(This is a repeat of a blog I published last year. but with all the holiday milongas on the schedule, I felt it was a timely reminder.)
Dancing on a crowded dance floor is much like driving in heavy traffic, and the rules are much the same.
LEADERS:
1. Use caution as you enter the dance floor. Wait for a break in the flow of traffic. Make eye contact with the approaching leader so you know he sees you. Merge into the flow of the dance like a driver merging onto the highway - smoothly, with no sudden stops.
2: Travel counterclockwise, in the line of dance. Avoid stepping backwards, just as you avoid backing up on a busy street.
3. Be aware of the flow of traffic. On a crowded dance floor dancers travel as a group, starting and stopping together. Maintain a consistent distance between you and the couple ahead of you,
4. A crowded dance floor will have multiple lanes of dancers - an outer lane, one or two middle lanes, and maybe an inner lane. Stay in your lane. The more crowded the dance floor is, the less you should consider passing or changing lanes. And avoid passing on the right. That puts you in the leader’s blind spot
5. Keep your dancing small and simple. Enjoy the music and the connection, and save the fancy steps for a less crowded venue.
FOLLOWERS
1. Be aware of your surroundings. Do not dance with your eyes closed unless you know your leader can be totally trusted to follow the above rules, and the overall level of dancing is high. Do not step into another couple just because your leader leads it. This is your dance too.
2. Keep your feet on the floor, and your heels down. Those stilettos are a pair of weapons attached to your shoes. Polite people do not aim weapons at others.
EVERYONE: a crowded dance floor is not a good place to show off your fancy moves. So don't. Keep it small, keep it simple, be polite to the other people on the floor, and you will come to appreciate the trancendental experience of immersing yourself in the dance.
TANGO TALK
Friday, December 16, 2016
Friday, December 9, 2016
Take Care of Your Tango Feet
Dancers know that painful feet can take the fun out of Tango faster than just about anything. So it pays to take care of our feet. Here are some things you can do so that sore feet do not interfere with your Tango bliss.
Oh, Those Gorgeous Shoes!
We women just LOVE the look of high, stiletto tango heels. But unless we also love dancing on damaged feet, we need to take special care when we buy Tango shoes.
Podiatrists recommend that women avoid wearing heels that are higher than 3 inches. Anything higher stresses your joints in a way that can cause permanent damage. So ideally, for healthy feet, we should wear a heel between one and three inches. The higher the heel the more padding you will need under the pads of the toes. High heels throw your weight on the front of the foot, which can cause metatarsalgia. This is especially true in middle aged or older women, because the natural padding in the front of the foot decreases with age. I know you have heard that padding under the ball makes it harder to feel the floor. But so does pain. So we need to decide what is more important. I choose a somewhat lower heel - 2.75 inches - which lets me get away with less padding.
Overpronation
You know how some teachers tell you to press the ball of the foot onto the floor when you walk? This may create a lovely line, but it also creates overpronation. Overpronation happens when your weight is distributed toward the inside edge of the foot, rather than being centered in the middle of the foot. Overpronation causes all kinds of foot injuries, including achilles tendonitis and plantarfasciitis. The solution is to concentrate on keeping your weight in the center of your foot.
Dancing on your toes:
There was a time when a lot of teachers encouraged women to dance on their toes - to never let the heels touch the ground As a result there are a lot of Tango dancers suffering from metatarsalgia. Fortunately this has gone out of fashion. But if you are still doing it, stop. Not only is it bad for your feet, but it shortens your extension and interferes with balance.
Take care of your feet. Remember - you want your feet to be able to Tango in 10 years -or 20 - or more.
Oh, Those Gorgeous Shoes!
We women just LOVE the look of high, stiletto tango heels. But unless we also love dancing on damaged feet, we need to take special care when we buy Tango shoes.
Podiatrists recommend that women avoid wearing heels that are higher than 3 inches. Anything higher stresses your joints in a way that can cause permanent damage. So ideally, for healthy feet, we should wear a heel between one and three inches. The higher the heel the more padding you will need under the pads of the toes. High heels throw your weight on the front of the foot, which can cause metatarsalgia. This is especially true in middle aged or older women, because the natural padding in the front of the foot decreases with age. I know you have heard that padding under the ball makes it harder to feel the floor. But so does pain. So we need to decide what is more important. I choose a somewhat lower heel - 2.75 inches - which lets me get away with less padding.
