Class Notes: June 2011

These are the class notes for June 2011 Tango classes in Berkhamsted.

Previous notes:


5th June: Close embrace movements

Beginner's class: Technique technique technique

We worked a lot on technique for leading, following and connecting in this class.

We spent some time dancing simple steps in close embrace, and then worked on a couple of exercises together.

Exercise 1: No touching

No hold at all - simply visual lead-and-follow. Leading forwards steps, side steps and back steps, all with visual cues.

Benefits:

  • Forces the leader to focus on, and communicate well with, his partner.
  • Forces the follower to be on axis all the time, with no support from her partner.

Exercise 2: No hands

In close embrace, leaders and followers have chest-only contact (arms held either by your sides or behind your back).

Variation: place a sheet of paper between you. If the paper drops to the floor, you've lost the game :)

Benefits:

  • Forces the lead to lead with the centre / chest, as that's the only point of contact.
  • Forces the follower to keep her own balance, rather than using the arms for stability / support.

Improver class: Ochos and Giros in close embrace

Close embrace (back) ochos

Ochos are perfectly-leadable in close embrace - both forwards and back. However, it's probably most common, and easiest, to lead back ochos in social dancing.

The key thing within close embrace is to keep that embrace - not to open it up at all. So the degree you can pivot is constrained by the amunt you can twist your hips whilst retaining that embrace.

This may mean that the follower may naturally travel in a backwards direction; so the leader should travel forwards in that case. Don't let the follower fall over :)

Close embrace giros

Similarly, a giro is perfectly-leadable in a close embrace, it just requires a bit more work and technique to make it look good.

Leaders, simply rotate your chest in the required direction (optionally adding an "enrosque" or spiral movement as described below).

Followers, take nice small steps, and keep your intention forwards so that you have space to move your feet.

Enrosques in giros

"Enrosques" are nice ways for the leader to adorn a giro.

We worked on enrosques for anti-clockwise giros (right leg) and clockwise giros (left leg).

The "enrosque" is simply a spiral. You turn on one foot and leave the other foot in place, allowing you to twist one leg around, then untwist it to allow effect.

A good trick is to have feet placement "twisted" in advance of a giro. So, for example, we did anti-clockwise giros with the right leg starting placed over the left.

Example video

Here is Osvaldo Zotto and Mora Godoy's enrosque:

Ocho Cortado

We finished off by looking at this sequence - literally, a "Cut ocho".

This sequence goes as follows (from the leader's point-of-view):

  1. Sidestep left (larger sidestep for leader, as for leading a cross)
  2. Forward step on right
  3. (Double-time) forward rockstep on left
  4. Backstep on left
  5. Turn (open out) to right
  6. (Double-time) lead follower into a side rockstep / pulse sidestep
  7. Lead follower back from rockstep into a cross, transferring weight to the right foot and pivoting to your left as you do so.

Example video

Here's an example of this pattern, in close embrace, and with the instructions in Spanish for added authenticity (subtitled)

Key points

  • When leading the follower into the cross, give her space to cross by moving backwards.
  • Both rocksteps / pulsesteps are double-time, and are not full steps - so don't transfer the whole weight
  • Followers need to keep their shoulders (chest) facing the leader during the cross step.
  • This is a nice way of doing a quarter-turn anti-clockwise - for example, in corners.
  • This is useful in close embrace, and in situations where there's not much space.

12th June: Crosses and Crossing

You don't always have to walk "mirrored" (in parallel, or "2-track"). There are several variations you can use - we looked at "3 track" and "4 track" variations.

Beginner class: 4-track, 3-track

4-track walking

The leaders walked the follower in a straight line backwards, but move from one side to the other whilst doing so - going into "4-track" on either side.

Key points

  • Leaders, keep the chest oriented toward the followers, not to the side. But keep your feet facing forwards; so dissociation again.
  • Also, keep a steady sure lead - don't jump about and vary the pace, just because you're moving your feet in a different way.
  • Followers, follow the lead from the chest, don't pay too much attention to what the leader does with his feet.

3-track walking

"3-track walking" is when you're walking "crossed" - that is, when the leader steps forward on his right foot, the follower steps backwards on her right foot. The technique here is for the leaders to transfer weight, but without leading a transfer for the follower.

