of their foot, bending at the knee and falling backward onto their other foot. So what happens? They get stepped on!! Of course, correct backward movement requires continual practice after learning how to do it properly, each and every time the follower gets up to dance, and possibly this is a commitment that many followers are just not prepared for or willing to undertake. Nevertheless, in the interests of making every effort possible to help you improve your dance, followers, (and this will pay back big time!) here is Brick #7--a detailed guide on the correct technique for the followers' back step.
Let's assume that you are in a tango embrace with your leader, he has already put your weight onto one foot, you are balanced and about to start the dance with a back step. I am now going to break down your back step technique into 3 parts, as if in slow-motion:
1) Keeping you upper body in place with your weight slightly forward on you axis, upper body and head straight up, extend your free leg backwards at the hip and point your foot, so that your toe is resting lightly on the floor. The leg should be straight. Keep all your weight where your leader has placed it and do not move your upper body! This motion should engage the muscles in your lower back, hip and upper leg. If you do not feel these muscles working, you are not doing this technique correctly.
2) Still keeping your upper body in position, smoothly roll your weight onto the extended leg, through the toe and the rest of the foot until all your weight is on this leg and you are balanced.
3) Bring your feet together, ankle to ankle, and wait for the next lead.
As you can tell, there is crucial technique happening in all three parts of this movement. Balance plays a pivotal role, so if you get your leg extended correctly and your toe in position, you cannot just fall onto the foot. You must continue to employ fundamental balance as you roll your weight onto the foot, and bring your feet together to complete the movement.
In the beginning, followers, you may find that using this technique for your back steps creates a somewhat jerky movement, but if you practice enough it will soon smooth out and you will look much more like a real tango dancer. And, imagine the best benefit of all--you should never get stepped on again!
March 6, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Sorry about the snow last week. I'm sure you were champing at the bit to get your hands on the latest installment of our ongoing series: Building your Tango "brick by brick." But think of all the extra practice you were able to get in while you were snowbound.
You did practice, didn't you?
Oh well, moving right along ... we've been building our skill at dancing Argentine Tango "brick by brick" over the past several weeks. Most recently, we've been putting our skills to work with moving steps. Our last two "bricks" were moving to the side and moving forward. Today, with "Brick Number Six," we're going to discuss what may be the single most complex fundamental movement in Tango - the back step.
You may remember from our last two Tango Tips that we characterized any traveling step as having three distinct parts:
· A beginning (initiation of the step)
· A middle (traveling through space)
· An end (coming to rest in balance)
With side and forward steps, the dancer's body and leg move at the same time. As the leg extends, let's say, forward, the body also moves forward through space, perpendicular to the floor. The big problem with the back step is that our knees articulate forward. The result of this is that we tend to bend at the knee in order to take any kind step, whether it's forward, to the side, or backward. If we bend at the knee in a back step, the thigh will move forward before the leg moves backward. Furthermore, we will tend to actually fall backward, catching ourselves with the leg at the end of the movement.
To prevent this falling effect from occurring, and to ensure that the entire leg moves backward during the step, the dancer (whether leader or follower) has to move from the higher articulating joint; i.e,, from the hip. The actual technique for backward movement will now depend upon whether one is a leader or a follower. (Next week, Pat will talk about how a follower executes a backward step. This week, I'm going to focus on the leader's movement.)
As the leader extends his leg backward, (moving from the hip) his body moves backward as well. He must remember to articulate from the hip rather than from the knee, so that his leg remains relatively straight throughout the movement - and so that he does not experience the sensation of falling backward, having to catch himself at the end of the step. As we will discover in a future Tango Tip, the reason the leader has to move his upper body at the same time he moves his leg is that in this way he provides his partner with an appropriate lead to move forward in the embrace. Without such movement of his body, there would simply be no lead.
Just as we did with our forward and side steps, the leader must learn to achieve resting balance at the end of each backward step - not on two feet as in normal walking, but on the foot that just traveled through space. Because our movement impetus is backward, we have to learn to achieve this balance slightly before we reach absolute perpendicularity. This means having the feeling of leaning slightly forward (without, of course, leaning on one's partner).
