Tango Lessons

In my courses I see again and again that the women believe that they have to work actively with their free leg.

But this is almost never necessary and makes tango dancing less smooth and unnecessarily difficult. Let’s look at a few examples.

Voleo

At a voleo, the lady’s leg flies more or less high.

This works practically by itself due to impulse that the lady receives from the man (impulse to take a step + counter movement before the lady can complete the step and put her leg down) if her free leg is really loose.

However, many ladies believe that they need to actively perform the voleo with their free leg.

Doing it that way they make life unnecessarily difficult for themselves and never manage to create a nice, fluid movement. The Voleo always stays cramped, doesn’t feel good, and never looks good.

It is important and correct to let the free leg relax as much as possible and simply allow the movement.

Backward Ocho

The backward ocho is actually nothing more than a backward cross step by the lady initiated by the gentleman, followed by a a pivot also initiated by the gentleman’s impulse and another backward cross step.

Actually a simple thing if the lady is stable in her axis and her free leg is relaxed. But here, too, many women make life unnecessarily difficult for themselves because they think that the backward ocho is a figure that they have to perform actively.

First mistake:

They turn by themselves, instead of simply letting happen the pivot initiated by the man.

Second mistake:

Because they think that they have to perform the pivot on their own, they often clamp the free leg to the standing leg during the pivot, either because they hope to gain more stability by doing so, or because a tango teacher has told them at some point that this is the way to do it .

The undesirable result: what is actually a simple motion sequence becomes a cramped, labour-intensive, mostly fairly unstable “figure”, which is also bad for the spine in the long term. With a relaxed free leg and simply “allowing” the movement, this is much easier.

Gancho

I seldom lead ganchos, but the same applies here: The lady does not perform the gancho actively, but simply allows her free leg to move.

The gancho is not, as many seem to believe, an active “kicking backwards”, but a bend of the free leg (almost always in the backward motion) caused (not executed) by the lady’s backward step suddenly being stopped just at knee height by the man’s leg.

However, this only works nicely and smoothly if the lady’s free leg is completely relaxed.

There are many more examples of why it is essential for the lady to keep her free leg completely relaxed, but that is beyond the scope of this post.

It is important to first internalize that the free leg is completely relaxed and, if possible, does not work. Then women already have the best prerequisites for dancing beautifully and pleasantly relaxed.

Of course if a woman has more dancing experience she can perform actively embellishments with her free leg.

In this case she works with her free leg and this is no longer relaxed.

The important thing here is to switch back to the relaxed state of the leg when the man gives an impulse to move on to the next step. But for that she needs already a fair amount of experience.

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    Standing leg, standing leg, standing leg

No, now it doesn’t get esoteric, although I am asked that again and again, somewhat mockingly, when I bring the pendulum motion into play.

But many movements in tango can be perfectly explained with the pendulum movement. So, let’s take a look at a pendulum.

I’m neither a physicist nor a mathematician, so I’ll keep the description simple.

The pendulum is suspended from one point and, once set in motion, swings from side to side.

At the highest point, the turning point, it pauses for a moment and then swings back again. Each of us has probably seen this before.

At the turning point, the pendulum has its highest potential energy, which, as soon as it swings down, is converted into kinetic energy. Driven by the kinetic energy, the pendulum is carried up on the other side until it reaches the turning point again. The movement of the pendulum is, at least with a large pendulum, very dynamic on the one hand, but also very calm on the other.

How can we make use of the pendulum principle when dancing tango?

One of my most popular pendulum examples in our courses is the “lead” and accompaniment of the lady’s backward ochos.

We swing from left to right and back again.

When we have landed on our right leg, for example, we stand on it for a moment.

By the weight of the free leg hitting the standing leg and the moment of inertia our body automatically is turned counterclockwise, if we are standing straight with a good posture.

This moment corresponds to the turning point of the pendulum, I also call it a moment of silence.

The left leg (at this moment the free leg) is not put down (shifting weight to the left leg), but hangs freely at the hip joint.

