Tango fundamentals review is up!

The review sheet is up for Tango Fundamentals for the March-April session. Just look on the right column of this blog, and the top page listed is your review! Hope to see all of you for more fun, more work, and new moves on Wednesday at 6 PM!

Fundamentals Review (February-March 2010)

This session, we worked on improving technique in the walk and turns for intermediate dancers, while introducing the basics of tango to the beginners.

Walk like a porteno (or "Walk like Oscar")

The body needs to be aligned in order to walk well:

• Feet relaxed on the floor, slightly turned out (in a V).
• Knees soft and stretchy (not locked and not bent a lot).
• Hips released so that the pelvis can tilt slightly to shift weight onto the support leg.
• Hips back, enabling the hip joint to bear most of the balance work, rather than the muscles.
• Back long and released to make it easier to twist the torso to lead.
• Arms and shoulders released to drape over the ribcage: clear but gentle embrace.
• Contralateral motion of the torso, twisting around the spine (normal walking motion).
• Pattern of movement: release foot into ground (push off), allow the free leg to respond to the push off (extend), and finish the step by landing on-balance (arrive). The extension does NOT come first :-)

If done correctly, this is a one-track or two-track walk; often, one-track, as the leader constantly uses the walk to shift into other moves.

Salida ("side, walk to the cross")

You can use the porteno walk to move the follower to the cross. One popular pattern for doing this is the salida.

Leader:

• Step left with left foot.
• When on balance, release hip and use contralateral motion to twist lightly clockwise/to the right.
• Step forward with right foot, DIRECTLY in front of own left foot (one-track).
• Step SLIGHTLY left diagonal with left foot.
• As you finish your step, rotate your torso (but not your hips) slightly counter-clockwise/to the left, to lead the follower into the cross step.
• Switch feet, so that the left is free again (this is optional, but it's the only way we did this during this session).
• A pause is a nice touch here, but not required.

Follower:

• Step side with right foot.
• When on balance, release hip and use contralateral motion to twist lightly clockwise/to the right. Make sure your hips continue to point line of dance.
• Step backwards with left foot, DIRECTLY in back of own right foot (one-track).
• Step SLIGHTLY right diagonal with right foot.
• As you finish your step, the leader should rotate you to bring your left leg in front of your right, allowing you to switch weight onto your left leg.
• If a pause is led, you can adorn here with your (free) right foot.

Rebound step

Some people use the work "rock" step or "check" step for this move. I don't. The most important part of this movement is that it rebounds back to the original location/foot. It uses the correct walking alignment (see above) to find the moment that the follower lands on his/her foot, and reverse the direction of the couple, using that rebound.

Rebound step into a turn ("rebound, turn")

On a crowded dance floor, there is often little space to prepare for upcoming moves. This move crosses over in front of the leader, creating a space-saving, easy-to-lead step that beats the pants off of treading in place to the beat!

There are two ways to think of this move: use the one that works for you.

1. If you are leading a step line-of-dance with your left, you can rebound back onto your right, twist to your right, and lead a right turn until facing line-of-dance again. Try to NOT tuck your foot behind/make space for the follower/etc., because that moves the anchor of the rebound step, and makes it MORE difficult for the follower. S/he does not need more room! So, to recap, if you start the rebound on your left, the turn goes across to your right, and the follower turns in a right turn around you.
2. If you are leading a step line-of-dance with your left, the follower's right foot goes back, the rebound finishes on the follower's left, and the right crosses through and forward to start a turn with a front cross step to the right, to the leader's right. The same can be done with the follower rebounding left-right, and doing a front cross step with the left, to the leader's left. To recap, use the follower's right foot to cross to a right turn, or the left foot to cross through to a left turn.

This move is symmetrical to the right and left.

Rebound and turn left

This is a often-used, see-it-everywhere move.  It is not really led using a rebound (or rock) step: it comes AFTER the rebound!

• Do a rebound step with leader's left, follower's right (usually in a quick quick timing).
• When both dancers have completed the rebound, do a left turn, beginning with the follower's side/open step with the right foot.
• Do as many steps of a turn as you need.
• Exit.

One traditional use of this turn takes four steps around the leader: follower's open to right; back cross with left; open with right; and front cross to end (timing: slow, quick, quick, slow). Too much to think about? Just turn until you are facing the correct direction in space, and start walking!

Turns (giros) right and left at the cross

When you walk the follower to the cross, the follower's right leg/foot are free for the next move.

Right turn (clockwise around leader)

• A right turn turns to the right (clockwise) for the leader.
• The leader needs to rotate the follower SLIGHTLY to the left to allow the follower's right leg to become freed from behind the left, then rotate to the right (clockwise) to begin the turn. Make sure that the leader's chest starts this movement, not the hips! The hips and feet follow the movement of the torso. Make sure you are not "nose-leading" so that the follower can follow your chest!
• The follower turns starting with a right front cross, left open step, right back cross, left open step (usually, that will get you all the way around).
• Traditional timing: slow, slow, quick, quick.
• Nice ending: add one more step (front cross with right) and pivot it for another front cross step the other direction, making a front ocho in place.
• While the follower turns, the leader continues to spiral the chest to the right until facing the desired direction; then lets the hips catch up to neutral, and exits.

Left turn (counter-clockwise around leader)

The only difference from the turn above, is that the follower's free foot, the right, is already able to take the first move (open to the right); just start turning!

Well, OK, the other difference: as a beginning or intermediate leader, it is not always easy to tell the follower whether you want an open, BACK or open, FRONT move here. As you become more skilled, this will get easier (as we saw in class). If things are not going smoothly, let the follower do what she does, and adjust accordingly!

If s/he does an open-back-open-front turn (very traditional), the timing is slow, quick, quick, slow. If s/he starts open-front-open-back, the timing becomes slow, slow, slow, quick, whatever.

Next session

We're going to work on an overview of the basics again, but with some other main moves: we'll introduce ocho cortado, rebound steps as a way to change directions side-side, more on improvisation and working on energy to make this dance more elegant, powerful, sexy, etc., and improving the embrace.  As always, we'll work on balance, breath, alignment--all those things that make your tango FEEL good to you and your partner.

New classes start April 14th at Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center

My new classes start next week.  Here's a preview, and hope to see many of you! If you haven't tried my classes, come the first night and check it out! $60/6 weeks, or $12 drop-in. Address: 5340 N. Interstate Ave.

Tango Fundamentals (6 PM to 7 PM): Beginners and intermediates

This next six weeks, we focus on using steps that rebound ("rock" steps, ochos, etc.) and combining them with traveling steps, to make your dance more confident, safer on the dance floor, and more musical.

New to tango? Great! We'll have you up and running in no time! Come to class and then to to Norse Hall to put it all into your dance right away!

Intermediate dancers: Take some time to review what you know, polish it, and dance better with more people! My small group classes give you a lot of one-on-one time so that you REALLY learn the moves. Warm up in this class and work on your fundamentals, then stay for the next class and learn more material!

Creating the Magic (7 PM to 8 PM): Intermediate and advanced dancers

• Energize your tango for incredible dance experiences.
• Learn new, fun moves that WORK on the dance floor.
• Improve your musicality so more of your vocabulary fits into the dance.
• Hone your connection skills.
• Play with the energy of your partner to create new versions of moves.
• Have more fun with tango.

For me, the difference between an intermediate and advanced dancer is not the number of years dancing tango, but the ability to create an energized, musical, magical experience for the senses. We'll play games and do exercises that make that happen, mixed with new material to incorporate into your new dance!

Tango vals (8 PM to 9 PM): Intermediate and advanced dancers

This six-week session, Robert Hauk and I will teach tango vals instead of milonga. Come work on your vals (a glorious dance!). We'll focus on musicality and making the music help you get in the groove, as well as steps that work well in vals.

Buenos Aires basics (Popular tango moves 2)

Ocho cortado turn

Because ocho cortado has two distinguishable parts (rebound bk/fd and step; rebound sd/sd and step), it  lends itself to endless variations of the type that I call fillings: imagine the ocho cortado as really yummy bread with various things in the middle. A favorite is inserting a right turn into the ocho cortado:

1. Execute the first rebound (bk/fd for follower, fd/bk for leader) and the step (fd for follower, bk for leader), so that the follower steps to the leader's right/inside track.
2. Turn is follower's open, back, open, front steps. The traditional timing, which I advocate, is slow, quick, quick, slow.
3. End with terminal rebound and close of ocho cortado (sd/sd rebound, with circular component): follower rebounds left/right and closes in front with left, like going to the cross; leader rebounds right/left with a VERY SMALL step, focusing more on making the rebound circular for the follower in order to aid in closing into the cross. If you want to exit in parallel, the leader shifts weight onto the right while leading the cross.

Ocho cortado with sacada

The step above can have a leader's sacada (displacement/replacement) through the first open, or side step, of the turn in step #2 above. This makes the turn have a more dynamic feeling. It may be sacrilege to suggest this, but I think that a lot of milongueros with whom I danced this move in Buenos Aires, did this move by accident! Some of the older dancers did not have very much flexibility, and instead of twisting to the right to initiate my turn, they stepped through my first step to build momentum :-)

• The leader can do this with either foot, but it is easier to use right foot because it's already free.
• Remember that you are leading a turn, and your torso needs to continue to tell the follower to travel around the perimeter of the circle; do NOT abandon the follower to move yourself.
• The leader's step needs to go towards where the follower had been: towards the follower's right foot placement of the open step. 
• Once you land in the new location, remember to remain upright! If your axis tilts, this makes the turn very hard for the follower to complete elegantly.
• Followers: this version of the turn is a bit harder than a completely stationary turn because the center of the turn moves while you turn around it. Keep your own axis upright, and everything will go better.
• End with the standard second half of the ocho cortado.
• If sacadas are new to you, look at my posts about sacadas.

My favorite variation to end ocho cortado turns

If you are bored with the turn above, try removing the second half of the ocho cortado (rebound sd/sd and step) from the pattern, and exit the turn a different way. This is the step we've been working on perfecting in the Portland intermediate class recently. This truncates the follower's turn to the first two steps, open and back, and exits linearly

Exit on follower's back cross step

1. As the follower lands on the back cross step of the turn, LIGHTLY (remember la marca?) lift so that the follower stays on that foot (her/his right).
2. Allow the follower's hips to unwind. Followers: this is a fun place to play with an adorno!
3. Release the lift.
4. Exit.  I prefer walking to the cross in crossed system because as a follower, twisting back the other way is not very comfortable.

Trouble-shooting this move

As I watched the class learn this move, I realized that many people try to follow the steps exactly, even if the weight distribution and balance are not working. It is much more important to be on balance here than to remain perfectly in place. May I suggest:

• Followers: Make sure your turn has strong, balanced hip movement. If you swing your leg to make turns, don't! Your hips are the motor of the turn, allowing you to keep a tight, elegant, on-balance giro around the leader. This will  keep you the same distance away from the leader, helping both of you balance.
• Leaders: If you don't twist easily or you tend to fall over when you twist your torso, consider taking an extra step--or two, or three! When the follower lands on the back step and you lift lightly, move over in front of them (a baby calesita), rotating around the fixed point of the follower's axis, until both people are on balance and facing down the line of dance to exit.

Good luck and have fun!

Buenos Aires basics (Popular tango moves 1)

The advantage to both leading AND following tango, is that I can steal moves from folks I danced with in Buenos Aires, and bring them home to YOU! My intermediate tango class on Wednesdays at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (5340 N. Interstate, Portland, OR) will be learning these moves during this six-week session. We'll do a new one each week, so feel free to come drop in and dance!

Ocho cortado

There are many ways to do ocho cortado, but there are some fundamental elements that must exist for the ocho cortado (or ocho milonguero) to happen:

1. Follower is led in a back-front rebound step (R foot back, L forward). This is ONE movement, like a basketball hitting the ground and returning. Does the ball stop for a moment at the ground? No! It flexes and returns (just like the follower's body).
2. Follower is led to step through to the leader's outside track (leader's right) with the right foot.
3. Follower is led in a side-side rebound step (left-right), ending in a front cross/close. This should have some circular motion around the leader to make the move easier for the follower and conserve space.