Why is this important? If we try to come to a stop at the exact moment of being perpendicular to the floor (at the end of a step), the chances are very good that we will tend to tilt past perpendicular, and fall backward. Even if we manage to prevent ourselves from falling backward, if we have a partner in our embrace, we'll surely pull her over into an additional - and unwanted - forward movement.
Here's an exercise in walking backward. As with our exercises during previous weeks, first, we have a mental part. Think about taking a backward step. You're not trying to get from point "a" to point "b." Your goal is simply to extend one leg backward as the body begins to move, travel slowly and gently through space, and balance at the end. As with our forward and side steps, think of balancing at the end of the movement as a separate element from the movement itself. Plan in advance for perfect balance. In this case "perfect balance" means coming to rest just before achieving perpendicularity.
Now comes the physical part. You're going to try the backward step. When you actually take the step, don't rush it. Let your step occur slowly and smoothly. As your body moves through space, focus on the need to achieve balance - just before you become perpendicular to the floor. Chances are -- after a fair amount of practice -- you'll find that your balance at the end of this backward step will be either absolutely perfect or very close to it.
As we did last week, try another backward step, using the same process as outlined above. Try twenty backward steps ... try a few hundred. For now, the only thing that's important is finding balance at the end of each step. Using only the backward step, practice as often as you can. Be patient. Concentrate; don't be in a hurry. Once you find these steps easy, try combining them with forward steps, side steps and pauses.
Next week, Pat will discuss Brickworks seven - the back step for followers.
February 27, 2010
Stormy weather. Mother Nature has sabotaged this week's Tango Tip.
February 20, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. If you've been reading these Tips during the past few weeks, you know that we're in the middle of focusing on the fundamental skills needed to become a Tango dancer. As one of my teachers from Argentina put it, we're "building the dance brick by brick."
Have you been practicing? If so, you now feel fairly comfortable, standing in one foot; your balance at rest has improved measurably; your posture is getting better by the day; and you've started being able to achieve balance after taking side steps through space.
Are you pleased with these gains you've been able to make? Or are you shrugging your shoulders, saying, "So what?"
Let me assure you that if you're now able to perform these movements consistently, you've reached a major level of skill. Most people - even many who think of themselves as "advanced" Tango dancers - can't do these things well, if they can do them at all. But if you've been practicing, you can. And that means your Tango skills are growing quickly!
Last week, we started moving through space, using a side step. Our focus was twofold:
· To learn how to take a side step (in either direction)
· To learn how to balance at the end of the step
We talked about concentrating on finding the balance at the end of the step as a distinct element, which is separate from initiating the movement or traveling through space. This specific mental focus enables you to actually "plan" to be balanced at the end of each step - rather than passively finding yourself losing your balance, because you're unprepared for what's supposed to occur at the end of any given movement.
This week - with "Brick Number Five" - we're going to move through space and balance, using forward steps. As with side steps, a forward movement has three distinct parts:
· A beginning (initiation of the step)
· A middle (traveling through space)
· An end (coming to rest in balance)
Normally, when we walk forward, we do so in order to get from one place to another. Once we get where we want to go, we stop and balance ourselves on both feet. The steps we take are functional in nature - we want to travel to another place.
In social dancing, this isn't the case. Rather than being functional, each step we take is gestural in nature. Our object is not to get somewhere else in space; it's simply to use body movement in a dramatic and rhythmical way in order to "speak" the language of the dance.
Just as we did with our side step last week, we must learn to achieve resting balance at the end of each forward step - not on two feet as in normal walking, but on the foot that just traveled through space. Because our movement impetus is forward, we have to learn to achieve this balance slightly before we reach absolute perpendicularity.
Why is this important? If we try to come to a stop at the exact moment of being perpendicular to the floor (at the end of a step), the chances are very good that we will tend to tilt past perpendicular, and fall forward. Even if we manage to prevent ourselves from falling forward, if we have a partner in our embrace, we'll surely knock her over into an additional - and unwanted - step back.
