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).
What on earth does tango have to do with an inflatable dolphin?
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.