Notice that the ocho cortado is based on the follower's footwork! As the leader, I could hop up and down, as long as the follower gets these messages: rebound, step through, rebound, close. However, most of us prefer a bit more structure, so here are the leader's steps for the linear ocho cortado:

1. Leader does a forward back rebound (left, right).
2. Leader steps backwards with the left, while leading the follower through to leader's right side.
3. Leader does a tiny rebound side-side, but most of the movement is circular, so that the follower's rebound goes around the leader, not away, out into space.
4. Leader completes move by stepping in place (or near there, depending on the variation) with the right foot, ready to begin another pattern in parallel system (or doesn't switch and is in crossed system).

Most of the arguing about how to do the ocho cortado here in Portland centers around whether the ocho cortado should be circular or linear. THERE IS NO CORRECT VERSION; linear vs circular is a decision made on the dance floor, depending on the space available.

Common mistakes in performing an ocho cortado:

1. Abandoning the follower's first rebound step to "make room for the follower" by tucking your free foot behind yourself. Your follower doesn't need you to get out of the way, s/he needs you to lead clearly.  Easy Fix: If you are going to make a circular ocho cortado, make sure the follower is completing the rebound (i.e., headed back towards you) before you pivot. No fix is needed for the linear version: if you were walking correctly, your foot is already behind your other foot, ready to receive the rebound.
2. Pulling the follower to your side to make sure they know this is a forward step after the rebound. Your follower needs to stay connected to your center, not your shoulder, so this pulls the couple off balance.  Easy Fix: Check your first rebound. You get the momentum to carry the follower forward by completing the rebound. Don't think rock step; don't think check step: think REBOUND. Stay connected with your energy, but allow the follower's body to rotate against yours if she needs more room for her hips.
3. Stepping open to catch the follower and send her back to the other direction to close. This usually makes the follower's "rebound" step into a yee-haw cowgirl, knees locked attempt to finish the step.  Easy fix: Make your own rebound step TINY (if you tend to fall over here, stand on both feet and just rotate!), and focus on making the follower's side-side rebound have a slight circular quality to it, around your center. Use the follower's momentum from the rebound to catch him/her and reverse direction.
4. The enormous, yee-haw! version of the ocho cortado seems to start from a big, enthusiastic first rebound. A lot of guys have complained to me that they feel the followers charge through the middle (creating the "on the shoulder" orientation of the couple), and that they are forced to take a big step to catch the follower, in order to save the move. Yes, sometimes it is definitely the follower's auto-ocho-cortado that creates problems. But if you are leading, you get to choose to fix that!  Easy fix: take a small first rebound step. This should make the follower's forward step through smaller, AND result in a smaller side-side rebound. Whatever the energy of the beginning of the ocho cortado, the rest will mirror that. YOU are in charge, leaders!

Linear ocho cortado

Having said there is no correct version, full disclosure time. I prefer the linear version of this move as a follower. Too many folks have abandoned me in the middle of my first rebound in order to tuck their right foot behind and start turning, without having told me what to do! Yes, I can SEE where they want me to go. Am I being difficult in requesting that the leader LEADS me to dance? I don't think so. When I follow, I want to feel clarity, not see it :-)

As a leader, I don't even think what shape I need. I focus on making the first rebound the right size for my space on the dance floor, and then only move circularly when I have no space behind me. I rarely plan ahead for more moves, but let the end of the ocho cortado dictate what comes next (and yes, fourteen years ago, there was often a pause there because I couldn't figure out what to do next!). The energy of the dance makes the choreography, adjusted for space.

Where to find more information

An excellent source of review of some basic variations on ocho cortado is Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas' Rhythmic tango DVD. I like their explanation of the basic ocho cortado as well.  I think it's Chapter 11 on changes of direction, traspie timing and the ocho milonguero; and several chapters after that for the variations.

If you are coming to my class April 4th in Eugene, we'll learn three to five new variations to add to your dance. I just realized today that I'm teaching on Easter. Hope some of you show up anyway!

More cool places to go and stuff to do in Buenos Aires!

I keep thinking of information about Buenos Aires and adding it to my blog. Here is another installment.

Shows

As I never seem to have money available for tango shows (and prefer dancing to watching), I had never been to a tango show in Buenos Aires before this year. However, my main teachers, Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas, are kick-ass stage performers, along with being fabulous dancers in the milongas. I went to the show at Esquina Carlos Gardel to see them. Most of the sweet young things (SYTs) were pretty to watch. Oscar and Georgina were amazing--ever think you saw fire and smoke sizzle off of performers? I think I did!--and Pocho Pizarro did his famous broom dance, which was even better than on YouTube. He had as much stage presence as all the SYTs put together! If you like to watch show tango, or if you have non-dancing friends headed for Buenos Aires, this is a classy place to have dinner and enjoy the show, and other folks told me that they consider this the best show in town.

If you are going to be in Buenos Aires for long enough to contemplate taking nights off to do things other than dancing, check out the great programs at the Centro Cultural Borges, Viamonte, esq. San Martin. There are great shows there (and tango classes, etc.). I didn't get to see the entire flamenco show featured in January and February, but I was lucky enough to see some of the performers from Entre Mi Sangre Y Mi Tierra when they showed up at TangoQueer to promote their show. WOW! Some of the best flamenco dancing I have seen. Centro Cultural Torcuato Tasso, on Defensa, also has shows and classes, again quite reasonable in price.

Food

My favorite place to eat in Buenos Aires is Pedro Telmo, Bolivar 962, in San Telmo. It has good pizza, empanadas, baked pasta, etc. It is inexpensive and filling. However, the reason it is my FAVORITE place is because of La Negra, the proprietor. She's getting up there in years (no idea, but she reminds me of my grandmother), and she is everyone's Mama. I spent three months eating lunch there almost every day (close to my dive hotel, cheap, warm) about ten years ago. La Negra bossed me around, fussed if I didn't eat all of it, and generally made me feel happy and cared for during two cold winters.

Confiteria La Opera, Av. Corrientes 1789 (Corrientes y Callao) was the closest cafe to where we stayed this time. I remembered their yummy coffee from my other visits, and they have free Wi-Fi (email downloads!), so we made this our standard breakfast coffee place. They happily adjusted their omelettes to my traveling companions request (combining the ham and cheese omelet with the omelet with verduras), and got used to seeing us at all strange, random hours of the day and night. On our last night in Bs As, we told the waiter they wouldn't be seeing us until our next visit, and he refused our tip and brought us each a free glass of wine. Very unexpected, as they are nice, correct waiters and stayed out of our hair for the most part.

Chiquilín, Sarmiento 1599, esp. Montevideo, is open from noon to 2 am every day. It is more expensive than the other places we went, but it was nice to play hooky from tango for a night and pig out. I had the bife de lomo, medium rare; a salad; wine; and flan (my usual). I can't remember how much it cost, but it was above budget, and worth it! My travel companion happily checked email, as there is free Wi-Fi.

Gijon, Chile 1402 (Chile y San Jose), is a neighborhood parrilla. It was stuffed full of folks from the neighborhood, watching the football game and eating. The price is right (MUCH lower than the other parrillas we went to) for good food. The wine sucked, but we ordered the house wine, so . . .  The flan was delicious, as was the salad and steak I had. Warning: closed on Sundays!

Chan Chan, Hipólito Yrigoyen 1390, is a neighborhood Peruvian restaurant. The food was cheap and delicious. It's just around the corner from La Nacional, and we went after dancing. Our friends had been there many times, and the entire wait staff kindly served us and waited until we were done (the absolute last to come in and order) with patience and friendly smiles. I had amazing fish stew. If you like Peruvian food, you will love this place!

Quorum, Combate de los Pozos 61, is right behind the Congreso building, and has an all-you-can-eat format, including salads, cold cuts, veggies, a dessert bar (flan oh my god), and a HUGE grill at the back. Phone for reservations: 4951-0855. Prices are reasonable but not cheap (32-43 pesos a person, depending on day of the week and whether it's lunch or dinner, with reduced prices for kids) and the food is very good.

Is it OK to write about restaurants that I wish I had visited? Sarkis, Thames 1101, is a WONDERFUL Arab and Armenian restaurant that I visited years ago with an Argentine friend. We debated going there this time, but ended up at a different place due to time constraints (see next). It is not super cheap, but you will end up eating so much that you hurt, if you like this kind of food. Yummy yummy yummy!!!!

Bodega Campo, Rodríguez Peña 264, was our chosen spot to meet this year because it was between our houses and both of us had appointments afterwards. This was not amazing, but the food was good and the price was, too. It has a western feeling to the decor, a tango show in the evenings (a strange combo), and a good wine cellar. The empanadas were not on the menu, but were produced when we requested them (very good!), along with salad. My friend says that the locro is very good here (a bean stew with unmentionable cow innards in it that tastes wonderful and looks a bit strange to this ex-vegetarian).

Music

I admit it: I love Zival's, on the corner of Corrientes and Callao (subte stop: Callao). It didn't help that I was staying a block away. I'm still impressed with myself for limiting the number of CDs I bought!

What I love about Zival's is the knowledgeable staff. I walked up to ask questions about good milonga CDs, and the counter person called for another guy to come over. I told him what I already had, and he made some suggestions to augment my collection. He could tell me what CDs they had, whether the sound quality was good or not, and was able to find them for me in about a minute. Wow!

I also like their system (installed since my last visit) that allows you to listen to every cut on most of their available music. This really helped in selecting music for my sweetie, who prefers electronic tango music (not my strong point). I listened to ten albums before choosing two. I now hear those two albums daily ;-)

I wandered into several other stores and bought music, but only Zival's had someone who knew tango well (I'm sure other stores do, too, but not the ones I went to!). You can order from Zival's online (see link above).

Books

If you are looking for something to read, and don't read Spanish, toddle over to one of these two bookstores that stocked with English books:

Rincon 9 and Junin 74 (both named after their addresses)

They appear to cater to teachers of English, English and American literature (and also current fiction) and children's books. I found some nice books on Buenos Aires architecture and social history for my sweetie. The store personnel speak at least some English, and are VERY helpful.

Ways to get from the airport to the city

Vicky Ayer's friend, Luis, arranged for our transport to and from the airport. I don't have his phone number, but Vicky can set you up with him. His son took us back to the airport, and was very chatty and nice.  Luis' friend, Graciela Guido, picked us up; she also runs her own airport pickup and rents an apartment in Palermo Soho to visitors. She seemed really nice, although we did not see the apartment. I don't think she speaks any English, but we had a rolicking conversation in Spanish. You can contact her at ipedeargentina @ hotmail.com or 1540639799 (mobile) or 4573-5597 (land line).

Street Art

One of the artists displaying their wares along Humberto Primo in San Telmo, caught the eye of my traveling companion. You could see that the artist had talent (which I can't say for all of the artists selling there). Mirtha Ruix paints and does india ink and paint works. She is also a teacher. I couldn't find any pictures of her work online, but if you go to the street fair, look for her portly husband selling paintings/india ink work that involves pretty cats, women, etc.

Luggage

If you buy too many pairs of shoes, you may find yourself shopping for luggage (in the end, we fitted everything in, but it was close). Pinco Pinco, Av. Corrientes 2250, was your standard Once retail/wholesale kinda place, but the owner was both helpful and funny ("Buy some luggage, feed my children! Stimulate the economy!"). He gave honest opinions about the quality of the available bags (if you want super cheap, this is it; if you want something that will last, this medium price bag is better made than the one you are looking at, etc.).

Cheap pants and Tshirts

Basicos, Rivadavia 2297, had pants, skirts and shirts for very reasonable prices (30 pesos for a Tshirt, with 3.8 pesos to the dollar). They were not very friendly, but if you need some more clothes, there they are. I really like the harem-style pants I bought there. They do NOT have a changing room, but you can exchange sizes (they looked at us, handed us clothes, and the clothes fit--no need to exchange).

The gay milongas and the shifting of tango practice in Buenos Aires

Looking at my list of milongas, I thought I had remembered all the places I had visited. Then, last night, someone at the milonga asked me if I had led in Buenos Aires, and I realized that I had forgotten a venue: Tango Queer. 