Here's an exercise in walking forward. As with our exercise last week, first, we have a mental part. Think about taking a forward step. You're not trying to get from point "a" to point "b." Your goal is simply to extend one leg forward, travel slowly and gently through space, and balance at the end. As with our side step last week, think of balancing at the end of the movement as a separate element from the movement itself. Plan in advance for perfect balance. In this case "perfect balance" means coming to rest just before achieving perpendicularity.
Now comes the physical part. You're going to try the forward step. When you actually take the step, don't rush it. Let your step occur slowly and smoothly. As your body moves through space, focus on the need to achieve balance - just before you become perpendicular to the floor. Chances are, you'll find that your balance at the end of this forward step will be either absolutely perfect or very close to it.
As we did last week, try another forward step, using the same process as outlined above. Try twenty forward steps ... try a few hundred. For now, the only thing that's important is finding balance at the end of each step. Using only the forward step, practice as often as you can. Be patient. Concentrate; don't be in a hurry. Once you find these steps easy, try combining them with side steps and pauses.
That's it for today. If you have any questions, please contact us at franchesleigh@mac.com. See you next week with Brickworks Six - the back step.
February 13, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. For the past three weeks we've been talking about the basic building blocks or "bricks," which I believe one absolutely must master in order to dance Tango well. "Brick Number One" - as you may recall was balancing on one leg. "Brick Number Two" was optimizing your balance. "Brick Number Three" was developing good Tango posture.
Today, we're going to start moving through space.
When we think of walking, we usually envision moving progressively from place to place - which, of course, involves forward motion only. When we dance Tango, however, we employ a full range of fundamental movements. In fact, there are five elements, which taken together comprise what we're going to call the Tango walk. These are:
· Moving forward
· Moving backward
· Moving to the side
· Changing weight in place
· Standing still
Let's briefly examine each of these elements. There are three traveling movements in our Tango walk - moving forward, moving backward, and moving to the side. With each of these elements we actually travel through space. With another of the elements - changing weight in place -- we move from one lateral axis to another, but we don't travel through space. Finally, with the fifth element - standing still - we don't move at all.
If you've done your exercises for Bricks Number One, Two and Three, you already know how to stand still, balancing your weight on one foot. The challenge will be standing still after a forward, backward or side step. But we'll get to that momentarily.
First, let's talk about exactly what occurs during a traveling movement (forward, backward or to the side). Any of these fundamental traveling steps involves three basic parts:
· Initiating the movement
· Traveling through space
· Balancing (standing still on one foot) at the completion of the movement
To initiate a movement, you start leaning gently in the direction you want to go. This will take you out of balance. You don't have to topple over - just lean a bit forward, backward or to the side. When you're moving by yourself that's all it takes to initiate a movement.
Traveling is quite easy. After initiating the movement by leaning slightly forward, backward or to the side, you simply extend your moving leg in the direction you want to go, keeping your body more or less over your foot - and there you are, moving through space. Nothing to it. (There are lots of stylistic elements to be considered in traveling, but these aren't fundamental, so we won't discuss them here.)
The final component of a traveling step is balancing at the end of the movement. This is what we want to concentrate on right now. As you finish a forward, backward or side movement, you have to try to find perfect balance on one foot. Yu already know what it feels like from having practiced it for the first three weeks of learning the building blocks. Now, you have to use those developing skills to achieve balance from movement rather than from stillness.
Here's an exercise. First we have the mental part. Think about stepping to the side. You're going to initiate the movement, travel through space, and balance. Now think of balancing at the end of the movement as a separate element from the movement itself. Plan in advance for perfect balance.
Now comes the physical part. You're going to try the side step. When you actually take the step, don't rush it. Let your step occur slowly and smoothly. As your body moves through space, focus on the need to achieve balance. Chances are, you'll find that your balance at the end of this side step will be either absolutely perfect or very close to it.