If we relax the right leg and the movement continues, the left leg will swing to the left, land on the dance floor and become the standing leg. We straighten up on our axis, the right leg (now the free leg) falls to the left leg (now the standing leg), but is not loaded and can swing back freely.

The weight of the free leg in combination with our intencion ensures that our body moves on.

This pendulum-based movement is both dynamic and calm. Leading ochos becomes easy and practically works by itself.

Two more things are important:

On the one hand, the free leg that falls to the supporting leg is not loaded because otherwise the flow of movement is interrupted.

You can imagine it like a large church bell swinging back and forth in the church tower. As long as it can swing freely, once it has been set in motion, it will swing without much effort.

But if it touches the floor of the church tower (with very unpleasant consequences for that church tower) and comes to stand there, it would be extremely difficult to pull it up again and make it swing.

On the other hand, the pendulum movement in this case is not linear, but diagonally towards the lady.

The gentleman aims with his free leg at the lady’s free leg.

Swinging back and forth on a line is exhausting for the lady in the long run, because she has to make a 180 ° turn every time and twist herself strongly. It’s also boring and doesn’t get us an inch forward in the line of the dance.

We also find the pendulum principle in other movements in tango. For example at the caminada, walking in tango. Every time we straighten up after a step or several steps in the axis to start the next step, or when changing direction in the Molineta. There will be more about this in another blog post soon.

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Tango and the inflatable dolphin 

I keep telling the gentlemen among my tango students and everyone else who wants to hear it that they shouldn’t hold their left hand higher than the shoulder height of the lady with whom they are currently dancing (apart from some final poses).

Some time ago, however, I caught myself with my left hand wandering up again and again.

On the one hand, when I signal a change of direction to the lady, for example when I prepare the lady’s cross, or in the Molineta, when the lady walks around me counterclockwise and I want to change the direction of rotation again. My arm goes up, like the policeman’s trowel at the traffic control, and amplifies the “stop” signal given by my body.

On the other hand, whenever I stop completely in my axis after one or more steps and prepare for the next step.

 

 

At first I was a bit surprised, until I realized that this is completely natural, because as soon as I consciously go into my axis, I inhale and thus build up tension for the next step.

Like the fin of an inflatable dolphin, my left arm rises in these moments, together with the whole body, slightly tense and ready to move on.

As soon as I start again, I exhale again (or rather, my body does it for me, I don’t even have to think about it), the air escapes, my arm sinks down like the inflatable dolphin’s fin as soon as you pull the plug, my body relaxes and starts to move.

The body of my dance partner feels that and joins in. The nice thing is, none of us really needs to think about it.

If you use this consciously and a little more emphatically, you will find that good, straight posture and the use of your breath help you to make your entire dance more exciting and interesting without having to work a lot for it.

And if you are still tense, just try a smile. That helps and relaxes.

Why you should laugh, or at least smile when dancing Tango

I know sometimes it’s hard to stay calm when there’s a crowd on the dance floor. Somebody is always in your way, obstructing your dance flow, pushing you from behind …

It goes without saying that you are not one of those “bullies, tailgaters, bloody beginners, figure wankers” and so on.

Or are you?

If you often have stress with the rest of the other dancers on the dance floor, you should ask yourself whether that might also be a little bit up to you.

When tango dancing is no longer beautiful and relaxed but degenerates into stress, remember that you also are part of the “Ronda” on the dance floor. You also contribute to everyone being able to dance beautifully.

 

Most of the time, it helps if you lead by example. 

If you find that sometimes difficult, just give this exercise a try. I found it to be very helpful.

For the next 4 to 5 milongas or the next 4 to 5 practice evenings  you overtake NO ONE on the dance floor, not even the annoying dance floor bollard that ALWAYS blocks you.

Instead, you use every trick from your repertoire to dance BEHIND the dancers in front of you in a simple, stress-free and nice way until they go on (even if you think that it takes waaay too long :-).

The bullies, bloody beginners, figure wankers in front of you are not worth to get so much attention from you. They are not important.

 

Important is  the lady you are dancing with!

Most of your attention should belong to her.