For those of you who have read my thesis on gender roles and leading in Buenos Aires, you will understand both my excitement and my frustration at finding the Bs As tango scene changed. I studied the phenomenon of women leading in milongas, and wrote my thesis about dancers' views on gender roles, masculinity, femininity, and why women braved a lot of resentment to lead in traditional milongas.

What I found after studying the milongas in 1999, 2000 and 2001, was that a small percentage of women led in the milongas in order to attract foreign business possibilities; as the Argentine economy tanked, they needed a way out that was offered by tango. Couples had the upper hand, as foreigners assumed that both lead and follow roles could be taught; men had second place, as most people assumed that, if you could lead tango, you could teach how to follow it. Single women had to fight very hard to get invited to teach abroad on the merits of their tango technique because many dancers assumed that a woman would not be able to teach how to lead tango.

Now, in 2010, I saw NO women leading at traditional milongas. True, I did not visit ALL the milongas that exist. However, I attended several of the same milongas that used to have women leaders (1-2% in most milongas). Where did all those (fabulous) women leaders go? As far as I can tell they moved to a less stressful environment: the gay milonga.

A gay milonga in Buenos Aires means a gay-friendly milonga, but it might be more accurate to say a milonga with relaxed gender roles. Women lead women; women lead men; men lead men; and men lead women. Although I used to lead everywhere (and got in trouble with Tete for dancing with his girlfriend, Sylvia, at El Beso), I found that this time, I only led at Tango Queer.

If you are just learning to lead, you might consider attending the gay milongas: everyone is friendly, many dancers who are leading are not leading well, and there is an air of learning/experimentation that feels non-judgmental. One of my female friends from the USA who enjoys leading, attends many gay milongas because she feels that she gets to dance with a higher level of dancer than she does in the regular milongas. She also says the dancers at the gay milongas are more willing to dance with an older woman (and one who can lead well) than at other milongas.

Peru 571 was marked incorrectly in the milonga guide as Peru 71, so make sure you show up at the correct address! It's upstairs in San Telmo, with a pretty rugged floor (not as bad as La Catedral used to be--no actual holes), variable music quality/danceability, and a clientele that varies from raw beginners to BEAUTIFUL couples (one couple really stood out, with the best male follower I've seen out dancing in Bs As ever). This is a seat-yourself venue, so make sure the chairs you possess are not already claimed (I had to get mine back from an enterprising couple after a tanda).

Unless you are actually uncomfortable around same-sex tango dancing, go check out some of the gay milongas. Along with afternoon dances, the late night meat market scene, and neighborhood clubs, these are definitely a distinctive flavor of Buenos Aires tango.

Using the toes: making little steps as luscious as big, dramatic steps

After a few nights of dancing in Buenos Aires, I had a new goal: learning to make each step beautiful when it was small. I knew that my regular and large steps had really progressed in technique in the past few years, but I felt that my teeny tiny steps in the milonga weren't feeling fabulous. I had plenty of partners, but I felt something was not working within my own body.

Oscar and Georgina told me (I prefer my lessons in Spanish, so this is an estimation): "Don't worry! Everyone learns technique in regular size steps first, then in bigger steps. The hardest steps to do well, are small steps." Then Oscar grinned, and said (as usual), "No vacation! Come on, let's work!"

The new information was about how to use my toes. I had worked hard to get my weight back, evenly shared by my heel and the ball of the foot. I had relaxed my toes, ankles, knees and hips to get a smoother, sexier, balanced walk. But I wasn't finishing my steps completely. As I pushed through the floor to take each step, I was not following through with my toes. Looking at the videos from my lesson, I had to agree: my toes looked dead!

Structure of the foot

The way that the foot and leg are built, the body needs to use a bunch of muscles, not only to propel the body through space, but to maintain balance when on tiptoe (stiletto heels, anyone?)! The muscles that flex the smaller and big toes pass along the inside of the ankle, and support the medial arch of the foot and are important in the propulsion phase of walking. There are also smaller muscles that do not cross the ankle joint, that aid in propelling the body forward; these also flex the toes. If you grab a book on anatomy and look at how the foot is constructed, it makes sense that, if the toes aren't engaged, the body can't move as efficiently or strongly.

There is a lot of foot anatomy information on the internet, so I'll leave detailed pictures and explanations to the doctors (and leave it out of here, in case you don't want to read in detail!). Suffice to say, when you look at the lever system that makes up the foot, it becomes obvious that the toes are essential to movement.

This last little movement of the toes is what completes thepropulsion of the body from the location of the last step, to the new location in space. If the movement is not finished, the body needs to spend energy and time to finish arriving at the new location. If the toes are used correctly, as the last step in the push off-extend leg-send body-land on balance sequence, the body arrives ON AXIS and ON BALANCE, every single step.

And voila!

This would explain why my dance has progressed so much since I stopped having my weight on my toes! By moving my hips back slightly, and balancing over the arch of my foot, my dance has become much more elegant. Also, I have come to expect that a night of dancing creates tired feet, rather than painful feet!

Looking at my new work, of using my toes to finish each step, I could see what had not been working before: I had been arriving on my balance a micro-second late for each step. What I noticed about using my foot and toes correctly, was that I always ended up the same distance away from my leader, no matter how big or small the step was. Part of improving my timing, was to improve my reaction to the leader's requests.

As my time in Buenos Aires went on, I found that I could work my feet correctly without spending all my attention and energy on my toes (there were a few nights where my partners told me I was a great partner, but where I knew only part of my brain and body had actually been paying attention to the leader!). My small steps began to feel like a real dance, and I started to use my steps in a different way: I practiced arriving a tiny bit early, and touching the free foot to the floor softly, so that the movement felt more rhythmic. I could now choose to move more slowly, more romantically; or more rhythmically; or with a strong adorno, like a tap. I now have a much broader ranger of "flavors" for my dance.

I gradually started attracting more discerning partners, and began to field requests to dance a second tanda. One night, I was asked to save the next milonga tanda for four different men. Ack! For the first time in my fourteen years of dancing tango, I had Argentine men APOLOGIZE for their level of dance. Strange, but it felt good to be the one reassuring them that I had enjoyed the set.

Practice, practice, practice!

As I have started to do my foot and leg exercises that Georgina gave me for strengthening my dance, I've noticed that I can dance for longer and longer periods with good technique (duh!). I'm going to start a follower's technique class, based on these exercises, in the next month, so stay tuned if you are interested in working on improving your dance.

Gancho basics: theory and technique for circular follower ganchos

There are many kinds of ganchos, or "hooks" in tango:

• follower ganchos
• leader ganchos
• circular ganchos (that move around a central person, usually the leader)
• linear ganchos done more in a line
• ganchos to the outside of the thigh
• ganchos to the inside of the thigh
• "overturned" ganchos, in which you can literally kick the butt of your partner :-)
• ganchos that happen the same direction as the movement before
• ganchos that reverse direction, compared to the movement before

If I think of any more kinds, I'll add on here; feel free to remind me if I've missed something.

Follower circular ganchos to the inside of the leader's thigh

The most important aspect of preparing for ganchos for followers is: the giro (turn). If you cannot do a tight, even turn around the leader, that person cannot lead you in a good gancho without cheating. Practice, practice, practice! Most of us think our turns are already fabulous, but get someone to video you, and you might see your feet edging out on your back cross, or stepping in too close on your front cross, or . . . you get my point. 

1. Make sure your turn is impeccable.
2. Use your hips and butt--not your feet--to pivot before taking your back cross step of the turn.
3. Push off on each step so that you arrive on axis for each step.
4. Keep your free leg relaxed, with at least the edge of the toes on the ground.
5. As your free leg makes contact with the leader's leg, focus on your supporting leg and axis.
6. Let the leader's torso torque lead your leg: don't auto-gancho.
7. As the gancho finishes, reestablish your balance (hopefully, you can ignore this step) before taking your next step.
8. Keep breathing.

The most important aspect of preparing to lead a follower's gancho, is: being able to control the twist of the torso while stabilizing the hips; called disassociation by many teachers. In the gancho, the leader brings the follower to the desired spot; the leader does not chase the gancho out of the center of the turn! To do this, the hips need to remain stable while the torso torques strongly in the direction of the turn.

1. Establish the center of the turn's radius.
2. Stabilize your hips, facing the location of the follower's rebound step from the gancho. Don't let the force of the gancho pull your hips around.
3. Keeping the hip stability, twist your torso in the direction of the turn, as far as you can: this helps the follower's back cross step, and brings them closer into your body, so that you don't have to fish for the follower's foot.
4. Place the follower's back cross step/foot BEFORE placing your foot and ankle for the gancho. For best placement, turn your leg out at the hip, and lift your knee so that your leg is in an S-curve shape. I find that I usually get my little toe down on the ground, but I focus on connecting my instep with the follower's ankle, so that I know the location of the follower's axis/balance point.
5. Keep your weight on your support leg, with only enough weight on your leg doing the gancho to anchor your toe on the ground.
6. Keep your hips back over the support leg. Otherwise, the follower will not have space to allow the free leg to hook with your leg.
7. Continue to twist your torso around your own spine and rebound back to neutral in order to lead the follower's free leg. This not a wrestling match: don't pull or push with your embrace to make something happen.
8. As the follower's leg completes the gancho, gauge the space you have to move, as well as the force of the gancho, and use that energy to create the next step in your dance.

The principal error I see on the dance floor, is to make the gancho a move about momentum. True, a good gancho can be fast and snappy, but a slow-mo gancho feels better to me as a follower, and is no less of a hook. The gancho is about TIMING.

The best exercise I have ever seen to practice ganchos comes from Chicho Frumboli. In his teacher training workshops, he had us practice ganchos, without using an embrace (balance work), in slow motion (timing practice), over and over (motor memory). By the end of the two-hour intermediate class, followed by the two-hour advanced class, my brain was fried, but I really understood how this move works!

In class this week, we'll work on doing the same gancho, but using the leader's other leg. This creates some changes in the above directions for the leader, but is not much harder. We'll also tackle leading ganchos after a parada and stepover sequence, as that is one that everyone in Portland seems to already know :-) If there is time for more, we'll do more.

Shoes, clothes and shopping in Buenos Aires: the quest

Sometimes, it is simply too hot to shop. That didn't stop me, of course, but it did limit how long I could coax my travel partner out to pound the pavement each day ;-) We were looking for the perfect tango shoes, the perfect tango outfits, and clothes cool enough to wear in 30 degree Celsius weather, with high humidity.

After trips to nine different shoe stores,I had found exactly ONE pair that fit me. Apparently, no one else who dances tango in stiletto heels has a wide foot! Did you know that? In the end, I returned to the shop where I found my new, favorite shoes, and tried on everything they had in the store: I now have two new pairs of favorite shoes that do not resemble any shoes I had on my prospective list when I arrived in Bs As.

I am now the happy owner of a pair of red, metalized "We're not in Kansas anymore" stilettos, and another pair of gold with sparkly animal prints and gold stiletto heels. So much for the all silver vision I had in my head when I entered the first store. I'd like to plug the store where I found both: Artesanal, T. de Anchorena 537, across the street from the Abasto shopping center, Carlos Gardel subte stop. Although I found many well-made shoes, these were REALLY well-made to my eyes; I will let you know how my shoes fare as they age! When you look at her site, remember that most of the shoe places do NOT put pictures of their stiletto heels or their new designs up, because of the constant pirating of designs that goes on.

If you wear lower heels, you will find better prices in Buenos Aires.  Almost all the sale shoes I saw had lower heels in droves. I found two pairs of classy, elegant, lower heeled shoes for a friend (the salesclerk looked at the drawings I had brought of her feet, and said in English, "bunion-friendly!" and ran to the back to find shoes for me to look at). Most of the lower heels cost between 170 pesos (on sale) to 300 pesos (not on sale). Most of the stiletto heels I saw were 400-450 pesos, with a few strange colors on sale for less.

