Tango Concepts

There have been several break through concepts, in workshops throughout this year. These have been described in different ways from more than one source. These have been the things that have provoked the biggest changes in my dance.

Here is my top list for 2009.

Horizontal Separation
The complete isolation of the top half the body from the bottom.

Apart from knowing which foot you are on little other information should be passed above the waist. Pushing your weight into the floor should not push your whole body mass to go northwards. Achieving this requires soft knees and ankles and being able to walk in the floor. If you can move your weight around your foot without being unbalanced you are doing well. You ought to be able to direct your own and follows free leg by moving your center and staying balanced. The more toes you can feel on the floor the more grounded. There should be no tension in the foot.

The top half of the leader is used to provide information to the follower only. The follower should not look for information elsewhere. This enables each to walk at separate paces and in separate lines. As long as disassociation is maintained we can continue to walk in parallel on the outside until a change is initiated. You can disassociate at the waist towards each other without the need to turn the hips from the initial forward direction.

The lower half has a free leg. This contrasts to the top with an energetic rigidity like a garden hose. The energy is moving up and out the chest toward each other. The top half does have flexibility and movement and is not rigid as a plank. Present but not stiff muscles.

Torsion winding and unwinding
Generate torsion in the followers body. Create a horizontal break at the follows waist. The shoulders are facing in a different direction to the hips. Look to see the point where the followers lower half must turn to catch up with the direction of the top.

For enrosques the lead turns the top half generating torsion within themselves. Release the torsion in the hips and the legs will come round beyond the chest direction, with no extra effort.

The hip direction of the lead in enrosques will be ahead or behind the follower location. In a 360 turn the partners hips will criss cross in opposing direction to each other twice.

Free Leg
It is not just for the follow but the lead also requires a free leg. Moving the leg to do side false steps, or circling of the feet is governed by weight/center movement. It is not moved from the hip. The standing leg and ankle are creating the movement. Feel the foot contact with the floor of this foot.

When you walk the free foot should fall under you. It is not placing it forward and stepping onto it. Moving your body mass moves the foot to be placed where it should be to keep you. On the newly weighted leg bending the knee pulls the now free leg to it. The legs are switching from being free to weight bearing and back.

Follower rotation within the embrace
The closed side of the embrace must flex. The leads arm must slide across the back from far to near when appropriate. A backward ocho to the leads left, hand on the follows left ribcage as embrace opens. Follow should be facing across leads body to leads right. When follower is side on the lead must move their arm out and away from their centre, as followers are wider than they are deep. Careful of moving arm out and to the side, moving arm without the chest.

A backward ocho to the leads right, hand on the follows right ribcage as embrace closes. Follow should be facing across leads body to leads left.

A forward ocho to the leads left means the leads right hip must go back to suck the follower to face across lead.

Diamond
For the giro think of a diamond shape. A side step is not square to the lead but to the point beyond the leads hip. A forward step requires lead to split his chest to allow a forward step as close as possible under the shoulder. The backward step requires as much pivot as possible using the flexible embrace, torsion separation at the waist to be able reach 270 degrees. The hips need to be facing the exact opposite of where the follow steps back to. Follower delaying the step to the last moment will help this.

You step in the direction your hips are pointed at.

Who Follows who?
The lead governs direction and energy level. The follower uses the energy to move themselves and determines when. The lead should take the follows time. i.e. follow the follower. Once the lead knows where the follows arrived, can determine where to be if wanted to be positioned at an offset shorter or longer step.

Giro
Leads head should not have a lot of movement. Head should point forward in the torsos direction not to the side. The torso turning motion will move the head. Keep an eye on your follow so you stay together and not move ahead of.

For giro or ochos lead should think less of opening as the going around and embracing their partner. This way the following arm keeps enclosing the partner and not going through them. The leads arms should not open or narrow the angle between them but move as one shape.

Changing places
If aiming to be where the follower is now in a giro, lead their step the distance of your embrace apart. If their step is shorter the lead will put them off axis if lead steps where intended. If the follow steps long the embrace will break if lead steps where intended. Lead should think less of where they want to go but where they want the follower to go to.

Simplicity
How much more life can you get from a weight change? Make it an equal feature of your dance as moving from one spot in the room, to another. Think which method of weight change you want. Assuming switching systems there are two. Switch the followers or switch the leads weight only. Both involve one person making a very tiny rotation around the other. The rotation is moving the axis from under one shoulder in the partner to under the other. Be fluent in both.

TJ