Try another side step, using the same process as outlined above. Try twenty side steps ... try a few hundred. For now, the only thing that's important is finding balance at the end of each step.
"Brick Number Four" is finding balance from motion. Using only the side step, practice as often as you can. Be patient. Concentrate; don't be in a hurry. Remember: You're establishing habits that will last a lifetime.
If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to contact me at franchesleigh@mac.com. See you next week with Brickworks Four.
February 6, 2010
Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. For the past couple of weeks we've been talking about the basic building blocks or "bricks," which I believe one has to master in order to dance Tango well. "Brick Number One" - as you may recall was balancing on one leg. "Brick Number Two" was optimizing your balance. Today, we're going to discuss "Brick Number Three" - developing good Tango posture.
Can you guess what I'm going to say about posture? That's right, you've got to learn to stand up straight. Most of us form very bad habits over the course of time, when it comes to our posture. As we get older our heads begin to jut forward and down, our shoulders become rounded, our chests become concave, our stomachs stick out (even if we're not overweight). What a mess! Even young people often have bad posture. (This might come from imitating their parents.)
The good news is that even if your posture is bad, you can almost certainly reverse the process and regain excellent posture. Of course, it will take a lot of hard work; but it can be done.
Let's attempt to regain our posture:
· Stand comfortably in front of a full-length mirror, if you have one.
· Now place the palm of one of your hands on your chest.
· Roll your chest up so that you actually feel movement in your hand. (Your hand should actually move upward.)
· Next, see whether you can stretch your shoulders out - in a lateral direction, away from your center.
· Finally, place your other hand on the back of your head.
· Pull your head backward over your shoulders. Feel your hand actually move backward. Don't tilt your head upward; just pull it backward.
If you've been able to follow these adjustments as I've described them your posture should now be very good - at least for the moment.
The experience of standing up straight can feel like something of a revelation to those of us who have managed to allow our posture to deteriorate over the years. Once you've been able to achieve good posture once, you have to repeat the exercise as often as possible in order to build the habit of maintaining good posture. Eventually, your posture will tend to be upright as a matter of course. Then all your friends will tell you how lucky you are to have naturally good posture (little will they know how much work it took you to get there).
Please try to practice these first three building blocks during three coming week. Once these elements begin to feel as if they're "second nature" you be ready to tackle the fourth "Brick" - which involves taking these new-found skills out for a spin. See you next week. In the meantime, if you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to contact me at franchesleigh@mac.com.
January 30, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. If you read my Tip last week, you know that we began exploring what I call the basic building blocks (or "bricks") that will enable you to develop a solid foundation for dancing Argentine Tango.
Last week, I talked about "Brick Number One" - balancing on one leg. If you haven't had enough practice yet with finding your balance on one leg, tuck today's Tip away for future reference, and continue working on basic balance. Try to get to where you can comfortably stand on one leg for about thirty seconds without tipping over. Then you'll be ready to move ahead.
Dancing Tango with skill demands that we have near perfect balance with every movement that we make. Being able to stand on one leg is an excellent start to achieving the kind of balance we need. But we have to fine-tune our balance in order to exercise maximum control over it during the course of a dance. We do this by using "Brick Number Two" -- optimizing the balance.
Here's how to fine-tune your balance:
Step One: Finding your current balance point
Stand on one leg. Now, try to feel exactly where your balance is. Do you have more weight in your heel ... in the ball of your foot ... along the outside of your foot ... along the inside? Try to feel this. Now, change weight to the other foot, and try the same thing.
Step Two: Controlling your balance point
With your weight on one leg, try to shift your weight forward into the ball of your foot (without losing your balance, of course). Once you've been able to do this successfully, shift your weight all the way back into your heel. Now, try to distribute your weight evenly between the ball of your foot and the heel. With your weight evenly distributed, shift your weight to the outside of your foot. Try to feel that all your weight is along the outside. Finally, shift your weight to the inside of your foot. This will be very difficult, since it will tend to send you off balance to your center. But try it anyway. Change weight to your other foot, and repeat the whole series of movements.