Places that had good shoes/clothes/service:

Artesanal (T. de Anchorena 537, between Corrientes and Lavalle): As I said above, I was impressed with their shoes. They have heels that fit right in the center of your foot, so that your foot is well-supported. Only one pair I tried on did not do that, and they were very willing to have me try another pair of the same size to see if another pair fit better (with hand-made shoes, each pair is different). You can fax them outlines of your foot to help them size shoes for you. I wear a 39 in Comme Il Faut, a 38 in NeoTango, and a 40 in Artensanal. In terms of clothes, they had a sale going, and I bought a very sexy shirt for an excellent price. Buena gente!

Tango8 (Lavalle 3101, down the street from Artesanal): When I walked in, I was prepared to not like this store. It is very slick, with tons of young foreigners ransacking the fashions. However, the choice of clothing is one of the best I've seen, the staff are effective, and the manager found shoes for my friend in under five minutes. Bravo.

Scarpe Mahara (Suipacha 252): I used to buy all my shoes here because they last FOREVER (10 years average, teaching in them almost daily, but alternating pairs). Unfortunately, they have not moved with the times, and they have no stiletto heels, which is what I wear now by choice. For lower heels, they are great and I recommend them. This is a mom- and pop- kind of shop, and they are nice/good people.

Asignatura Pendiente (Corrientes 2176): We accidentally wandered by this shop, and I bought several nice pieces for reasonable prices (at last, a plain black skirt!!!), while my friend bought a lot :-)  The sales personnel were not terribly helpful, but they did help us find right sizes (still a mystery to me, can't find markings on my clothes!). Good prices, interesting fashions; not very many shoes.

Places that I did not like (remember that this is IMHO only):

Darcos Superstore (Sarmiento 835): The shoes have the heel WAY back on the foot, so that it doesn't feel as if it is supporting my foot. Also, the sales personnel were much more interested in chatting with each other than being helpful. All clothing came in one-size-doesn't-fit-most.

Tango Moda: The fashions were pretty, but almost nothing was big enough to fit me (and I usually wear a size 8). They had size 1 and some size 2s, but almost nothing bigger (I usually wear a 4 in Argentine sizes). OK, Americans tend to be big, but there are a lot of Argentine women out there bigger than me: what do they wear?? Hmm? Nice people, great view of the city from the 16th floor, but eh.

TangoLeike (Sarmiento 1947): I bought some dance clothes here, but the sales help were less than friendly (I considered not buying the outfit because of complete disinterest in selling anything). The shoes were pretty, but very narrow and didn't have much in my size (purple polkadot was NOT an option, sorry). Kinda rude.

In the middle or ??:

Neotango (Sarmiento 1938): I have three pairs of Neotango shoes that I love. I had already selected the colors and models that I was going to buy, before I got to the shop. However, the staff were not terribly helpful, and there seemed to be no shoes in my size available (I went back right before I left to try again, but no go). I did hear that one of the shoe makers was in the hospital, so perhaps the lack of shoes sizes was an aberration. The staff could be a bit more respectful and helpful. Frustrating.

Alana's (Av. Diagonal Norte 936): Closed both times I tried to visit the store. It's small, and didn't look like there were many interesting shoes, but it would have been nice to try some on.

Todo Tango (Suipacha 245): Nothing fit, but the salesperson was nice and helpful, without being pushy.

Tacondando (Arenales 1606): I didn't get to this store. Their stuff looks pretty, but I can't tell you the quality level; sorry!

Comme Il Faut (Arenales 1239): I don't like how Comme Il Faut fit my feet (the heel is way back, so it doesn't support my foot the way I like). We didn't go there, since we can always check out their new fashions here in the USA with Carrie.

We also went to two more shoes shops on Suipacha, but the names escape me. There were nice sales folk, but none of the shoes fit the way I like (again, the heel was further back like Comme Il Fauts).

Buenos Aires milongas, tips for 2010

I meant to blog from Buenos Aires, but forgot my blog password (so much for automatically logging in from a different computer).

Although this was my fourth trip to Buenos Aires, it had been a long time since #3. I was eager to spend more time in one of my favorite cities. I was excited about getting to dance seven days a week. I was scheduled for a bunch of private lessons with my favorite teachers, Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas, and I felt ready to bite off a new chunk of technique.

I accompanied a friend on this trip, so our choice of milongas was a combination of looking for high quality dancing, low numbers of tourists, and an older clientele who would ask women to dance who were older than twenty ;-) 

My choices for milonga attendance were also based on looking for the older dancers who started to dance before dance classes were popular. So many of my teachers have died in the past ten years (this year, Omar Vega and Tete, as well as a few of the milongueros I like to dance with), that I wanted to learn as many steps, tricks, and personal style details as I could by dancing with "the geezers" while they were still around to dance with me.

As the popularity of milongas changes constantly, we relied on advice from our teachers, friends and other dancers to decide where to dance each night. What follows is a synopsis of where we danced and what I liked/disliked about those venues.

Porteno y Bailarin, Riobamba 345, 11 PM to 3 AM

(Tuesday)

Porteno y Bailarin is only a half block away from Avenida Corrientes and 1.5 blocks from the Callao subte (subway) stop, tons of bus lines and millions of taxis, as far as I can tell.  It's centrally located and easy to get to. Cost: 18 or 20 pesos (sorry, I forget!).

Why we went there: I knew that this would not be the crowd we were looking for, but Jose Garafolo (the organizer of P y B) was one of my first teachers, and I wanted to say hello. II enjoyed catching up on the last few years and dancing a VERY fun tanda with him; I wish I had had time to go back and dance there again.

Who was there: This crowd had more foreigners than most of the places we went; perhaps 40-50%. It was a mixed bag of ages, from very young to tottering. There were a few hotshots doing open embrace, many close embrace dancers (square and V embraces), and a few who combined both styles as space permitted. The floor was not very crowded, but it still took navigational skills to dance there because of the small floor size.

How did the evening go: It helped to be greeted with enthusiasm by the host: we started dancing almost immediately. A few men thought I looked familiar and invited me to dance. After I danced a set with Jose later in the night, I didn't sit down much until we left.

Notes: The space was small enough to see almost everyone in order to cabeceo(for those of you who don't invited others to dance with this eye contact and nonverbal invitation: you aren't going to dance very much in Bs As unless you practice!). It was a bit dark, compared to many of the other milongas we attended, so I needed to put my glasses on each time I sat down to make eye contact ;-)

Other places to dance on Tuesdays (recommended by my teachers): Maipu 444, from 7 PM to 1 AM (see review below).

Maipu 444, 7 PM to 1 AM

(Tuesday)

Maipu 444 is close to the Florida subte stop, or the Pellegrini/Diagonal Norte/etc. stop at the Obelisco. It is of course bus and taxi friendly as well. Right downtown, you can go shopping on Calle Florida just a block away if you get there early.

Why we went there: Several friends recommended Maipu 444, and I was curious, as this milonga had not been open the other years I had gone to Bs As.

Who was there: This crowd had some foreigners, but was mostly Argentine, most from age forty on up.

How did the evening go: We had been advised to go early (I suggest reservations here for sure), so we showed up before 8 PM and got decent seats along the front edge. Both of us danced a lot that evening, despite the challenge of a few "pods" of men who would look at us, and then look away for the first few hours. The floor is small enough to be able to cabecear almost anyone in the room (we were at the opposite end from the bar, and there were a few tables at that far end where we could barely see the occupants enough to tell if they were asking us to dance). The lighting is good. The people were nice. The level of dance was variable, and we found that many of the men were at a lower dance level than we were! I'm not used to Argentine men apologizing for their lack of dance level--this was new to me.

Notes: Go early, or you won't get a table.  Also, there is a very yummy pizzeria nearby, on Corrientes as you head towards the obelisk (Palacio de Pizza?) with delicious baked things and flan to die for.

La Nacional, Alsina 1465, 8 PM to 2 AM

(Wednesday)

La Nacional recently reopened, and it was great to see how much nicer they have made this space, especially given the lovely (but slippery, so beware!) floor. This milonga is in the Congreso area, walkable from San Telmo or the Corrientes corridor; near the Congreso subte line and, of course, buses and taxis.

Why we went there: Oscar and Georgina recommended this milonga as a place with good dance level, good floorcraft, and good manners. Also, the seating is men on one side, women on the other, with mixed tables for couples and groups on the ends. This makes it easier to see potential partners, and makes for more possibilities for dancing.

Who was there: This crowd had foreigners mixed in, but I danced almost exclusively with Argentine men. One or two dancers opened up into bigger moves when there was room, but almost everyone stuck to close embrace dancing (both square and V embraces).

How did the evening go: This was one of the most enjoyable places I danced. Even the first night, I didn't sit out very much. We were placed in the third row back of chairs, but both of us are experienced at cabeceo, and managed to get invitations even when being blocked by the ladies in front. Some of the men who invited me to dance that night frequented many of the other places we danced, so I began to build my dance card.

Notes: The floor is quite long, and it is harder to catch the eye of men on the ends of the space if you are in the middle. HOWEVER, being in the middle of the long sides of the room is much better than being stuck in a corner. The floor is slippery, so bring your shoes with suede bottoms! Even with shoes wetted with water, you will slide here if you are not careful. Make reservations with Atilio Veron, the organizer, if you want a nice seat: 15-5963-1924.

Other Wednesday night milongas that came well-recommended: La Milonga, Humberto Primo 1462 (where Nino Bien is on Thursday nights), 6 PM to 2 AM; Sueno Porteno, San Juan 3330, from 7 PM to 3 AM.

Lujos, Riobamba 416 (El Beso)

(Thursday)

Even though the name of the milonga on Thursdays is Lujos, almost everyone just called the space El Beso.  It is a few doorways away from Avenida Corrientes and 1.5 blocks from the Callao subte (subway) stop, tons of bus lines taxis.  It's centrally located and easy to get to.

Why we went there: My teachers said that the level of dance on Thursdays was very high. Years ago, I frequented El Beso with Tete's vals class (we ate dinner after class and went to El Beso each week). In addition, my friend had heard of El Beso, and it was on her list of places she wanted to dance.

Who was there: Tons of Italians, and a lot of portenos, with a sprinkling of a few other foreigners. Mostly the forty to seventy year old crowd showed up, although with face lifts, I figured out ages from the wrinkles on women's backs!

How did the evening go: I felt like a piece of wallpaper. We got stuck in the back row, against the back wall. Because of the shape of El Beso, there is NO space for the tango sharks to circle, looking for partners, except near the entrance and the bar (the other side of the room). Men who happily danced with me at other venues looked right through me at El Beso: not a regular? Forget it. I got some mercy dances from nice guys I already knew, but apart from that, I had to wait until the second or third song of a tanda to get invited to dance. When I described the evening to friends, they said, "Si, El Beso, es un lugar MUY exclusivo" and explained that it was important to be seen there dancing well, so folks didn't take as many risks inviting unknown partners to dance.

Notes: El Beso was the darkest place we danced, and it was difficult to make eye contact across the floor, even though the floor is not large. Take a group with you, or be pushy and try to get a front row seat. I didn't notice that the level of dance was higher than elsewhere, but El Beso has that reputation.

Other recommended places to go on Thursdays: Nino Bien, Humberto Primo 1462 (see review below), from 10:30 PM to 4 AM; and La Cachila, La Rioja 1180 (Club Gricel), from 8 PM to 3 AM (see review below).

La Cachila, La Rioja 1180 (Club Gricel), 8 PM to 3 AM

(Thursday)

Go to Gricel on the bus or by taxi. It's a bit further out than some of the more central milongas, but it should not run you more than 12-20 pesos, unless you are way out in Palermo or Recoleta.

Why we went there: We promised to meet friends, and so went back to Gricel, despite mediocre experiences there the week before (on another night).

Who was there: This was mostly an older crowd (I'd say 50+), with some foreigners, but mostly Argentines out in force.

How did the evening go: This was one of my few experiences in Bs As of becoming one with my chair. We were placed in the back row of a front table, despite the protestations of the Argentine woman in the front row, who had hoped to keep the seats for friends, despite not having made reservations. We had a chilly reception at best. We could see five or six men from where we were seated, most of whom were foreigners also relegated to the corner. After dancing with them, we pretty much sat until giving up. Our friends didn't show by 9:30, so we left for Nino Bien (see below), which happily made up for this early evening experience as a piece of sculpture.