Don’t get upset about the other dancers, but make sure that your lady feels comfortable and is safe on the dance floor.

As soon as you have done this for a while, you will see that your dance changes, that you “work” less and dance with less stress.

And you will find that the ladies love it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A little Tango lesson: Help me Ronda! Dancing in harmony with all the other dancers on the dance floor

No, here I don’t want to provide special guidance on inviting at queer tango  : – )

 

 

 

Actually this is by no means necessary because inviting with mirada and cabeceo works exactly the same way between men as inviting between men and women or for the sake of completeness, between women and women.

What I would like to suggest to all men, or whoever takes on the role of the leader, is something different.

I want to describe something that often happens to me (but certainly not only to me) at milongas.

The tanda has already started, I dance nicely with my lady along the edge of the dance floor, I see that I have space, I just want to take a bigger, lively step …

Suddenly another couple shoots onto the dance floor in front of me.

Like a truck driving out of a courtyard at full throttle, regardless of losses. Without looking to see if someone is coming, without looking to see if someone might get in their way.

I have to stop my lady abruptly and can be happy if I can get her to safety in good time.

It becomes completely critical when the couple behind me pushes forward lively and suddenly stands on my heels.

The couple who jostled themselves onto the dance floor in front of me did not notice anything and probably will not notice anything in many other situations either.

Of course, this doesn’t contribute to harmony on the dance floor.

Yet it could be so easy.

If you lead your lady onto the dance floor first take a look around and see whether there is space, whether another couple is approaching, before entering the dance floor, …

 

If so, make eye contact with the leader of this couple who, as we all know, is responsible for the navigation. Talk to each other without words by eye contact.

If the leader of the other couple is so absorbed in the music, his thoughts or the cleavage of his dance partner that he doesn´t see anything else, wait until that couple has passed (That ´s safer anyway. You don’t want to dance near a couple, whose leader does not pay attention to the dance flow of the others).

If there is still little space,  try your luck with the next couple. Do not worry! At some point you will be able to safely enter the ronda.

“Mirada y Cabeceo”, or “look and nod”, works not only when asked to dance, but in many other situations in our lives. But only if you don’t run blindly on or across the dance floor or through your entire life.

 

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Good old Mirada and good old Cabeceo

A little Tango lesson: Help me Ronda! Dancing in harmony with all the other dancers on the dance floor

At every milonga you can find him, everyone knows him, at least everyone who visits the respective milonga regularly.

Who usually knows him best are the female dancers. Outside of the dance floor he can be quite nice. However, he has an annoying habit that most women could do without.

I am talking about the milonga babbler, the permanent dancing lecturer who explains to the lady he dances with how to dance the tango during the entire dance.

He is convinced that he´s the only one who knows how to dance, apart from maybe his current tango teacher.

Regardless of whether he is dancing with a

• beginner (preferred option, because he can still really impress her, and she does not contradict him)
• tanguera who dances a lot better than himself who is not impressed, but just rolls her eyes in annoyment

he can’t get his waffle shut (only exception: while dancing with his current revered tango teacher. Of course she must be at least a world-class dancer).

Sometimes it seems a miracle that the other dancers around him can still hear the music. Whether he hears it himself can be doubted. But honestly: For him that´s not so important…

In his boundless goodness he probably thinks  that he is doing his dance partners a big favor. Or maybe his vocal cords are just so relaxed that they move uncontrollably every time he takes a breath.

How do women deal with him?

If he’s a nice guy who just tends to talk too much, a method that a friend of ours successfully tried will help.

With the short sentence “Simply shut up and dance!”, delivered with a smile, you can not only save a tanda, but also make nice acquaintances.

If he is one of the notorious know-it-alls who do not understand that the lady does not dance what he wants her to because he simply cannot lead, and not because of the ladies inability, there is only one remedy.

Delete him from the list of your potential dance partners.

The same applies to those who dare not only to annoy their dance partner with constant chatter, but even maneuver them to the ballet bar of the dance studio during the milonga, with the request to do posture exercises there before they´re allowed to continue dancing with him (and if now someone should believe that this is satire, by no means – I saw that with my own eyes).

