Mario,
I would love to elaborate on the topic of close embrace in close quarters,
but, don't have the time at the moment.
At 3 months, horray for the patterns. But, you might know, by now, that
patterns don't do you much good on crowded dance floors. So, here's an
exercise to really throw you into the fire. And, I'll follow up with what to
do when you get into that exercise.
At the next milonga, when you find yourself behind a leader who is dancing
painfully (to you) slow, stay right there behind him! I am not talking about
the people who are moving slowly because they are teaching on the dance floor.
You'll know when you find that leader who seems comfortable crawling along.
It will be difficult to stay inline behind him and it may even feel
embaressing as you may think that your partner is wondering what the heck you
are doing. Don't pay no mind to that. Staying inline behind him is that best
way to learn. I can remember private lessons in a little living room where my
teacher would tell me that I could only go around the room once during the
song.
Use little rocksteps to change your alignment when you need just a little
room.
Ask around about tespias. Trespia is really a milonga term, but, you will
still be getting the right kind of answers. In general, you will want to learn
about fake steps. I love to think of tango as teasing the woman. Lead a step.
But, don't complete it and come back to center. Lead it 1/2 way. Lead it 1/8
of the way. Then, get the concept that you are teasing her. This will turn
into "playing with the music". Your partner will appreciate the opportunity to
lengthen and shorten her body as she enters into, and retreats out of, a step.
Think of it as a game. Think of it as musicality.
A completely new dancer will be confused and, perhaps, embarressed because
she thinks she isn't following you, or doesn't know what you want. But, most
women that have been around the floor a few times know that you are being
playful with the music and doing the most with that couple of feet of floor
space that you have available to you.
As for the techniques for doing this ... that would have to be another email.
Or, perhaps, a bunch of follow up emails from others. :o)
Mario, in general, the more experienced a leader, the slower he will dance.
I can remember taking an extended period of time away from tango and, when I
came back, the exercise above was difficult until I started to get in touch
with my body, again. I felt embarressed. But, it is a necessary process. At
the other end of the tranformation is a beautiful close embrace dance.
Doing patterns can be thought of as a substitute for using your body to enjoy
the musicality. Put yourself in those situations and start doing those fake
steps and little rock steps to start becoming comfortable with making the dance
be about your body and hers rather than patterns.
And, after 3 months of dancing, I applaud you for taking this on!
Okay, okay, here's an exercise:
In open embrace (or closed, if you like), take a partner and do a side step.
Now go back, with another side step.
Now, go just far enough into the side step to make your partner just tap on
the floor. Take her back to center.
Now, go just far enough into the side step to make your partner's foot move,
just move. Now, back to center.
Notice how your are stopping her. Is it that she is visually watching you?
Is it with you hand or your chest? Whatever the case, just notice it so that
you are aware. A private lesson with a teacher IN CLOSE EMBRACE is the best
way to learn.
If you have accomplished this, can you do a fake step forward (backward for
her)? This is more difficult.
When playing with the fake side step, try, when she her foot is coming back
to center, getting your foot there, first, and placing it beside hers so that
she sandwiches your foot with her two feet. Now, lead that next side step by
pushing your foot out, essentally dragging her foot along with you. Before you
lead her back to center, take your foot out from between hers. Yes, she will
be smiling!
When you get this, it IS such fun to tease! AND, you don't need much room!
Mario <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I am a beginner (3mos) and would like to direct my own learning towards only
that part of Tango that stresses the connection and the musicality. This is
what interests me in the dance. I would appreciate any input on which Tango
sequences (patterns) can be danced in close embrace in crowded places as I want
to spend my time learning/practising only those patterns that will get me
around the dance floor directly and interestingly without diverting from the
line of dance.
I'm trying to put together a basic close-embrace foundation that I can learn by
heart and then only listen for the music and be able to improvise by varying
the sequences. Any suggestions of what to learn and the sequence of difficulty
in learning them, (and/or any of the many things that I am not even aware of),
would be greatly appreciated.
Sequences that I am already starting to concentrate on are: walking in
parallel, walking outside right crossed footed, walk to the cross parallel,
walk to the cross outside right crossed footed, back ochos from a side step to
crossed footed, rock step, walking step in parallel, ocho cortado, turns right
and left from ocho cortado. Please, add comments and suggestions.
Also, the best YouTube videos for studying the close embrace that I've found
are those by;
Oscaracasas, pdtango, Mauitango.
Please, add any that you have found that concentrate on close embrace teaching.
The Milonga song/dance is another thing. I have read Tango-L archives on this
dance with great interest. I have never had a lesson in this dance but find it
rather easy and exciting. I only have to listen to the music, get the beat, and
go for it. The Tango is another animal. There everything that I do 'naturally'
is naturally wrong it seems...I feel like Im in a straight jacket trying to
step thru hoops. The only tango that I've seen that looks like it could save me
is those done by Oleh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr21Qic4UPY
his tango has a freedom and musicality similar to the Milonga dance..
Well, there it is. I am obsessively watching 4 hrs of Youtube tango videos a
day because I am visiting family in Mexico and have no close embrace teacher
here.. I am from Philadelphia and my name is Mario... thanks for reading this
far.
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