Overpronation
You know how some teachers tell you to press the ball of the foot onto the floor when you walk? This may create a lovely line, but it also creates overpronation. Overpronation happens when your weight is distributed toward the inside edge of the foot, rather than being centered in the middle of the foot. Overpronation causes all kinds of foot injuries, including achilles tendonitis and plantarfasciitis. The solution is to concentrate on keeping your weight in the center of your foot.
Dancing on your toes:
There was a time when a lot of teachers encouraged women to dance on their toes - to never let the heels touch the ground As a result there are a lot of Tango dancers suffering from metatarsalgia. Fortunately this has gone out of fashion. But if you are still doing it, stop. Not only is it bad for your feet, but it shortens your extension and interferes with balance.
Take care of your feet. Remember - you want your feet to be able to Tango in 10 years -or 20 - or more.
Friday, December 2, 2016
THE WALK: It May Not Mean What You Think
Over and over, when you are first introduced to Tango, you are told: It's all about the walk. You have to have a good walk in order to dance Tango.
But "walking" in Tango does not mean what it does in everyday life. Normally, when we go for a walk, it involves getting from one place to another, in a straight line, and in a fairly regular rhythm. But when we talk about the Tango Walk, we are not talking about destination, or direction, or tempo. We are talking about technique.
In Tango, we can "walk" in any direction, forward, backward, side to side, in place, or in a circle. We can even "walk" while standing still.
Learning the Tango walk involves learning HOW, not WHAT. How do we use our feet to gather energy from our connection to the floor? How do we find and maintain our axis? How do we keep our connection forward, toward our partner?
If you watch any good dancer, in demos or at the best milongas, you will note that they seldom take more than 3 or 4 steps in a straight line before stopping, or turning, or changing direction. Tango is not a linear dance. It moves, then stops. It turns, one way then another.
Teachers need to recognize this, and realize that learning the Tango Walk involves learning to stop, every bit as much as learning to step.
But "walking" in Tango does not mean what it does in everyday life. Normally, when we go for a walk, it involves getting from one place to another, in a straight line, and in a fairly regular rhythm. But when we talk about the Tango Walk, we are not talking about destination, or direction, or tempo. We are talking about technique.
In Tango, we can "walk" in any direction, forward, backward, side to side, in place, or in a circle. We can even "walk" while standing still.
Learning the Tango walk involves learning HOW, not WHAT. How do we use our feet to gather energy from our connection to the floor? How do we find and maintain our axis? How do we keep our connection forward, toward our partner?
If you watch any good dancer, in demos or at the best milongas, you will note that they seldom take more than 3 or 4 steps in a straight line before stopping, or turning, or changing direction. Tango is not a linear dance. It moves, then stops. It turns, one way then another.
Teachers need to recognize this, and realize that learning the Tango Walk involves learning to stop, every bit as much as learning to step.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Welcoming Beginners to Argentine Tango
A healthy Tango community is one that is constantly growing. As people leave, new people join. And integrating new dancers into your community is a big part of that process.
Beginners need two things to entice them to join a Tango community. They need to be intrigued or inspired by the dance itself, AND they need to be made to feel comfortable in the social environment of a milonga. The first is already accomplished by the time a beginner shows up for their first class. It is the job of a good teacher to keep encouraging the student's interest in the dance.
The second - comfort within the Tango community - is the job of everyone at the milonga. So what can you do? Here are 5 things you can do that will encourage your beginners to keep coming, and to keep learning.
1: Dance with them. This is the number one, MOST important thing you can do. A beginner neither needs or expects to dance every dance. But if they dance no dances, again and again, they will not come back. So ask them to dance. It is OK to ask for the third song of the Tanda if you do not want to commit to the whole set.
2. Talk to them. Introduce yourself, if it is the first time you have met. Offer them refreshments if any are available. Talk about Tango, or anything else. Be a good host.
3. Don't overwhelm them. Feed them information about Tango in digestible bites. Leaders, if you ask them to dance, use this opportunity to lead a simple Tango. Followers, shelve the adornments, which can distract or confuse a beginner leader.