Key points:

  • Leaders, it's even more important to ensure your follower moves her leg before you step into that space.
  • Followers: follow the chest, not the legs.

Improver class: the cross

Leading the cross

We covered how to lead and follow the cross step ("Cruzada"), from an outside walk and from a "salida" pattern.

Followers, if your free leg is relaxed, you should naturally cross the legs when a cross is 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"
    Note: there are other methods for leading the cross.
  • Followers: similarly, don't turn to the side, but keep your upper body facing your partner when you cross.
  • Followers: don't anticipate a cross, wait for it to be led.

More


19th June: Musicality and Timing

Musicality is siimply "dancing to the music". Leaders, you should aim to do this all the time, when dancing. Don't try to do "figures" and musicality. Get the musicality right first, then you can worry about the steps.

Beginners Class: Halves, singles and doubles

Playing a slow track, we practiced walking at:

  • Half-time (one step every two beats)
  • Single-time (one step every beat)
  • Double-time (two steps each beat)

Once we had that working, we then worked on using all three variations within a dance.

Key points:

  • Your average speed of movement around the floor) should stay pretty much constant - double-time steps should be half the size of single time ones.
  • So you don't lead a double-time movement simply by rushing forwards.
  • Whenever you change tempo - going into and out of double-time, for example - you need to clearly lead that change of tempo. Don't yank your partner around.

Pauses

We then attempted to work on "pauses", slowing down the movements of the dancing to create more effect, in time with the music. It's a good exercise to think of Tango dancing as being a set of pauses, with some steps added in between.

Key points

  • Leaders, take your time - if you pause, you have more time to move, you look better and your partner has time to play
  • Followers, when there's a pause, you can interpret or decorate to the music - but don't get distracted from the lead
  • Pausing / restarting is the leader's decision; decorations are at the follower's discretion

Improver class: Movements to timing

We then looked at varying tempos for some simple steps:

  • Slow movements: sidesteps
  • Fast movements: rocksteps and pulse steps
  • Combination: the cross and the ocho cortado sequence

Key points

  • Changing timing for the music turns your dancing in "dancing"
  • It also helps you develop both control and leading / following skills

26th June: Milonga and Vals

Beginners Class: Milonga

"Milonga" is the name of a specific dance style, with many similarities to Tango.

(Confusingly, "milonga" is also the name for a social dance evening. So you can dance Milonga at a milonga - or you can dance Tango at a milonga :) )

Typically, one in every 6 "tandas" (groups of dances) is a Milonga. So up to a 1/6th of the dances in a milonga evening will be non-Tango.

Milonga music is typically faster than tango music, and is characterised by a characteristic rhythm - "da-dum, bom, bom". The feeling of Milonga is more "fun" than tango, typically.

The good news is, it's fairly easy to get started with - step on every (down) beat, take small steps, keep it simple, and you'll be OK. The bad news is, it's typically a much faster rhythm, so you'll need to move quickly and lead / follow correctly, all the time; there are no real chances to pause in milonga.

We played a couple of milonga tracks, and danced to each of those, and we then worked on a couple of simple steps.

Step: side-and-change. This is a simple sidestep, followed by a weight change. The key point it to keep the steps small - tiny, in fact. An extension to this is to do the same with forward steps: step forward, weight change, and repeat. This can also be done with a forward step-and-change.

Key points:

  • Take small steps
  • Keep it very very simple
  • Step on the beat

For more information

Musicality for Ceroc-ers Four: Milonga

Improver class: Vals

Or, "The Waltz-y One" :)

The Tango Vals is danced to Waltz music 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, time.

Typically, you step on the "1" beat (to keep it simple) - so 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, and so on.. (Musically, this is probably closer to Viennese Waltz than traditional Waltz; it's not particularly slow in tempo.)

We played a number of Vals tracks, and we worked on listening to the beat, and dancing in time with the music.

Key points

  • Dance on the "one" beat by default
  • Keep it simple, relaxed and flowing
  • Don't try too many figures (such as the ones covered in the previous section!) as these don't often fit with the "feel" of Vals dancing

For more information