For the men applies. Should one of you recognize yourself in my description, please heed this little piece of advice:

While you´re dancing simply shut up!

One of the biggest (and most unpleasant) mistakes small men make when dancing with larger women.

Women of average size or very large women often do not like to dance with smaller dancers.

Not because of the height itself (which is rather unimportant if the gentleman otherwise dances well), but because smaller dancers often have a rather unpleasant habit.

They clamp their larger dance partners in a vice grip and pull them down at the same time.

Unfortunately, also many older Argentinian “milongueros” have this stupid habit, which can lead some dancers to think that this is normal and “authentic”.

The consequence of this is that the ladies cannot move freely and also have to dance constantly with their knees bent.

Both is extremely uncomfortable and painful and can even lead to long-term damage of back and knees.

So, if YOU are one of the men who are of shorter stature, be sure to check how you hold your dance partners.
Never pull them down to you, but hold them in a comfortable, loose hug and make yourself as tall as is comfortable for you.

Never block the lady’s freedom of movement by hugging her in a vice. Always remember: If you block the lady’s freedom of movement, you also block your own freedom of movement.

Even if the lady is taller than you, you do not need any extra effort, just a clear but friendly invitation.

If, on the other hand, you are a taller lady and suffer from dancers who dance as described above, do not unnecessarily try to be polite, but ask the smaller dancer kindly but clearly not to clasp you so tightly and not to pull yourself down.

After all, you want to enjoy the dance and you have every right to do so.

If the dancer does not understand this or does not want to respond to your request, you also have the right to end the tanda and you should. This is not rude but pure self-defense.

Dancers who are of good will but are not aware of the problem can learn quickly if they receive feedback from their dance partners.

And finally, with men who are not willing or able to learn, you shouldn’t dance anyway.

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My Tango Lessons: How to do the embrace right

Well, she´s certainly no spring chicken anymore. Has gotten many scratches in her life.

But she´s got power. You can see that immediately. A real bundle of energy.
When she kicks off – Mamma mia! A real Italian!

She´s from Sicily. As far as I know there they are all small and stocky like her. Actually, the way I imagine a real milonga dancer.

Maybe I should try that, Milonga. Yet, – on that floor? You risk to break your legs.

So I better take it slow. Step by step. No Tango Nuevo. No chance to do that.

What´s now? We´re way too fast! She runs away from me. Completely out of rhythm. Who´s the leader here?

Just don’t get nervous now. Don’t mess around with your arms. It only gets her off track.

Calm! Lead consciously with your body. Yes, that’s how it works.

One step to the left, one to the right. Certainly we won´t perform beautiful ochos that way.

After all, – we are now pushing along calmly.

If only she wouldn’t wheeze so loud. Impossible to hear any music.

For that she now plays the coquette. Drops some part ever so often. Hopelessly old-fashioned and so obvious. It’s best not to go into it at all. Who knows what comes out of it.

What now? She just stops. Abruptly. She won´t go on. Nothing I can do about it? Nothing at all?   Nothing at all.

The end of the song: oil filter gone. Exhaust pipe demolished. Starter blocked. My motor milling machine is on strike.

Meaning I have to dig over the vegetable beds by hand again.

In my article “Heel or Ball? The secret how to walk right in Argentine Tango” I describe the different possibilities of walking in Tango.

However, this is only about the right way to walk forward.

That means the description is more for men, or for all those who play the role of the “leader” (Though I find it more fitting and nice to talk about seducing to take a step instead of leading.),  AND for situations where the women go forward.

So here is the little completion on the topic

How to walk right in Tango?

Since women usually go backwards in tango, they are almost always landing on the toe and roll over the heel. It looks most elegant when the inside of the big toe first touches the ground and the foot points outward and slightly backwards (slightly backwards is, admittedly, the more difficult variant).

This is wonce women get used to it, in most cases the most stable posture.

