Berkhamsted Class Notes, April 2012

These are the class notes for April 2012 Tango classes in Berkhamsted.

1st April: Tango Milonga workshop

See the Milonga workshop notes for more details.

15th April: Enrosques feminino, Espirals de cruz

Beginner class:

Move 1: enrosques feminino (twistarounds) / espiral de cruz (spiral cross)

Basically, this is simply an enrosque movement for the followers:

  1. Lead the follower into a standard sandwich position (follower's left foot in front of right)
  2. Hold the follower in this position and walk around her clockwise
  3. Follower can effectively now do an enrosque movement, twisting to follow the partner's body
  4. Leaders can lead an "untwist" motion to finish, or followers can untwist when desired.

Improver class: Calesita variation and workshop questions

We did a simple variation of the carousel, where the leader "lifts" the follower's free leg (followers lifting their knee up) as part of the rotation movement, with an entry via a sacada.

We also covered a number of individual topics with a Q&A session.

Key points:

  • Men have to walk in a circle. If you don't walk in a perfect circle, you'll pull the woman off balance.
  • Men, keep your chest facing the woman at all times.
  • Women, keep your weight on one foot, pivotting on the ball of the foot.

Note: if you "lower" instead of "lift", you produce a "Glide, or "planeo"? - simply by the woman lowering herself a little and extending her trailing foot out, to a degree.

22nd April: Salon Basics

This lesson was a review of some of the basics of Salon Tango.

Beginner class: Steps, lead-and-follow

We reviewed and revised:

  • Close embrace and posture
  • Leading and following steps
  • Sidesteps and weight transfers

Improver class: Rocksteps, tempo changes, sidesteps

We looked at the following areas:

  • Rocksteps: keep them very small and "light"
  • Tempo changes: smaller steps are faster, larger steps are slower.
  • Sidesteps: can be done slowly, using a "U" shape, and can be paused to create a "lunge" effect.

29th April: Ochos and the cross

Beginners Class: Using pivots

We focussed on the pivot-and-step movement ("ochos").

Sequence: Leaders, without moving your feet, lead an "inside foot" pivot, then lead a forwards step - this is a forward ocho.

Key points

For leaders:

  • Don't "row" - don't use your arms to pivot your partner, use your chest.
  • Always lead the pivot first, then the step. Don't try to do both at the same time.
  • The step is in the same direction as the pivot - forward ochos are done with the inside foot (closest to the leader).

For followers:

  • Step, then collect, then pivot. They are separate motions - don't rush into one before the other.
  • Keep your chest facing towards your leader (that's the "dissociation" thing).

More information

Some more information about ochos.

Improver class: Leading the cross step

We then worked on leading the follower into a cross step: firstly in an open embrace, then in close embrace.

Followers, if your free leg is relaxed, this should happen naturally when led - you shouldn't really need to think about it.

Leaders, to lead a cross step, you need to indicate to the follower what to do; typically, this means you need to:

  • Apply a slight pivot as part of the step as a lead
  • Open up some space between you, for her to put one leg in front of the other

Key points

  • When leading the actual cross, don't pull your partner to the side, simply straighten out your body - "close your chest"
  • Followers: similarly, don't turn to the side, but keep facing your partner when you cross.
  • Followers: don't anticipate a cross, wait for it to be led.

More information: