Below are the techniques which we think our students need to learn to become great and well-rounded tango dancers. In the process they will also learn many steps. Over time we'll create videos to talk about all of these. There are 5 major categories: Connection, Technique, Musicality, Body, Social.
- Connection
- Frame to connect cores → Unmoving elbows allows for core. Traveling, rocking, etc. Movement category: Translational.
- Embrace → Sense when you have their body, use only what is necessary. Aim for the middle of their body. This is about body listening. I call it Tango Telepathy.
- Listening → listening as a paradigm for connection. This is about “no mind” listening.
- Arms off the shoulders → Shoulders = heads of the shoulder and shoulder blades. Muscles of the back. Sliding, splitting the distance, adjusting for height, changes with pivots.
- Close embrace → Understanding distance. Where are my partners feet going?
- Space, Energy & Facing → Awareness of where your partner is going, the space between you, the center line, and the facing of the hips and upper body.
- Stillness in embrace → A profound paradigm for connection. Not resistance, be unmoving. Mind is quiet and present
- Living Hands create pressure → For forward & back, compensate for your partner, for balance. For axis and ease. The arms protect the body. For both dancers.
- Technique for Movement
- Pivoting → Ball of the foot. Where is her axis? No energy leaks. Ochos, Boleos. Movement category: rotational.
- Crosses → Him: Clear line. Her: Pressure hits the center.
- Walking → Her: Forward as she goes back. Him: Core & go through her. The wave - go forward to go back, etc.
- Easy Pivots → Counter pressure / rolling pressure (in combination with ball of the foot). Body lead rather than arm lead & clear direction. Pressure has direction. Use minimal pressure.
- Molinette → Her: Maintaining distance. Him: Constant pull. Movement: orbit.
- Collection → It’s from the thigh, and shapes movement. Part of tango essence & styling, informs the shape of the path of the leg.
- Throws & Catching → Around and through follower’s axis. Boleo, Gancho, Kick, Rebounds.
- Combining Categories of Movement → Combining Translational, Rotational, & Orbit. Cross, Ocho Cortado, Sacada.
- Hip Facing → What is a forward, side or backstep? Use of hips in pivots & turns. Giving shape to ambiguous places.
- Giving of Weight → When she goes around, leans towards and away, the line between partners. Volcada & Colgada.
- Musicality & Spirit of Dance
- The Weights of the Four Beats → Using the center: accent all beats, all beats are not equal.
- Flow → Keeping the energy of the dance.
- Rhythmic vs Lyrical → Choosing appropriate movements.
- What the Music is Actually Doing → In tango, you are free to dance to the music. Use pop music to learn to feel the background.
- Dancing Rhythmic → Mechanics of rhythmic dancing.
- Structure of a Tango → 8*4, etc.
- Posture & Body Integration
- Hip Stability → Enables everything else ...
- Body integration → Extending together, legs to core, forward, side, back. Reconciling tango’s temptation to disconnect the body
- Neck on the Spine → A tango curse almost all suffer
- Lengthened Low Back → Neutral spine, lengthen the low back, pull up off the hips.
- Move from the Center → Move from and around the center.
- Social Dance
- Line of Dance → Slow counter-clockwise movement, lanes, middle of the floor.
- Etiquette & Custom → Smell good, be friendly, be nice to your partners, don’t correct partners.
- Technique → What do many expect? → Ease. What is most impactful? → Embrace.
- History.
Do you have questions or have things you'd like to say? Please post on our forum.