Friday, March 9 7:30-8:45 PM "Breathing to Navigate" All Levels IN tango lessons, we often deal with an idealized environment - managed partner exchanges, controlled levels of crowding, and other artificial effects of the class situation. In many ways, then, success in classes does not prepare us to maximize our artistry in real-world dancing. Floorcraft and Navigation classes help us with disaster avoidance, but there is another level beyond that - turning your dance into a dance with the entire room, much like skiers and windsurfers turn the moguls, wind and waves into elements in their artistic expression. This involves being ready for both very tight and very open spaces in your dance. For leaders, we'll work on how you can take temporary momentary crowding or wide-open empty floor spaces as an artistic opportunity instead of a chance to panic, or to shut down and wait for your preferred "better weather". For followers, we'll show you how to scale your dance to powerfully express yourself in both large and small tango spaces.
Saturday, March 10 1:00-1:45 PM "Ready, Set - Tango!" All Levels Our favorite tango warmup routines, which you can use at home in your practice, just before the milonga, or anytime you want to stay warmed up while sitting. Stretch yourself physically, mentally, socially, psychically, and spiritually to maximize your preparation for the next dance. 2-3:30 PM "Free Leg Tango" All Levels We've found the best long-term foundation for your tango technique to be a deep-down understanding of the physics and physiology of the lead-follow connection. "Free Leg Tango" is deep training about how to create and use the unweighted leg (usually of the follower) as an expressive element in the dance. This technique is essential for effortless, natural-looking boleos, ganchos, volcadas, colgadas, shared-axis turns. Free-leg work also smooths out your walk, and offers a greater range of expression in small adornments. Leaders will discover how to "grow metaphysical nerves" into their follower's free leg to get a sense for how to manage and express with this exquisitely delicate lead-follow connection. 4:00-5:30 PM "Giros & Rebote" Intermediate Turning in tango gives the leader a chance to manage the space, and the follower a chance to shine with sexy pivots and crossing steps. Most dancers develop a habit of turning based on their early learning, which works most of the time and meets some of these goals. We'll explore in depth the different kinds of "turning energy" you can use, drill the steps that use them, and leave you with a clear framework for later practice. More advanced dancers can explore with us the fascinating details of shared-axis turns, a hot topic among the dancers we work with in Buenos Aires. Sunday, March 11 1:00-3:00 PM All Levels "Tango of the Woman/Man" (taught separately for leaders and followers) The tango experience is a divine opportunity for our core masculine and feminine energies and identities to come out and celebrate together. Most (but not absolutely all) of the masculine energy in the dance is given to the leader, and most (but not absolutely all) of the feminine energy of the dance is reserved for the follower. These ideas have tremendous consequences for our understanding and experience of the silent conversation that is social tango. We'll work with leaders to see how these ideas translate into what some people call the "tango personality" and the pleasures and pitfalls of energizing that part of your dancing. For followers, we'll explore how releasing your radiant feminine side into the dance in a more conscious way with greater awareness of your choices can transform your dance experience. NOTE: in a recent five-day TangoIntensivo workshop in Buenos Aires, Deb took the workshop as a leader and Brian took it as a follower - we'll bring the fruits of this fascinating experiment into our work with you in this class. Advanced dancers interested in experimenting with the "other role" are welcome to "switch" for this class. 3:30-5:00 "Infinite Sacadas Together" Intermediate Plus An intensive look at the "tango matrix" of sacadas as developed by Gustavo Naveira, Fabian Salas, Chicho Frumboli, Luciana Valle and their associates, an example of an approach that transformed the understanding and teaching of tango in the last fifteen years. We'll examine all the possible variations on this common move, while refining our technique in the process. But in addition, we'll give you the mental tools to ba able to apply the "tango matrix" approach to any aspect of your tango. This approach gives you an organized and systematic way to efficiently and creatively stretch your repertoire of steps on your own forever. Monday, March 12 8:00-9:15 PM "Fresh BsAs Favorites" Intermediate Plus Practonga 9:30 PM -12:30 AM $10 without Class During our latest trip, we took special care to develop a high-level framework for some of the most interesting new explorations in tango currently under development in the exciting practica scene in Buenos Aires, most of them inspired largely by the relentless genius of "Chicho" Frumboli. While you may not master some of the fruits of this work in one class, we hope to leave you with the tools you'll need to enliven your own practice for many months to come! Phoebe J. (PJ) Grant of WindyCityTango, Unlimited (773) 260-2595 direct contact / [email protected] Promoter, Teacher, Performer, Sponsor of Argentine Tango