Step Three: Optimizing your balance
If you've successfully gone through all the possibilities in the two steps above, you're now ready to find your optimal balance. Stand on one foot. Distribute your weight evenly on your whole foot. Now, shift your weight forward so that most of your weight is carried by the ball of your foot (with some small amount remaining in the heel). Finally, move your weight as much as you can to the inside of your foot. You should now feel that the interior of your foot is carrying your weight, shifted toward the front end. This is your optimal balance. Try to achieve this on the other foot.
Once you've taken yourself through this somewhat difficult and complex process a few times, you should then start to practice "bricks" one and two together. This involves standing on one foot, and achieving optimal balance as quickly as possible; then changing weight to the other foot, and repeating the process.
None of this is easy, of course. You have to decide that you really want to do what it takes to learn how to dance Tango. And then you have to practice.
If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to contact me at franchesleigh@mac.com. See you next week with Brickworks Three.
January 23, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Last week, I issued a bold new challenge for the New Decade to Firehouse students. I suggested that those of you who really want to learn this dance do so by building your skills "brick by brick." A few curious individuals responded, asking me to be more explicit. "What are these mysterious bricks we're supposed to be using?" they queried.
Okay, you asked; I'll answer. For the next several Tango Tips, I'm going to spell out what I think you need to do in order learn Tango "brick by brick."
NOTE: Everything I'm going to talk about will be best accomplished under the careful guidance of your personal instructor, of course. Without such consistent one-on-one supervision it's very easy to misunderstand concepts, and to practice skills incorrectly, thereby forming bad - and very hard-to-break - habits. (This is what I've noticed time and time again over the years in observing students who keep trying to learn Tango by taking group classes alone - instead of supplementing these lessons with regular private instruction from a knowledgeable teacher. The vast majority of such people simply never progress even to the point of being able to demonstrate adequate fundamental movement.)
Before we start, let me say that it's important to differentiate between the mechanics of Tango and the art of Tango. What I'm going to address will help you build your mechanics. The art is something that can take many years to develop, and is very personal to each individual dancer. Another issue we need to discuss is the idea of learning Tango quickly. If you're someone who isn't interested in developing your dance "brick by brick", someone who "wants it all right now," stop reading this Tango Tip immediately. I'm wasting your valuable time. I don't possess the requisite skills to make you a Tango dancer in ten minutes.
For people who are still reading, let's talk about the "bricks" themselves. Each one of these concepts won't do much for your dancing all by itself. It's the precise application of these fundamental elements both individually as well as in various combinations that will ultimately result in making you a skilled dancer.
Let's begin with what I'll call "Brick Number One" - balancing at rest on one leg. Sounds easy, doesn't it? You just stand on one leg, maybe flailing you arms a little to help prevent you from losing your balance. Nothing to it.
Well, not quite. Balancing at rest begins with your weight on both legs - or what is sometimes referred to as your center axis of balance. Stand with your feet about six or seven inches apart, your weight more or less evenly distributed throughout the entirety of both feet. (You should feel weight both in the heels and the balls of both feet.) Now, gradually shift your weight to one side until all your weight is being supported by one of your legs. Gradually move your free leg up to the weighted leg so that both legs are now together. To an onlooker it should appear that your weight is evenly distributed on both sides; but you know that you're balanced on only one side.
Stand there for a while.
When you reach a point where it's comfortable, start the process again - but this time shift your weight to the other leg, finishing with your legs together, your weight on that leg alone.
Stand on this other leg until you're somewhat comfortable with being balanced on this side without feeling as if you're going to tip over.
There it is -- "Brick Number One." It will take you somewhere between five minutes and one year to get this skill to a point where it feels comfortable. And it doesn't matter how long it takes - just do it, if you want to learn how to dance Tango, okay?