4: Don't criticize or correct. For example, if a beginner asks you to dance verbally, do not get on your high horse about the cabeceo. If he stays with Tango he will absorb all that soon enough. Likewise, do not make a point of trying to fix your partner's dancing. No teaching on the dance floor, remember?
5: Make them part of your community. If a group of you go out for coffee after the milonga or practica, invite them. Let them know of other Tango opportunities, and convey the idea that they would be welcome to attend them.
Remember, you were once a beginner yourself. All the best dancers were once beginners. If beginners feel comfortable in your community, they will keep coming back. And if they keep coming back, eventually they will not be beginners any more.
Beginners need two things to entice them to join a Tango community. They need to be intrigued or inspired by the dance itself, AND they need to be made to feel comfortable in the social environment of a milonga. The first is already accomplished by the time a beginner shows up for their first class. It is the job of a good teacher to keep encouraging the student's interest in the dance.
The second - comfort within the Tango community - is the job of everyone at the milonga. So what can you do? Here are 5 things you can do that will encourage your beginners to keep coming, and to keep learning.
1: Dance with them. This is the number one, MOST important thing you can do. A beginner neither needs or expects to dance every dance. But if they dance no dances, again and again, they will not come back. So ask them to dance. It is OK to ask for the third song of the Tanda if you do not want to commit to the whole set.
2. Talk to them. Introduce yourself, if it is the first time you have met. Offer them refreshments if any are available. Talk about Tango, or anything else. Be a good host.
3. Don't overwhelm them. Feed them information about Tango in digestible bites. Leaders, if you ask them to dance, use this opportunity to lead a simple Tango. Followers, shelve the adornments, which can distract or confuse a beginner leader.
4: Don't criticize or correct. For example, if a beginner asks you to dance verbally, do not get on your high horse about the cabeceo. If he stays with Tango he will absorb all that soon enough. Likewise, do not make a point of trying to fix your partner's dancing. No teaching on the dance floor, remember?
5: Make them part of your community. If a group of you go out for coffee after the milonga or practica, invite them. Let them know of other Tango opportunities, and convey the idea that they would be welcome to attend them.
Remember, you were once a beginner yourself. All the best dancers were once beginners. If beginners feel comfortable in your community, they will keep coming back. And if they keep coming back, eventually they will not be beginners any more.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Tango Trust
Argentine Tango is an intimate dance. We dance in the arms of a person we may not know well, or even at all. When we step out onto the dance floor, we are implicitly agreeing to this intimate physical contact - cheek to cheek, breast to breast. And trust is a necessary component of this agreement.
Tango is essentially an impersonal intimacy. While there are no physical boundaries, there are firm boundaries of expectation. Tango promises nothing, beyond the bliss of translating the music into a shared experience.
Tango is not a seduction. If you use your Tanda for that purpose it is a betrayal of trust. The embrace is for dancing, not for flirtation. If you use the embrace to stroke your partner's back or tickle his neck, or deliberately rub her breasts, you are breaking trust. And once that trust is broken, Tango is no longer a shared intimacy. It has become a trespass.
Does this mean you can never flirt with a Tango partner? Of course not. Flirtation can add a wonderful intensity to Tango. But do not initiate a flirtation on the dance floor. It is not fair. Wait until the tanda is over, and your partner can accept or refuse without pressure. Once you have established a MUTUAL flirtation, you can, if both parties wish, continue it on the dance floor.
Tango is essentially an impersonal intimacy. While there are no physical boundaries, there are firm boundaries of expectation. Tango promises nothing, beyond the bliss of translating the music into a shared experience.
Tango is not a seduction. If you use your Tanda for that purpose it is a betrayal of trust. The embrace is for dancing, not for flirtation. If you use the embrace to stroke your partner's back or tickle his neck, or deliberately rub her breasts, you are breaking trust. And once that trust is broken, Tango is no longer a shared intimacy. It has become a trespass.
Does this mean you can never flirt with a Tango partner? Of course not. Flirtation can add a wonderful intensity to Tango. But do not initiate a flirtation on the dance floor. It is not fair. Wait until the tanda is over, and your partner can accept or refuse without pressure. Once you have established a MUTUAL flirtation, you can, if both parties wish, continue it on the dance floor.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
You Might Be A Tango Snob If....