Notes: Gricel is not my favorite venue. It is a bit dark sometimes, and it's hard to see down the sides of the floor due to the pillars between tables. It's easy to see across the room, but not with dancing couples, so you have about one minute to score a dance at the beginning of the tanda, and then you will probably sit until the next tanda.

Nino Bien, Humberto Primo 1462, 10:30 PM to 4 AM

(Thursday)

Nino Bien is a long-running, famous milonga. It has been my choice for Thursday evenings for all of my trips to Bs As; so it was wonderful to walk in on a Thursday evening, greet Luis (the organizer, who looks exactly like he did when I first went there in 1999), and settle in for an evening of dancing.

Why we went there: We tried Gricel earlier in the evening, and had been seated in a horrible place, with almost no men in sight. I looked at my friend and said, "Let's go to Nino Bien" and off we went. We wanted to DANCE! and I knew we would at NB.

Who was there: Everyone was there, old, young, foreigners, regulars, even a camera crew who were filming for something (it was not explained, nor was it obvious).

How did the evening go: Great! We both recognized a lot of people from other milongas, and danced with them. However, we also got invited to dance by men we'd never seen before. By the time we left (right before a milonga set), I'd been asked to save the next milonga set for a specific guy--by four different men! If my feet hadn't been done (too much shopping and milonga #2 for the night), I would have stayed to figure out who to dance with.

Notes: Order dinner at Nino Bien! I had the best calabaza torta (squash quiche-like thingie) that I have EVER tasted. There weren't many choices, but we noticed that many early comers had ordered dinner, and so were encouraged to give the menu a try. Lovely! The difference between dancing at this venue in the "afternoon" and "evening" mainly seemed to be the steering skills of the dancers. Almost no one crashed in the afternoon milonga, but in the evening, I had several people run into me, and had one partner run into another couple. The level of correct manners is higher in the earlier dancers, too.

Entre Tango y Tango, Humberto Primo 1462, 6 PM to 2 AM

(Friday)

Entre Tango y Tango is at the same place that Nino Bien is held Thursday nights. It is walkable from San Telmo or Congreso, but be aware that I saw streetwalkers in pretty much every direction from the building after the sun went down; you may prefer to take a taxi! It's easy to get to by bus or taxi, and the subte is not far away.

Why we went there: I had heard from many of the men I danced with, that this was the best place to go on Fridays. As my friend had stomach flu (I succumbed a day later), I went by myself. I wanted to dance where my teachers said the best level of dance and floor craft were.

Who was there: I was one of the youngest people at this milonga, but there was a fair mix of 30- to 70- (or 80-) somethings. Many were from Bs As, although I saw the Italians from the night before, a few Japanese, and two Oregon guys there.

How did the evening go: I had been told to go early to get a good seat, so I arrived around 6:30 or 7 PM. I was given a front row seat at a table halfway down the room--choice territory. I danced almost every single tanda the entire evening. I was joined by three French ladies at some point, and gamely tried to keep my Spanish and French segregated into separate languages, one for dancing, and one for my table. I left around 11:30 only because I had promised to meet a friend at another dance; otherwise, I would have stayed until it closed. This was one of my most enjoyable evenings of the trip.

Notes: I love Nino Bien's dance space. I know it by heart from months of dancing there, so it feels like home to me. The floorcraft is great, if you avoid the middle row, who play chicken with the oncoming traffic. The floor is one of the best in Buenos Aires, the room is elegant, and the clientele polite but not snooty. I owe a debt of gratitude to the kind waitress who gave me change for the taxi (I tipped her well at the other milongas where I saw her after that).

Paracultural Salon Canning, Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, 11 PM to 5 AM

(Friday)

Salon Canning is only a few blocks off of Avenida Cordoba. It's almost a 20 peso taxi ride from San Telmo/Congreso, but there are many buses that can take you across the city for much cheaper (1.10 pesos at this moment).

Why we went there: I was meeting a friend I had not seen for ten years. Since I had elected not to get a local cell phone, our communication had been spotty, but I figured I'd look for him and dance for a bit if he didn't show up.

Who was there: This crowd was quite different from the one at my usual milongas (a friend had labeled my choices "the geezer milongas"). Many of the crowd were 20- or 30- something, mixed in with the regular up to 80-somethings. There were a LOT of foreigners. There were people trying to dance open embrace in a space designed for close embrace, and there were quite a few traffic issues on the dance floor at any given time.

How did the evening go: The air conditioning was broken that night (someone told me it had burned up?), and it was HOT and HUMID. It was so humid that pivoting one's shoe on the dance floor was difficult--and this is one of my favorite dance floors in Bs As! I came back from my first tanda to find my friend seated at the next table, by coincidence, so I was able to catch up with him and continue to dance with other men. This was the only place I danced where most of the people who invited me to dance were foreigners.

Notes: The evening milongas are a different beast than the "afternoon" milongas that usually end around midnight.  I've done the evening thing for a few visits to Bs As, and decided not to follow that route this time, in order to focus more attention on my private lessons. It felt good to be back in my old routine for an evening, but I found that I prefer dance with the "geezers" more than with beginner- to intermediate-level Europeans.

Other places to dance Fridays that are recommended by friends/teachers: Lo de Celia Tango Club, Humberto Primo 1783, 10 PM on; Sin Rumbo, Jose Tamborini 6157, 10 PM to 4 AM (out in Villa Urquiza, "nice for a group or a couple"); and La Baldosa, Ramon L. Falcon 2750.

La Nacional, Alsina 1465, 8 PM to ? (brand new milonga)

(Saturday)

As I mentioned above, La Nacional is easy to get to on foot, by bus or taxi, and relatively near the subte.

Why we went there: I was out of commission with the 24-hour version of a stomach flu our first Saturday night, but my friend attended La Nacional with some other friends of ours. Despite having a less than stellar night the first time (she estimated that it was 3- or 4- to 1 ratio of women to men), we chose to go back the next weekend, in order to meet friends and go out to eat afterwards.

Who was there: The Saturday I attended, many of the dancers were Argentine, sprinkled with a few French and Italians, as well as a few Americans (mostly us and our friends). The age range probably started at 30- or 40-, but most dancers were probably in the 50-70 range, with an enthusiatic 80-something pointed out to our table.

How did the evening go: I was not in the mood to put myself out and invite dances that night, so I sat in the back row of our table with three Argentine women, and gossiped until they huffily left for other milongas ("Why should we pay 18 pesos to get in, and then not get to dance?!" exclaimed one of them as she left). The male-female ratio was much closer to 50-50 than the week before, and many dancers were now familiar, so my friend danced a lot, and I danced when I felt like dancing.

Notes: Again, beware of the slippery floor! This is a good place to use small steps, even if it is big enough to have space to really MOVE. At no time was the dance floor so crowded that it made dancing difficult, but one foreigner told me he felt intimidated by the lack of space, so take or leave my opinion. They have good empanadas and tostados if you get hungry.

Other places to dance Saturdays: Saturday is traditionally date night, so you often see folks you thought were single, showing up with wives and husbands, or dates. When I was spending longer periods of time in Bs As before, I usually chose to go salsa dancing on Saturday nights, or to go out for dinner with non-tango friends. However, if you are on a short timeline, or just can't stop for an evening, have no fear, dance is still available: Cachirulo, Maipu 444, from 6 PM to 3 AM (according to books, but at 7:30 PM, there was still no music playing when we stopped by to check it out before going to La Nacional); Milonga de las Morochas, Riobamba 416, from 10:30 PM on (I used to go to this in years past); or Lo de Celia Tango Club, Humberto Primo 1783, from 11 PM to 4 AM.

Torcuato Tasso, Defensa 1575, 10 PM to 3 AM

(Sunday)

Torcuato Tasso was my old stomping grounds, being the nearest milonga to where I used to stay in San Telmo, back in the old days. This milonga is no longer free on Sundays, as of a few months ago :-(  but our teachers said they were going there, so we joined them.

Who was there: This was the most mixed group we encountered, all the way from non-dancers who were goggling at the dance floor from their tables, to teenagers in jeans, to full suits and spiffy shoes on older dancers, to tables of foreigners. The level of the dancers also varied from pitiful to amazing.

How did the evening go: This was a very uneven evening. I danced with a young Canadian who was a very new dancer; some Argentines who had danced for many years, but were definitely intermediate; and my teacher, who is one of the best dancers I've ever encountered (maybe the best). I had never encountered an Argentine who yells one's name across tables to dance because of being situated BEHIND me--I ended up ignoring him because it annoyed me, but accepted a very fun chacarera set with him later.

Notes: Torcuato Tasso's floor has not improved over the years: it is still rock or polished cement, or some other surface that gets nasty when wet and makes your feet hurt (funny, I never cared about that ten years ago!). I still like the space because it has so many memories for me. I once danced right next to Shakira on this dance floor, and one of my two witnessed fights on tango dance floors happened here, too. If you are looking for a good dance experience, this is not a sure bet.

Other places to dance on Sundays: A Puro Tango, Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, from 6 PM to 1 AM (see review below); La Milonga de Susana, Ramon L. Falcon 2750, from 6 PM on; El Beso, Riobamba 416, from 10 PM on; and Porteno y Bailarin, Riobamba 345, later on.

A Puro Tango, Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, 6 PM to 1 AM

(Sunday)

Again, Salon Canning is easy to get to by taxi or bus, but it's a walk from the subway.

Why we went there: My friend had not come with me to Salon Canning the Friday before, and she wanted to see the famous milonga. It was our last night in Bs As, and I thought we would be able to get some good dancing in.

Who was there: This crowd seemed to be almost completely Argentine, apart from the gorgeous Brazilian girl and her boyfriend who came in to watch and got dragged onto the floor to try tango (for the first time, I would guess). The age of my dance partners averaged around 60+ and most of the folks there were dressed nicely and started to clear out around midnight to go home.

How did the evening go: This was one of my best dancing nights in Bs As. I had one of the best Pugliese tandas of my entire Bs As career that night, with a quiet, older man who seemed either embarrassed or taken aback when I told him that. The level of dance was better than many of the places we had gone, but the level of "pickup" was higher: in several cases, I considered ending the tanda early because of the deep interest my partner was displaying in me (and not my dance, I don't think). I also had a great chacarera set (three! not two! three chacareras!), which is always a highlight for me, the former crazed international folk dancer.

Notes: This was one of my favorite places to go to "afternoon" dances when I frequented Bs As in the early 2000s, and it still is. Even sitting in the last row before the shark circling area, we barely sat down the entire evening. If you can dance well, you will get to dance here. Over and over and over.

Lunes de Tango, La Rioja 1180 (Club Gricel)

(Monday)

Lunes de Tango is at Club Gricel, which is a bit further out than the other milongas we attended (up to Plaza Miserere and hang a left). It is reachable by bus or taxi, but I wouldn't walk it if I were you.

Why we went there: Mondays are a day with fewer milongas, but we still had two possibilities that were suggested. We agreed to meet our teachers there, but ended up sitting at a women's table, while they sat together at a couple's table.

Who was there: This crowd was mostly Argentine, with a few Americans, Italians, French and one Spanish guy who kept appearing wherever we danced (nice dancer, actually!). The age range was pretty much on the older side, with most folks looking 50-70ish.

How did the evening go: This was not our best evening, but we had pleasant women at our table (Argentines), a table of guys on each side who ended up dancing a lot with us, and a position at one of the entry/exit points for the floor, so the men who wanted to dance with us knew where we were.

Notes: Gricel is long and skinny, with pillars around the edge of the dance floor. This makes it much harder to make eye contact with about half the tables, so, unless you are strategically placed, you have to make so with those you can see. There is space to circulate between the floor edge tables and the ones along the wall, so some men do the shark circling thang, but I still had no idea who was at the other end of the room.

Other places to dance on Mondays: Parakultural Canning, Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, from 11 PM to 4 AM.