To give you a little more information on why you should be doing this: When we dance Tango, we're almost always balanced on one leg -- whether we're leading or following. So getting very comfortable with this is crucial to being able to dance. Furthermore, this exercise of finding balance on one leg begins the larger process of enabling you to become conscious of your self in space. When you learned to walk as a child, you were pre-conscious. I don't know anyone who actually remembers the process of learning to walk. By the time you've reaching adulthood, walking and balancing have receded well into the background of your mind. All of us accomplish such common human movements without thinking. And yet when we begin the process of learning a complex skill such as dancing, among the very first things we have to do is bring these skills back into our conscious minds--so that we can work with them in a conscious, educated way both alone and in the ultimate context of moving in concert with a partner.
So there it is - Brick Number One, balancing on one leg. Try to do this as often as possible this week. Don't be in a big hurry, and limit yourself to just doing it once or twice ... deciding that it's a cinch, and writing it off as something that those other less talented people than you need. Work on it; really get good at it. Then you'll be ready for - you guessed it - Brick Number Two.
See you next week at the brickworks.
January 16, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Now that we’ve all begun to settle into the New Year, I want to make a suggestion for your list of New Year’s Resolutions. I know, I know. These are the things that most of us optimistically promise ourselves that we’re definitely going to do every year, and almost never quite get to accomplish. Oh well, we have to keep trying, don’t we?
Anyway, here’s a Tango New Year’s Resolution for you. It starts with a story told to me by a dancer/teacher from Argentina, who began coming to the U.S.A. to teach way back in the early 1990’s. In order to prepare for his classes here, he did what most of us teachers do – he decided to concentrate on holding his classes in a few major cities around the country (that’s where most of the students were at the time), and he made up a detailed plan of exactly what he was going to teach, focusing on the different levels of student ability he expected to encounter.
When he actually began teaching, he noticed immediately that the vast majority of his students – no matter what their level – really had no basic Tango skills whatever. Because of this he decided to quickly abandon his lesson plan, and teach people how to walk. This, he believed, was what they needed.
At first, his revised curriculum seemed to work. His students seemed to realize that basic skills were indeed what they needed in order to progress. And they apparently welcomed his teachings. But soon, he began to notice a steadily increasing drop-off in attendance at his classes. A few people continued with him, but, as it happened, other teachers were arriving from Argentina, and were offering complex figures – with very little regard for the ability of students to master them.
Eventually, this teacher decided that he would stop teaching in the U.S.A and return to Argentina. He felt that too many students here weren’t interested in learning the dance in a methodical way. He told me that in his experience, they just wanted to reach for things that were well beyond their abilities without doing the work that was necessary to do them well.
Before he left, this teacher said to me something like this: “To make a building, you need to create a foundation brick by brick. Otherwise the building cannot sustain itself. It crumbles at the first opportunity. In Tango, one has to build a strong foundation – then everything becomes possible. But without this there is no dance.”
I always try to remember this story, when I teach Tango. It continues to be true that many students will continue to be seduced by things they’re not ready for. Most of these people will probably never become good dancers. But a few – those who are willing to build a solid foundation brick by brick – will eventually become fine dancers.
My New Year’s Resolution is to help those of you who really want to become good Tango dancers to get there. My hope is that some of you will decide to make a resolution this year to build a strong and lasting foundation for your Argentine Tango -- brick by brick.
January 9, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Now that we’ve all begun to settle into the New Year, I want to make a suggestion for your list of New Year’s Resolutions. I know, I know. These are the things that most of us optimistically promise ourselves that we’re definitely going to do every year, and almost never quite get to accomplish. Oh well, we have to keep trying, don’t we?
Anyway, here’s a Tango New Year’s Resolution for you. It starts with a story told to me by a dancer/teacher from Argentina, who began coming to the U.S.A. to teach way back in the early 1990’s. In order to prepare for his classes here, he did what most of us teachers do – he decided to concentrate on holding his classes in a few major cities around the country (that’s where most of the students were at the time), and he made up a detailed plan of exactly what he was going to teach, focusing on the different levels of student ability he expected to encounter.