Face it. We all have a bit of the Tango snob in us. How can we help it? No other dance combines intimacy, creativity, artistry and culture quite like Tango. So it is easy to become a bit chauvinistic about it.
So in a spirit of lighthearted fun, see if you recognize yourself.
You might be a Tango snob if....
You never have fewer than 3 pairs of Tango shoes in your car - and they are all Comme Il Fauts...because you would never wear anything else.
You refuse all verbal requests to dance. Real Tango dancers cabeceo!
You serve mate at your house milonga.
You have been heard to express the opinion that Nuevo is not REAL Tango.
You never arrive at a milonga during the first hour.
Your computer wallpaper is a slide show of La Boca.
You refer to Tango stars by their first names only.
You discuss Tango in Spanish....even though you don't speak Spanish
You complain if the DJ plays anything recorded after 1948.
You don't understand why anyone would ever dance anything but Tango.
So in a spirit of lighthearted fun, see if you recognize yourself.
You might be a Tango snob if....
You never have fewer than 3 pairs of Tango shoes in your car - and they are all Comme Il Fauts...because you would never wear anything else.
You refuse all verbal requests to dance. Real Tango dancers cabeceo!
You serve mate at your house milonga.
You have been heard to express the opinion that Nuevo is not REAL Tango.
You never arrive at a milonga during the first hour.
Your computer wallpaper is a slide show of La Boca.
You refer to Tango stars by their first names only.
You discuss Tango in Spanish....even though you don't speak Spanish
You complain if the DJ plays anything recorded after 1948.
You don't understand why anyone would ever dance anything but Tango.
Friday, October 14, 2016
As I Get Older....
Those of us who have been dancing Tango for many years, who are now in our sixties, or seventies, or eighties, are confronting a sad reality. There comes a point where no matter how many classes I take - how many private lessons - I am never going to get better.
I have reached the pinnacle. And there is no place to go but down. As my body ages, things that were easy ten years ago become less so. And as I struggle with the aches and pains that naturally come with getting older, Tango is no longer the effortless joy it once was.
I get asked to dance less. I sit and watch while lovely young women dance every dance. And I grieve for what I have lost.
Many Tango dancers, when they reach this point, stop dancing Tango altogether. But not me. That is partly because the joy of teaching Tango - of nurturing a new generation of dancers - never grows old.
But more importantly, aging has a way, in Tango as in life, of burning away the nonessentials, of annealing the experience. What is left is the true meaning of Tango - creativity in intimacy.
I may have fewer tools with which to be creative, as my body refuses to execute some of the dramatic nuevo steps. But Haiku is just as beautiful as dramatic verse, and just as satisfying.
I may dance less, but the dances mean more because they are with partners I cherish; partners I do not need to impress because that is not why we dance Tango.
When I was a young Tango dancer I used to watch the old milonguero couples dance together. Their dancing was beautiful in a way that brought tears to my eyes, and touched me in a way I could not really understand.
Now I do.
I have reached the pinnacle. And there is no place to go but down. As my body ages, things that were easy ten years ago become less so. And as I struggle with the aches and pains that naturally come with getting older, Tango is no longer the effortless joy it once was.
I get asked to dance less. I sit and watch while lovely young women dance every dance. And I grieve for what I have lost.
Many Tango dancers, when they reach this point, stop dancing Tango altogether. But not me. That is partly because the joy of teaching Tango - of nurturing a new generation of dancers - never grows old.
But more importantly, aging has a way, in Tango as in life, of burning away the nonessentials, of annealing the experience. What is left is the true meaning of Tango - creativity in intimacy.
I may have fewer tools with which to be creative, as my body refuses to execute some of the dramatic nuevo steps. But Haiku is just as beautiful as dramatic verse, and just as satisfying.
I may dance less, but the dances mean more because they are with partners I cherish; partners I do not need to impress because that is not why we dance Tango.
When I was a young Tango dancer I used to watch the old milonguero couples dance together. Their dancing was beautiful in a way that brought tears to my eyes, and touched me in a way I could not really understand.
Now I do.
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