Vals and Argentine tango musicality: games and exercises

Each time I get on the dance floor to do a tango vals, I feel grateful that I was a musician for several decades before learning to dance. Timing in music is something I feel and do not have to count. When I started teaching dance, I found it hard to describe how to move to music: couldn't everyone hear what I heard?

The truth is, many people struggle with finding the beat for dancing.  I recently fielded a request about how to be more musical with tango.  I replied to that person, and then realized that this advice might be useful to more folks.

After teaching dance for 22 years, there are only a few things that I've found work for learning to hear and use the music:

1. Start listening to the music as much as possible; around the home; in the car; at the office, etc.  Even if you are not paying close attention, your brain hears the music and starts processing it better, even without moving to it.  Eventually, when you move to the music, you will REALLY move to the music because of these hours of extra "listening."  This is purely aural learning, but it helps.

2.  In classes, dances and practicas, watch the people who look like they are moving nicely with the music . . . and copy them shamelessly.  I'd suggest getting behind a leader who looks like they are musical, and try to move at the same time.  Again, this is a long process, but in patterning your body to theirs, you are learning to connect visually with the music.

3.  OK, so far, we have aural and visual elements of learning musicality.  For kinesthetic learning, my games about musicality help (see my other musicality posts).  If you are in a class that is about musicality, you experience the movement with the music, connecting #1 and #2 to this body feeling.  You can also do this in private lessons, and I'd be happy to set some up with you if you would like that.  Another way to experience this is to have a musical person lead YOU so you can follow to the music and feel it in your body; we could also do that in a private lesson.

4.  Last part of musicality that I do as another kinesthetic approach (and aural): make sounds!  That's why I make people play my "silly games" about musicality while making noise. For some folks, attaching a sound to a movement helps them to remember how to move.

Different people learn different ways.  I learn mostly visually and kinesthetically.  I have a student who learns best by saying things while moving: sounds and noises that he then associates with the movement.  I have some students who need to hear me explain things as their way to understand.  Another students needs to stand and watch others try the movement, and then can do the movement. If you know how you learn best, you can streamline the process, but this will take some time--much longer than learning steps, but EVERYONE can learn this.

I disagree with people who say that musicality can be learned with a computer program :-)

Some things are more important than Argentine Tango

Please take a moment and send thoughts, prayers, whatever communication you have with your higher power, towards my former student and friend, Rachel Sanson, and her family.  She lived in Eugene, OR for a while, but hails from New Zealand.  Her sister has been working for the UN in Haiti.  Her sister's husband and three young daughters were in their hotel when the earthquake struck.  Her husband saved the life of their 2-yr-old by being a human shield; he was not as lucky.  A second daughter also did not make it; a third is still missing. 

Please put your powers of prayer into them finding their other daughter.  If you have any money to spare, Rachel's sister is taking her surviving daughter (who is injured) to Florida.  We can help by sending a donation to a bank account that has been set up for this purpose. Here is the information your bank will need:

ABA number: 063000021
Swift & Sort code: PNBPUS33
Wachovia Bank, N.A.
Beneficiary: Emily Sanson-Rejouis
Beneficiary Address: 3621 SW 185 Avenue, Miramar, FL 33029
Account number: 1010258079801

Please consider aiding this vital, lovely family, in their grief and need.  There is a way to contact the fund through Facebook as well:

Haiti Earthquake Sanson-Rejouis Family Fund

Be well, and rejoice in your children.

Volcada technique: make volcadas easy to follow and elegant!

In intermediate class last week, we started to learn volcadas. A volcada is a "tipping" or "dumping" motion, where the follower is tipped off-axis and then returned to axis. Usually this includes the manipulation of the follower's leg--a sweepy movement that is created by the off-axis motion.

Because a good volcada is not an easy move, many people cheat to make this happen: the leader indicates a move to the follower, lets her do the move, and then tries to get back to leading after the follower has managed to get on-axis again. Can you tell I have a pet peeve with this strategy? Leaders! Make this move work for your followers! Lead it!

What does a volcada look like?

There are as many different shapes for a volcada, as there are tango partnerships. The follower's free leg is used to draw a shape on the floor, BY THE LEADER. This can be a V-shaped wedge; a big sweeping C, ending with going to a cruzada shape; a big sweeping circle if the leader also rotates the couple; or (in what I call a reverse volcada), an unwinding into a an of a circle, ending in a plain back step for the follower.

Part of the fun of a volcada, is that the leader gets to play with the shape of the movement. Although I don't 100% agree with the technique shown here, I like how the "regular"--ending in the cross, and "reverse"--ending in walking out of the move, look here: volcada demo  Although they may be out there, I didn't see volcadas done by the three people who have taught me the most about them: Oscar Mandagaran, Luciana Valle, and Florencia Tacchetti; if you find them, please comment and attach them to the blog!

Having said that, I think that there is only ONE way to approach volcadas in terms of technique, and that is to create as much clarity as possible, good balance, and control over the step, as possible.

Leader technique to make volcadas work

1. Stay as much on axis as possible: I think that the volcada is most striking when the follower does most of the tilting. Accordingly, when I lead this move, I try to remain almost completely on axis myself. 
2. Tell the follower not to switch feet by a subtle lift of the embrace (no one else should see it).If you keep your solar plexus energized and lifted, this gives the follower's leg room to swing, even if s/he is not performing good technique.
3. Think of the follower's support leg/foot like the point of a compass: all the other motion is happening around that main focus or anchor, and returns to that location before moving to another place on the floor.
4. Once the follower is lifted, move away from her/him to create the tipping motion. Remember to take relatively small steps away, but with your entire axis (don't take your feet and leave your head). I tend to move directly away from the follower with my solar plexus, which means quickly stepping back and to the side with one and then the other foot (I end up with my feet apart).
5. Catch the pendulum swing of the follower's leg (depending on the step before the volcada, this will be swinging around and towards you, or dropping directly towards you), and draw a shape that ends with the follower's free foot passing by the support foot. If you are doing a regular volcada, it is your responsibility as a lead to ensure that the follower is in the cruzada, and can switch weight to exit.
6. Note: In my opinion, it is OK to play with Body English (a student of mine calls it Body Castellano) to get the follower's foot where you want it. It is NOT OK to be off balance or out of control as the leader.
7. Release the "marca" and the lift before asking the follower to take another step. Do not release the lift early, or the follower's free foot gets stuck out in the swing and can't be collected elegantly under her/him.
8. As soon as you feel the follower's weight change at the cruzada, you can step forward. There is a lot of argument about when to step forward, and I see a lot of leaders stepping forward IN ORDER TO lead the cross step. As a follower, this does not feel as balanced and safe as when the leader places my foot with the chest, and THEN steps. We talked about this in class, and I led both variants on some of you who are taking the class as leaders: you can feel how much more stable it is to wait to step until the follower's feet are anchored; but you can do as you like when I'm not watching ;-)
9. Exit: Usually, I assume that we'll need one-two steps for the follower to completely regain being on axis. It is especially important during those steps that the leader is on balance and grounded for those steps, IN CASE the follower needs help.
10. Pet peeve: As a follower, I personally don't like the leaders to move in a circular path WHILE making my leg swing. Usually, this results in me falling into my cross step, and falling out of it to catch up with them. I want to feel protected and supported: wait for me!

Follower technique to make volcadas work

No matter how clearly a leader leads this move, if the follower is not paying attention to technique, it won't work. The follower has the same setup as for a boleo or a gancho or any tango move: correct posture and balance.

1. Keep your spine energized and stretched: a lot of volcada injuries occur when the follower sags into the move (and yes, I know some teachers say to keep your hips with the leader, but I don't think it's smart in terms of protecting your body). I think of doing a pushup, with my core muscles and abdominal muscles lifted and strong.
2. Keep your hips aligned over your support leg. For me, I follow Oscar Mandaragan and Georgina Vargas ideas of alignment: my hips need to shift slightly in order for me to be as on balance as possible. This means that my hips are released a bit, on top of my support leg. DON'T hitch up the hip for your "free" leg, or it won't be free.
3. When the leader tips me forward, I try to be even longer and more elastic than when on axis. I don't let my heel come off the floor on my support leg unless the volcada is so big that I have no choice. I spend perhaps 80% of my energy maintaining the groundedness and stretch of my axis (40% up, 40% down; 20% on the actual volcada).
4. Release your "free" leg as deeply in the center of your hip joint as possible. The shape of the volcada is determined by the leader's path of your leg (you can make it pretty after you've learned to let the leader be in charge of your leg). If you stay stretched and elastic in your spine and support leg, your "free" leg will naturally have space to slide on the floor. If it gets stuck, go back and look at steps 1 and 2: are you REALLY doing them? (If you are, check to see if the leader has dropped the solar plexus in the middle of the move).
5. Note: All volcadas are determined by the step that precedes the volcada. If you do the version that we learned that starts with a side step, the volcada will be V-shaped. If you start with a small boleo (this week), the volcada will be more circular. Try to give up guessing where to put your foot, and focus on your support leg and body. Let the leader worry about your free foot.
6. When the leader places your foot and releases the lift on your body, make sure that you stay in contact with the leader. It's not necessary to immediately return to on-axis; it may take a step of two.
7. By being stretchy and maintaining your axis even off-axis, you make this move easy for the leader. Even a follower twice my size is light if s/he follows correct technique.

Note: Because this move requires being off-balance and supporting another person's weight, is it VERY important to safeguard the back. Leaders: lift from your legs, not your back. Followers: work your abs to save your back. If something hurts, talk to me: nothing in tango should not hurt! If you feel that another person is injuring your body, make sure a teacher watches to check.

This week: More volcadas, more on vals, and improving your embrace to make moves work better. Still to come: ganchos, posture and balance exercises, and musicality games. See you Wednesday!

Classes start on January 6th! Come dance!

Happy New Year! It's time for class again, time to work off those holiday cookies (for me, at least).

All classes will be held at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave. (Killingsworth MAX station)

$60/six weeks or $12 drop-in

No partner needed, no pre-registration needed; just show up!

Not sure what section you should come to? Drop-in to all of them on Wednesday to make a decision!

Levels and description:

Tango Fundamentals/Beginning Tango

6-7 PM Wednesdays, IFCC

• Great for diving deeper into the dance, or starting off for your first tango class.
• This class will focus on correct posture, balance and energy to make tango easy on your body
• We will learn (or polish) basic tango steps: walks, turns, ochos, the cruzada, etc.
• Musicality: Make your partner swoon with your amazing use of the music!
• Navigation: Just in time for Valentango! Learn how to avoid crashes and have fun.
• FUN: Tango is an improvisational dance. Although there's a lot of technique involved, there is also a lot of room to play, break rules, and mess around!
• Tango culture and etiquette: how do you ask for a dance? What is a tanda? As a dance anthropologist, I teach not just the dance, but the cultural rules surrounding it.

Intermediate Tango

• Topics for this session include volcadas, ganchos, and tango vals--and anything YOU need/want/desire.
• As usual, we focus on deepening body awareness, improving posture, balance, energy and connection with the partner.
• Musicality: This session, we'll work on vals timing vs. tango timing; really using the music to make the dance rock.
• Energy: What really makes a dancer intermediate or advanced is their use of energy and the clarity of that intention to the partner. We'll work on building energy levels to make your tango more sexy, powerful, more GRRRROWL in your dance.
• Improvisation: Tango is not just about set steps. We'll look at connecting steps, finding new patterns, and playing with the dance.
• Navigation: With Valentango coming up, we'll play some navigational games to make cool moves work in small spaces with less angst.

Milonga Traspie with Robert Hauk and myself

• Robert Hauk and I are again combining forces to offer a milonga class.
• New moves! This session, we'll be doing traspie/rebound moves, ocho cortado, saucy stuff I've learned in Bs As, mixed with Robert's horde of repertoire.
• Navigation: Learn to tailor the size of your steps to the room you have, not cut down your vocabulary just because it's crowded on the dance floor.
• Come get your milonga on for Valentango!

Intermediate Tango review Dec09

Of all the requests this session, we focused most on the following: ocho technique and boleo technique for followers, and leading sacadas and boleos. I'm not ignoring the requests for ganchos and  volcadas: that's my plan for next session, as well as tackling a bit of vals timing--and anything else you'd like, as usual.