When he actually began teaching, he noticed immediately that the vast majority of his students – no matter what their level – really had no basic Tango skills whatever. Because of this he decided to quickly abandon his lesson plan, and teach people how to walk. This, he believed, was what they needed.
At first, his revised curriculum seemed to work. His students seemed to realize that basic skills were indeed what they needed in order to progress. And they apparently welcomed his teachings. But soon, he began to notice a steadily increasing drop-off in attendance at his classes. A few people continued with him, but, as it happened, other teachers were arriving from Argentina, and were offering complex figures – with very little regard for the ability of students to master them.
Eventually, this teacher decided that he would stop teaching in the U.S.A and return to Argentina. He felt that too many students here weren’t interested in learning the dance in a methodical way. He told me that in his experience, they just wanted to reach for things that were well beyond their abilities without doing the work that was necessary to do them well.
Before he left, this teacher said to me something like this: “To make a building, you need to create a foundation brick by brick. Otherwise the building cannot sustain itself. It crumbles at the first opportunity. In Tango, one has to build a strong foundation – then everything becomes possible. But without this there is no dance.”
I always try to remember this story, when I teach Tango. It continues to be true that many students will continue to be seduced by things they’re not ready for. Most of these people will probably never become good dancers. But a few – those who are willing to build a solid foundation brick by brick – will eventually become fine dancers.
My New Year’s Resolution is to help those of you who really want to become good Tango dancers to get there. My hope is that some of you will decide to make a resolution this year to build a strong and lasting foundation for your Argentine Tango -- brick by brick.
January 2, 2010
No tango tip this week. Fran and Pat will return next week after a well deserved rest.
January 9, 2010
Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. It's a brand new year - in fact, a brand new decade! I thought I'd kick off the beginning of our next ten years by attempting to shed light (not for the first time) on what I think are the two most common - and most fundamentally destructive -- errors in dancing Tango (or pretty much any other social dance, for that matter).
A man and a woman are moving beautifully around a dance floor in an embrace. Watching as these dancers move together, here is what most leaders think: "He's holding her securely in his arms, and carrying her around the floor." At the same time, here is what most followers think: "She's being held securely by the leader, she's leaning on him for support, and he's carrying her around the floor."
So ... According to what most leaders and followers see with their own eyes, the leader's role is to hold his follower close and hold her up. The follower's role is to hang onto the leader for dear life - or at least to lean on him for balance and support. Have I got that right?
Anyone who has taken even a single private lesson with me knows that I don't agree with any of this. And neither does any competent teacher. Yet most students think that this is what people actually do. And so that's exactly what they do, when they get up to dance.
I think it's possible that these misconceptions may stem at least in part simply from observing the basic embrace from the outside. We see a man and a woman apparently hugging or holding each other. We see their bodies tilting toward one another. Aren't they leaning on each other? It looks as if the leader is holding onto the follower. It looks as if the follower is leaning on the leader. We draw the obvious conclusions. Dancing is holding and leaning.
The overwhelming majority of beginning or even semi-experienced student followers whom I dance with immediately lean on me or hold onto me quite tightly from the second I embrace them until the end of our dance. Pat tells me that the overwhelming majority of student leaders she dances with immediately close their right arms tightly around her (pulling her off balance), and squeeze her right hand almost to the point of pain from the moment the dance beings until the end. So it seems to us that the empirical evidence is quite conclusive: Most student leaders and followers out there firmly believe in holding and leaning.
But ...
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY, UNEQUIVOCALLY THE WRONG WAY TO DANCE!!!!!!!!
Whew! I'm glad I got that out of my system. I feel better already.
If you've been reading our Tango Tips all along, you know by this time that neither Pat nor I subscribe to holding and leaning in Tango. We've talked about this over and over. But it still seems to be happening again and again. Let's make this bright new decade the beginning of a lifetime commitment to finally learn how to dance without these fundamental errors in the embrace. I guarantee that this will be the first step in making you a very fine dancer. Wouldn't you love that to happen?
Happy New Year!
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