More in the Lean - Lean and Gancho
Leads to do things like gancho or cross while in a lean are different from the leads to the same steps when the follower is upright. The lead has to be extremely subtle because anything bigger will tip the follower off the leader.
For Leaders: As the lead gets smaller, it has to be very clear, without what we call "noise" (excess movements that aren't directly related to what you mean to lead).
For Followers: Following steps you already know when you're not vertical requires that you be stronger in your center so it is easier to connect your body to whatever the leader is asking. You need to learn to really listen for the subtlety of his lead.
This is an extreme example of what we say about tango: the leader asks a little and the follower gives him a lot.
- Artist Name:
- Diego el Cigala
- Song Title:
- Tomo y Obligo
- Album Title:
- Cigala & Tango
- Artist Website:
- http://www.elcigala.com/
Diego el Cigala sings tango, but also many other genres. He is a Latin Grammy winner.
- 00:18
- I didn’t even know he was going to do that.
- 00:20
- Yes, oh actually let’s do another angle.
- 00:23
- And so you’ll notice,
I wasn’t even holding her with my left arm. - 00:26
- You know, you can have her left arm here
and you can scratch your head. - 00:45
- So, in a sense, what I’m doing with my right arm is…
- 00:50
- ..I hold her tight and I go...
- 00:53
- N. Bigger ones.
D. Bigger ones, I’ll go. - 00:56
- Except that’s way too big.
- 00:57
- Yes, much too big.
- 00:58
- But as I do that, the thought is
you’ll see I pull her in, around and then I... - 01:03
- ..do a little bit of an impulse
to get the leg to kick up. - 01:07
- So in, around, impulse,
yes and it’s like a ‘C’ and then it hits. - 01:12
- And it’s very small once again
and as you do this, the around is very subtle. - 01:18
- But the in can be a little bit more.
- 01:19
- So along this axis, it’s very stable because
she has her leg there. You have your leg there. - 01:24
- That’s the line.
- 01:24
- If you go off the line, it has to be very subtle
or you’ll fall over. - 01:28
- So instead, it’s just there or from this way,
it’s just there. - 01:34
- In other words, it’s one of these really fancy ‘C.’
- 01:37
- So it doesn’t have a lot of this, it has a that shape.
- 01:41
- And it’s the curling around on the bottom
that makes it the C rather than the coming out. - 01:45
- D. Right, describing the line of the leaders movement.
N. Right. - 01:48
- For the followers, as you do this, you want,
as you go forward, to let that leg move you. - 01:52
- And when he has the little bit of
inward strike, I’m almost going going to call it,… - 01:56
- ..you’re going to let your thigh come in.
- 01:57
- And then, when you hit his leg, then you hit, bang.
- 02:02
- N. Bang.
D. It’s all about the sound effect - 02:04
- Actually, why am I turning this way?
Much better angle from here. - 02:12
- So it starts, we'll both change weight,
and then I’ll change weight but she won't. - 02:16
- I’ll hold in and up and I’ll go back on my left this time,
turning my hips away. - 02:22
- And the reason I turn my hips away is
so that I can offer her the back of my knee. - 02:26
- If I’m like this, and when she tries the gancho,...
- 02:28
- ..she’ll hit my knee and it won't feel very good.
- 02:30
- Gancho is always back of the knee to back of the knee.
- 02:32
- So show that position again,
because it’s awkward for the men. - 02:36
- And notice, also, that I have my back leg back
and that’s so that when we’re in this lean… - 02:40
- ..the front leg is for show.
Maybe I’ll put a few pounds for balance. - 02:44
- But almost no weight because we're leaning
and my weight's on my back foot... - 02:47
- D...and her weight's on her front foot.
N. Actually, my weight's on my back foot, too. - 02:52
- Either foot, right? They’re both the same place.
- 02:53
- And then with this foot, with barely any weight...
- 02:56
- ..then she can gancho, with my knee turned away.
- 03:01
- Last time.