As we have a one-room schoolhouse in this class, with beginning intermediates and advanced intermediates in one class, you may not recognize all the variations I note here: some of them I only gave to those of you who wanted more to do. You all made wonderful progress this session and I can't wait to see what the New Year brings!

Kinds of sacadas

• Front: The person DOING the sacada is stepping forward through the step of the other person.
• Back: The person DOING the sacada is stepping backwards through the step of the other person.
• Side: The person DOING the sacada is taking an open step through the step of the other person. (Note: some of these sacadas can also be seen as front, or forward moving sacadas; lots of folks like to argue about what to call these steps)
• Linear: The path of the person RECEIVING the sacada is linear, or approximately linear. An example of this would be the sacadas we did from grapevine steps moving line of dance (LOD).
• Circular: The path of the person RECEIVING the sacada is circular, or curved. An example of this would be a sacada done through the follower's turn.
• Leader: The leader is DOING the sacada through the step of the follower.
• Follower: The leader is leading the follower to do a sacada through the step of the leader.

Sacadas that we did:

Leader front sacada through the follower's front cross step

• The version we did of this move traveled down the dance floor, line-of-dance (LOD).
• Although we did it in parallel system, it also works nicely in crossed system.
• The leader faces out of the room, and leads a side step LOD. Note that there are two parallel tracks here, each moving LOD around the room. The leader is on the inside track, and the follower is on the outside track.
• The follower is led in a front cross step ONTO the leader's track (so, forward diagonal LOD) with the left foot.
• The leader steps THROUGH that step with the free foot--in parallel system, with the right foot (in crossed system, it will be the left foot that is free).
• The position of the couple puts a lot of torque on the follower's hips, so make sure that there is time for the follower to unwind before moving through space again. As a follower, I like to take the next step as a front cross LOD or around the leader.
• The leader MUST continue to lead the follower's step with the torso while stepping forward into the space vacated by the follower. Remember that the leader's hips should follow the leader's move and then pivot upon landing the step. Try to avoid stepping sideways into this step!
• The same move can be done with the leader starting on the outside track and the follower on the inside track, still moving LOD. In this case, the follower's left step is the side step, with a right forward cross step to the outside diagonal LOD; the leader travels parallel to the follower LOD, and then steps into the sacada with the free foot.

Leader back sacada through the follower's front cross step

• Here, the follower is led exactly the same way as the step above: a side step, followed by a forward cross step that travels to the other "track" LOD. 
• The leader steps LOD with the left, facing the follower. Then, the leader pivots in place as far as possible and changes feet, onto the right. This leaves the left leg/foot free to step through the follower's forward cross step.
• It is SUPER important to remember that the leader's energy and focus remain with the follower. In this move, it is not possible to remain facing the follower during the sacada, but do NOT abandon the follower by removing your energy! Think of your tango connection like a ball bearing, surrounding your body at the height of the solar plexus. The connection may move, but it does not fade. This helps your follower and you complete the move without losing balance.
• I like to lead this move, then lead a front boleo for the follower, moving into a turn around the leader; but there are hundreds of possibilities.
• This step is doable to both sides, but is much easier led with the leader facing out. As the embrace needs to change for this step to work well, it is easier to close and open the closed side of the embrace, rather than messing with the open side :-)
• Embrace changes: I think of this embrace change like Francois Truffaut's famous movie fades, where the picture from the camera lens gradually shrinks (called an iris shot) as the aperture is closed to darkness.  The closed side of the embrace shrinks until there is no space, as the leader's right arm slides behind the follower. The follower's left arm slides behind the leader. Then, as the move resolves, the embrace returns to normal with the same slide, but reversed.

Leader back sacada through the follower's open or side step

• Again, this is easier if led when the leader is facing out of the room, due to the issues of closing and opening the embrace. I'm going to save messing with the open side of the embrace, for an advanced class.
• Here, you can again lead a partial grapevine (parallel or crossed system) down LOD.
• After the follower's front cross step, lead the open/side step onto the leader's track, stepping through for the sacada so that the leader ends up on the outside track, facing into the room.
• Because the follower is not executing a cross step during the sacada, there is less of a need to unwind here.
• Leaders: if you are in parallel system, you will not have to switch feet before doing the back sacada, as your left foot will already be free.
• Note: you can also do a leader's front sacada here, instead of pivoting for the back sacada.
• I like to lead either a petite back boleo here, or collect and walk to the cross.

Follower back sacada through the leader's open step

• The follower's back sacada is a bit harder to lead; you need to be able to tell the follower to overturn and keep the feet collected, in order to avoid bodily harm from their heels!
• If the leader keeps the hips stable and turns the upper torso/solar plexus, then the follower will be able to overturn to their extreme rotation. If the leader opens the hip, the follower has a much harder time doing this. So, if the step is not working, leaders: check your hips!
• Followers: If you maintain your axis, it should be easy to keep your feet collected under you, without tight ankles and legs. Try to break the step down into: overturn, rotate in place and step.
• Leaders: Keep your eyes open. If the follower's free leg is swinging free, GET OUT OF THE WAY or your shins will be bruised. A lot. Ask me how I know this.
• The follower's back sacada can go through pretty much any step of the leader, so figure out what foot you are comfortable on, and travel with the other one.
• This step is easier in a circular sacada pattern, but is doable traveling LOD.

Note: There are three parts of a back sacada!

1. Overturn the person doing the sacada.
2. Rotate in place while maintaining that extreme torque in the body.
3. Take/lead a back step.

A lot of people try to do back sacadas without step #2, by crossing their feet behind themselves while stepping.  This is much less exact, and results in an out-of-control step or two, until balance and connection return. Step #2 isn't really visible, but it is an intrinsic part of the move. It gives the leader a moment to prepare the step and make sure all is in order, before either stepping or requesting the follower to step. Thanks to Luciana Valle for teaching this to me!

Fun variations using these moves:

Combo #1: Leader front sacada through the follower's forward cross step; front boleo; unwind and continue LOD, or gancho.

Combo #2: Leader back sacada through the follower's side step; baby back boleo; volcada; exit.

Combo #3: Follower front boleo; follower back sacada through leader's step (any step); turn.

Combo #4: Leader front sacada through follower front cross step; leader front sacada through follower front cross (the two have now crisscrossed down LOD and are facing original facings); one step LOD; leader back sacada through follower's side step.

Elegant walking in tango

My teachers, Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas, have a sinuous, elegant, sexy walk. They call it "walking like a porteno" but I call it "walking like Oscar" to avoid all the arguments about how portenos do and do not walk. In Buenos Aires, everyone agrees that there are many different ways to do tango, but here in Portland, we seem to spend a lot of time arguing about the one way to do something . . . 

In Tango Fundamentals, we've been working on this walk a lot, but many questions have come up that I think are more easily answered here.

1. How many "tracks" do I use for the "porteno" walk?

Don't you hate the "it depends" answer? In this case, there are two tracks for dancing, but the leader is on one, and the follower on the other. Compared to the "two track" walk, the leader is actually slightly offset compared to the follower, but not enough to be leading to the cross. As each person walks in a straight line, each person steps in front of him- or her-self.

This walk works best in a slight V embrace, close embrace, but not square to the partner.

2. Why is this better than two-track walking?

This walk is simply more elegant than what I see on the dance floor most of the time. Two-track walking is not wrong, but it doesn't look as nice. I'm not going to walk up to you on the dance floor and ask why you aren't doing this ;-) Your walk is a personal choice; mine is to do the walk this way when possible.

There are as many ways to walk in tango as tango dancers. The reason I teach the version of tango that I teach, is that this style uses the body efficiently, and reduces injuries, as well as allowing me to dance for hours with less fatigue and foot pain.

3. But what if the person I'm dancing with tells me I'm not walking right?

What I am teaching you is not what "everyone" is doing in the tango community. You will find people who think that different=wrong. You have two alternatives: improve your dance, or conform to local habits of dance, whether or not they are good dance choices. I like to think that, in a few years, we will all be dancing better and more fluidly, and many more people will be doing this style of walking. I've noticed that all of you who are in my classes look more elegant and balanced. I get a lot more comments about my good dancing since I've switched to this style.

By the way, when I am offered unsolicited advice on the dance floor, I respectfully suggest that I will ask for feedback when I want it.

4. What is all this about contra-body motion?

Part of walking like a porteno is using natural body locomotion. When you walk, your body uses a slight rotation around the spine to help shift the weight of the body from leg to leg. You can see this if you walk and pay attention to how your arms swing gently as you walk. When your right foot is going to step forward, your body rotates slightly to the right BEFORE you step; when you step with your left, your body rotates to the left first. When you step backwards, your body twists away from the free leg.

Using natural contrabody motion also allows you to stay connected to your partner. If the leader is stepping forward with the left, s/he rotates counter-clockwise before stepping. The follower steps back on the right, also rotates counter-clockwise to the left. That means that both people move together, allowing both more freedom of movement AND more connection in your walk.

5. Why do I have to move my hips to make this walk work?

When you walk down the street, your hip releases slightly to help you shift weight from one foot to the other. The hip shift moves your weight directly above your support foot without grabbing with the muscles that surround the hip--more mobility, less work! This is an active, lifting movement, not like doing the "bus stop." This is one key part of having a lithe, sexy tango walk.

To find the right amount of pelvic movement, stand in front of a mirror. Locate the inside edge of your hip joint with your fingers, and move your pelvis until that point is over the center of your foot. Each person will have a different amount of movement here, as a woman with wide hips will move differently than a woman with narrow hips or a man. Instead of copying the look of your favorite dancer, take time to figure out what is right for your body.

6. Why did you tell me to stick out my butt?

Many people stand with their pelvis tilted forward, but the femoral joint (hip joint) works better if the pelvis shifts back further. This settles the femur into the hip joint and helps use your bone alignment for balance so that you use

7. How can I find out more about my body and how it moves?

There is an excellent reference book, designed for the average person, that shows the bones and muscles of the body, as well as explaining what motions the body can perform at each joint. I HIGHLY recommend Anatomy of Movement by Blandine Calais-Germain (ISBN 0-939616-17-3 for paperback). It has great pictures and lots of information without being overwhelming.

Tango Fundamentals review, Dec09

In this session of Tango Fundamentals, we focused on buildingbalance, connection and energy with our partners.  We also worked on starting and exiting turns in different ways, as well as spiffing up our traveling back ochos. We spent the last few weeks improving walking to the cross, as well as exploring the crossed system part of tango.

