Learning Tango often feels like learning how to drive a car. Here is the list of parts of this car that I am exploring. This is a list of tricks and tips I find helpful, bad habits that I had to get rid of and also some things that were good for me or for my teachers and fellow dancers (in no specific order).
1. Embrace is a structure that does not change (unless it needs to when it closes or opens up!).
2. Balance exercise- stand without heels on one foot and count to 20 (or until it feels stupid), then on the other foot. Repeat this with eyes closed. Repeat these both with heels.
What helps to keep balance is staying grounded, relaxed and energy forward (I imagine my motive is to connect to this person in front of me and not lose it). It helps a great deal.
3. Practice walking everyday. Use hips to extend and land, and knees to transition. But land on straight legs. Do not ever lock knees.
4. Dont walk "Tango", just walk "Supermarket".
5. Keep stepping soft. Open balls of feet, relax them.
6. Staying grounded? When I take that step the information should go from ground to the embrace, so my partner know exactly where I stepped (This is under exploration. Also how does this work with #5?)
7. I used to pivot on side step on my right. I lost that bad habit.
8. I do a Rond de jambe on my right foot when leader walks outside my left. I need to take a straight step back (working on it!).
9. Always collect!
10.Keep the center up. Above the leader's center. Try to reach for the hypothetical rod above leader's head.
11. Center also goes down as straight lines to both the legs. Legs start at the core.
12. Step with heal first - side or forward
13. Movement (especially circular) starts in the back.
14. Dissociate! Embrace goes and then the rest of the body follows. (Feels whenever I get it right!)
15. Dance with your torso, not with your legs.
16. Keep adornments few and to the music. Adornments are to express music, through you. Use them with care. Find your own!
17. When pivoting, do not sickle the foot behind. Ball of big toe is what contacts the floor first. Check!
18. Pivot, arrive fully and then go.
19. Embrace is active. Its never surprised!
20. Start at you back. Activate your elbows. Then follow them. You land where your elbow was.
21. When going outside a follower, step under her earring.
22. When me and my partner is grounded, life seems so peaceful. Feels like there is time for everything. No movement can be a surprise!
23. Look forward and look far. It helps to keep the embrace. Do not look away.
24. "Die" in the embrace! But still be active.
25. Relax the back of the head.
26. Embrace is circular. Its not a square in you chest. Its the cylinder that goes through your arms.
27. For ochos, the embrace moves circular.
28. To move outside and cross-feet, lets say to follower's right, she is on right and cant go any further, you change feet.
29. Take energy from music and give it to your partner (dance feels great when this happens).
30. Forward step- Own your step and go, especially followers as we dont do it often.
31. To go forward, arrive fully, use the hip and knees and go!
32. There is a circular motion even in the hip forward and back steps. It comes with groundedness, arriving fully, using the hip.
33. Relaxing shoulders and opening the embrace allows greater dissociation.
34. Abdomen is like a bandoneon!
35. Feet does not drag, it moves just a bit above the floor.
36. Movement required from leader are much smaller than those required from follower(?!)
1. Embrace is a structure that does not change (unless it needs to when it closes or opens up!).
2. Balance exercise- stand without heels on one foot and count to 20 (or until it feels stupid), then on the other foot. Repeat this with eyes closed. Repeat these both with heels.
What helps to keep balance is staying grounded, relaxed and energy forward (I imagine my motive is to connect to this person in front of me and not lose it). It helps a great deal.
3. Practice walking everyday. Use hips to extend and land, and knees to transition. But land on straight legs. Do not ever lock knees.
4. Dont walk "Tango", just walk "Supermarket".
5. Keep stepping soft. Open balls of feet, relax them.
6. Staying grounded? When I take that step the information should go from ground to the embrace, so my partner know exactly where I stepped (This is under exploration. Also how does this work with #5?)
7. I used to pivot on side step on my right. I lost that bad habit.
8. I do a Rond de jambe on my right foot when leader walks outside my left. I need to take a straight step back (working on it!).
9. Always collect!
10.Keep the center up. Above the leader's center. Try to reach for the hypothetical rod above leader's head.
11. Center also goes down as straight lines to both the legs. Legs start at the core.
12. Step with heal first - side or forward
13. Movement (especially circular) starts in the back.
14. Dissociate! Embrace goes and then the rest of the body follows. (Feels whenever I get it right!)
15. Dance with your torso, not with your legs.
16. Keep adornments few and to the music. Adornments are to express music, through you. Use them with care. Find your own!
17. When pivoting, do not sickle the foot behind. Ball of big toe is what contacts the floor first. Check!
18. Pivot, arrive fully and then go.
19. Embrace is active. Its never surprised!
20. Start at you back. Activate your elbows. Then follow them. You land where your elbow was.
21. When going outside a follower, step under her earring.
22. When me and my partner is grounded, life seems so peaceful. Feels like there is time for everything. No movement can be a surprise!
23. Look forward and look far. It helps to keep the embrace. Do not look away.
24. "Die" in the embrace! But still be active.
25. Relax the back of the head.
26. Embrace is circular. Its not a square in you chest. Its the cylinder that goes through your arms.
27. For ochos, the embrace moves circular.
28. To move outside and cross-feet, lets say to follower's right, she is on right and cant go any further, you change feet.
29. Take energy from music and give it to your partner (dance feels great when this happens).
30. Forward step- Own your step and go, especially followers as we dont do it often.
31. To go forward, arrive fully, use the hip and knees and go!
32. There is a circular motion even in the hip forward and back steps. It comes with groundedness, arriving fully, using the hip.
33. Relaxing shoulders and opening the embrace allows greater dissociation.
34. Abdomen is like a bandoneon!
35. Feet does not drag, it moves just a bit above the floor.
36. Movement required from leader are much smaller than those required from follower(?!)
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