Of course the woman can stand on the ball of her feet during the whole dance, and many dancers do that as well. However, in the long run thi is is quite exhausting, and when she wears high-heeled shoes very difficult or even impossible.

It is more comfortable and relaxing to really set the foot down on the heel and make contact with the ground. Here high-heeled shoes are helpful. Many women who usually do not wear shoes with high or very high heels are amazed at how much safety and firm hold they provide in dancing Tango.

Of course, the same applies to men when they dance backwards while dancing tango (apart from the high heels :-).

Another short note: For women who wear high-heeled shoes, rolling over the heels is probably the only sensible option when walking forward with long strides.

 

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Heel or ball? The secret how to walk right in Argentine Tango

Dance tango? Really nice and without stress?
If you want that, forget the “basic step”

Sure, when I started learning tango in 1994, my first tango teachers also taught me the so-called “basic step”.

At that time, in the beginnings of Tango Argentino in Germany, almost everyone did so.

As far as I know, shortly before Antonio Todaro, one of the most famous stage dancers of that time, while teaching in Europe, introduced this method because he (and possibly many other Argentines) believed that Europeans were unable to learn the tango in any other way.

Honestly, I can not really understand, why he assumed that this was a good method.

Argentine tango is a totally improvised dance, which all tango teachers I know are eager to confirm without hesitation.

Of course, every tango dancer will notice that there is a contradiction here. How can a dance that is completely improvised from beginning to end have a set sequence of steps?

Well, that’s a very fundamental question and one could easily ignore it if the so-called basic step did not have a whole bunch of negative effects.

In practice it´s like this. Most tango dancers who have learned the so-called “Paso di Base”, at least for a long time are unable to dance anything else than just this one memorized step sequence and therefore constantly get into trouble on the dance floor.

Why it is like that? The answers are simple.

For one thing, when dancing tango on the dance floor, there are usually many other dancers who miraculously always stand in your way the moment you want to perform the basic step or other prefabricated steps.

The consequences of this are clashes with other dancers, anger and frustration, because you just never really get to dance without hassle and finally for many the final, unnerved retreat from the dance floor.

On the other hand, the dancers, who first learn the so-called tango basic step, waste their time practicing a certain, ultimately unnecessary step sequence rather than focusing on really important things.

So what is important in tango?
To answer that, you can ask a few simple questions
1.    Can you dance tango without paying attention to the music?  A clear NO!
2.   Can you dance tango without paying attention to your partner?  Again, a clear NO!

3.   Can you dance tango without paying attention to the other couples on the dance floor? If you do not want to be in constant trouble, of course not.
4.    Can you dance tango without following a specific, memorized sequence?   Yes, of course!

But if you concentrate on the so-called basic step, the following happens:

Most beginners are so busy practicing the step sequence that they mostly can not concentrate on the music of the tango anymore and dance completely independently of the music (expressed in a friendly way). Of course you can´t call that tango anymore.

Since one has agreed in advance on a certain step pattern, which both dance partners could in principle dance independently of each other, one places no more value on the contact within the couple.
Unfortunately, it is obvious that many teachers, who obviously have no idea themselves, do not teach their students how to dance together, how to convey invitations with their body or how to feel what the partner wants.

As a result, this means that the ladies perform memorized figures at the push of a button, whether they were led or not, like a mechanical doll.
The men who have never learned to lead their dancing partners (or better, how to seduce them to do a certain step) pull and tug at the ladies and are upset or frustrated if they don´t do what they want them to do.

In short, one of the most important things in tango, the communication between the dance partners is lost.

If you have never learned to dance tango with the music, free and improvised, but instead dance only a certain sequence of steps (in the worst case even against the line of the dance) trouble with the other couples is inevitable.

One of the most beautiful experiences in tango, the common dancing in the Ronda, the harmonious dance flow of all dancers on the dance floor, is thus made difficult and often becomes impossible.

So, my appeal to all tango dancers (and of course to all tango teachers)

Forget the basic step, focus on the really important things and start dancing

Then Tango can become a magical experience.

Do you want to know more about the magical moments of the tango? Click Here!

 

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What are figures good for?