Balance, connection and energy

1. Energy flow drill: This drill teaches you to be aware of the energy and motion of everyone dancing in the room. As a good leader, you must know this in order to successfully and safely lead the follower around the dance floor. As a follower, being aware of this helps you be a responsible dancer (i.e. limiting your boleo height, restraining big adornos in a crowd, etc.). In the energy flow drill, we all move through the available space (in any direction), and try to remain constantly in motion. If someone is in the way, we turn, rather than pausing. If there is space somewhere else in the room, we go where there is space. In "real life" tango situations, there are cultural rules that prevent us from having this much freedom: we dance counter-clockwise in the room; we don't pass the couple in front of us; we maintain "lanes" of movement. However, by remaining aware of the space around us, and how the entire room of people is moving, we can plan ahead better and avoid accidents.
2. Solo-couple drill: This game teaches you to get connected to your partner quickly. Once the energy flow of the room is working, we move through the space in couples. In Solo-Couple, the teacher calls "Solo!" and everyone does the energy flow drill. When the teacher calls "Couple!" everyone grabs the nearest dancer, and WITHOUT STOPPING, continues to dance around the room. Again, in "real life" tango, there is time to cabeceo, approach the dance floor, take your space, embrace your partner, and then start dancing. However, in festival situations, there is no space to spend time on all of this, and you need to get on the floor, connect, and start dancing within about 30 seconds if you don't want to be run over! This drill gets the dancers to tune in to their surroundings in order to successfully survive joining a tanda in full swing.
3. Energy bunnies and energy vampires: This game helps you maintain your energy on the dance floor throughout the evening. I don't remember which of my students at the University of Oregon named this game/drill, but I've kept the names because everyone laughs when we do this! Obviously, this is an energy game: take energy from the people around you if you are tired, or give energy to the room/your partner if you are energized. On each dance floor, there is a level of energy present. Sometimes, the room's energy gives the dancers energy; sometimes not. In this game, we move through space in any direction, and make sound effects/motions to send energy to everyone we pass. Then, we move around, taking energy away (little sucking noises and vampire faces seem to be the favorites). I have found that everyone in the room has a higher energy level after this game, and use it in class to wake folks up; on the dance floor, I use this energy-building skill to be able to keep dancing, hour after hour (I don't make the noises and faces then!).
4. Naughty Toddler: This game helps the follower give energy to the leader, and teaches the leader to use the energy as a way to improvise on the dance floor. Just as it is easier to divert a toddler than to stop unwanted behavior, it is easier to redirect a follower than to wrestle with them. The follower does not follow in this game: s/he does whatever moves come to mind, tango or non-tango. The leader holds on with both hands, and tries to use the follower's energy to get around the dance floor without collisions. As the leader figures out how to steer the "toddler" this game becomes "my chi is bigger than your chi" as the leader reads the energy and PREVENTS the "toddler" from misbehaving by leading clearly with the energy present in the dance: by the end of the game, the leader should feel mostly in control AND the follower should have felt led, but not wrestled.
5. Posture work: floor, sitting, standing. We start lying on the floor, feet flat on floor and knees up (in skirts, face a non-mirrored wall). Feel how relaxed your spine and hips are! Feel how your spinal alignment works when not fighting gravity. Now, sit up (cross-legged on floor, or in a chair if you lack flexibility). Try to recreate the same alignment as on the ground. Third, stand up and again recreate the floor alignment, adding the complexity of adjusting your pelvis for standing. The more you do these three steps, the more your alignment will remain relaxed AND in position when you move in tango.
6. Breath work: axis and force field. I do the axis drill after completing the postural work. Standing in place, alone, on axis, close your eyes. Breathe and imagine the air can come up from below the floor, up through your body, to your lungs. When you exhale, send the breath back down through your feet, as if you are pushing a magnet away beneath the floor. After a few breaths, change the exhale to go up through the top of your head and up to the ceiling. Third, exhale and inhale with the same amount of energy and breath coming in from the feet and head; and exhaling 50-50 as well. In the force field drill, face partner close enough to be in their personal space, but not touching. Do the axis drill, but when you exhale, also send energy/light/electricty/your favorite color/etc. straight out your toes, through your partner, and to the wall beyond them. After a few breaths, expand that to a rectangle of energy from the toes and knees; expand to the hips; add up to the belly button; now up to the ribcage; next, include the shoulder blades and collar bones; finally, the entire body sends a rectangular force field through the partner, to the wall beyond. When this is in place, move in to an embrace and dance with your partner, eyes closed. On each exhale, move. On each inhale, pause. Keep the force field working.
7. Energy work: directing movement from the solar plexus. We moved across the floor, met a partner, and kept sending our energy across the room, slightly up and through the partner (there were interesting interpretations of this, but we'll leave that for later ;-)). In order for you to NEVER step on your partner's feet, you need to send your energy forward into their body. The solar plexus should never point down, or your partner's feet will suddenly be in your way. Followers: remember to send the energy TOWARDS the leader, rather than "escaping" away; it will save your toes!

Steps

Porteno Walks:

All of you who were in the last class of the session really looked great! Wow, what a difference in your walking! For inspiration, check out Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas on YouTube--my favorite dancers!

Remember that the important points of a balanced, elegant walk are:

1. Keep your axis on balance at ALL times.
2. Make sure the hip releases sideways to allow the inside of the hip joint to be aligned over the center of the foot.
3. Keep the back as long and elastic as possible. The pelvis stretches back while chest stretches up and forward to allow a relaxed back, with the core abdominals doing most of the work.
4. Remember to keep the hip joint aligned half-way between the ball of the foot and the heel.
5. Keep your heels down, but don't rock back onto them.
6. Use your heels to push down through the floor to propel your step; remember--80% energy up and down the axis, 20% to travel!
7. Contra-body motion is normal, but some of us don't use it when we walk. The body rotates slightly around towards the free leg when traveling forward, or slightly away from the free leg when stepping backwards. More twist is needed to walk on the inside or outside tracks.

Turns

Last session, we concentrated on turning after reaching the cross (la cruzada).  This time, we expanded our ways of getting into a turn.

• start the turn to the leader's right (clockwise, CW) after side step to the right (follower's first step of the turn is a front or back cross step with the right foot)
• start the turn to the leader's left (counter-clockwise, CCW) after side step to the left (follower's first step of the turn is a front or back cross step with the left foot)
• right (CW) after rock step (follower's first step of the turn is a front cross step with the right, across the leader's body)
• left (CCW) after rock step (follower's first step is a front cross step with the left, across the leader's body)
• rock step and left (CCW) turn (follower's first step is an open step around the leader with the right foot)--this is NOT the same as starting the turn FROM the rock step. Here, the leader leads a rock step so that the follower's RIGHT foot is free; thus the turn starts with an open step for the follower.
• at the cross (@X), right (CW) or left (CCW) turn (follower's first step is either a front cross or an open step, with the right foot.

Crossed system vs. parallel system

• Most couple dances are done in parallel system only: when the leader steps with the left, the follower moves with the right. Crossed system is the opposite: when the leader steps with the right, the follower also steps with the right, or both with the left.
• The interplay between parallel and crossed system produces the huge number of possible steps that exist in Argentine tango, as opposed to parallel-only dances. However, that means that a new dancer needs to master two sets of information, which can be eye-crossing.
• In order to switch systems in tango, one dancer has to take one more step than the partner, whether by having the leader double-time a step (step together step--three steps) while the follower takes two steps, or by the leader leaving a step out (for example, leading to the cross but not changing feet when the follower is led to cross).
• Walking on either the outside or inside track of the dance creates a straight line walk, whereas walking in front of your partner in crossed system requires one of the dancers to take zigzag steps. Usually, this creates traveling back ochos for the follower; other possibilities are the leader doing forward traveling ochos, or reversing directions so that the follower does forward traveling ochos.
• Easiest place to leave a step out: at the cross or in a turn :-)

Traveling back ochos

There are many ways to do this step.  I advocate a smooth, elegant, sexy version that allows the follower to pivot slightly and adjust in the hips, while the leader basically walks forward.

• Get into crossed system (later on, there are other versions in parallel system, but they are used less): I prefer stepping forward-together-forward, rather than side-together-forward here. I feel that the follower gets a clearer signal if the first step is line-of-dance (LOD), rather than sideways.
• Leader walks in a SLIGHTLY wider stance, but keeping the V of the feet facing LOD and the hips facing LOD. This is not a time to start waddling ;-)
• The leader's chest moves in a natural, cross-body motion in order to walk. No more motion is needed here. If you tend to be rigid in your torso, you may have to work on this rotation around your spine in order to make your walk more elegant and easier on your body.
• The follower's body also uses cross-body motion in order to walk backwards. Because you are now in crossed system, the follower's free leg NATURALLY crosses behind the other leg. The hips adjust and pivots slightly, as do the feet, to make this look pretty and to remove stress on the spine. Take care not to overturn in this move (in open embrace, a bit more rotation can be used for a more zig-zag style of ocho, but I personally prefer this one).
• To exit, walk to the cross in crossed system, resolving at the cross. Alternatively, you can exit by turning CW or CCW into a turn. I don't usually lead back into parallel walks to exit because it isn't very elegant. Also, when do you ever have space to walk traveling back ochos and then keep walking?

Crossed system salida:

• In parallel salida, the leader steps side with the left foot, rotates the torso clockwise (towards the follower), and then walks forward on the inside track with the right, then with the left. As the leader brings the right foot up and transfers to the right foot, the torso untwists to come to neutral, bringing the follower in front of the leader.
• In crossed system salida, there is a switch into crossed system, as well as a switch back into parallel system (again, there are other versions we'll get to later).
• The leader steps side with the left foot, but then steps in place, changing weight to the right foot WHILE gently lifting the follower (la marca, the "mark," should be imperceptible to onlookers but clear to your partner) so that the follower only takes the first of the two steps, and remains on the right foot. You are now in crossed system, with both partners standing on the right foot. 
• The leader walks forward on the left, forward on the right, and then does not step while the follower crosses (some of you call this the kickstand). As the follower just took a step and you did not, you are now back in parallel system.
• The follower should feel the same cues as for a parallel salida: side on the right, back on the left, back on the right, cross the left over and change weight, so that the right is free for the next step.

Scoop turn

• These nice, compact turns can be led directly from traveling back ochos, but I think that using one intermediate step makes them easier, so I will describe that method.
• From traveling back ochos (or any other method you prefer for switching to crossed system), the leader steps through to the outside track with the left foot.
• Remember to switch your relationship with the follower and not just your hips :-)  As you send them in their back walk or ocho, adjust your embrace and torso to face them (if LOD is noon, twist to about 11 on the clock dial!) to get room to step through. Remember the shift!
• Send the follower in a back step along the line (follower's right foot) of dance WHILE pivoting a quarter turn so that you land (on your right foot) the same distance away from them, but perpendicular to them. Your embrace should close a bit on the closed side, but the open side should stay the same. This helps you catch up with your partner, so that both of you are lined up with your axes even across the line of dance (leader's back to the wall, follower's back facing LOD).
• If you have issues with axis and balance, make sure that BOTH your feet are gathered under you BEFORE you twist to lead the follower's turn. If you have good balance, it is possible to lead this with your left leg trailing and your body's weight above your right foot.
• Leaders: keeping your hips facing your partner, twist your torso CCW (to your left), staying on balance. Then, let the momentum of the follower's turn help you turn around until you are facing line of dance, ready to walk again.
• Followers: If all goes well, you will be led to take a strong overturn (even more than a back cross step in a regular turn), and will step around the leader with a back cross (left), open step (right), and front cross step (left). You may need a fourth step to finish the turn; take as many as you need, until the leader stops turning.
• Leaders: This is an excellent place to pause for adornos, regaining balance, thinking of what to do next,etc. The follower has a feeling of energy building before the next move comes. You can signal this with a small "marca" to allow the follower space to adorn.

Crossed system walk on outside to itty bitty boleo

Instead of leading the scoop turn (above), prepare for the follower's back overturn, but make it a rebound, so that the hips pivot back around. This creates a small boleo (we'll tackle the technique for boleos in intermediate, but you all got the basic idea and did a good job with this!). Let the boleo unwind into a forward cross step for the follower, and then exit.

I'm impressed with how much we got done this session. Next session, we'll keep working on the same concepts, but will focus on different steps so that the newbies feel comfortable and you don't get bored!

Review sheets coming!

I've posted the milonga class review sheet as a page (look at the right-hand column of my blog).  That took a while, as the steps are simple--not easy, but simple-- but describing them in words is difficult! I've included one diagram of how I write down steps: if that helps you, please let me know, and I'll add diagrams for the variations.

Tango Fundamentals: I'm working on the last three weeks.  I already posted the rest on the blog, but I'll include it again in the page so that you can print out everything together.

Intermediate Tango: Parts of this session are in the blog, but I'll gather all the information into one page. I hope to be done today, as the holidays are catching up to me.

Remember: next session starts January 6th at Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N. Interstate Ave. in NE Portland.  Intermediate class is now at 7 PM, with milonga following at 8 PM. Tango Fundamentals remains in the 6 PM slot. $60/person for six weeks or $12 drop-in. Hope to see all of you back for more!

Milonga class review Dec09

Milonga Class (October-December 2009), Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, Portland OR

This session, we worked on Robert's favorite milonga traspie moves, built into a basic framework of steps.

Abbreviations in text:

• S=slow
• Q=quick
• CW=clockwise
• CCW=counter-clockwise
• Ld=leader
• Fl=follower
• L=left
• R=right
• fd=forward
• sd=side
• bk=back
• LOD=line of dance
• diag=diagonal
• tog=together
• []=variation, can add or leave out without changing rest of pattern

Basic framework:

1. Traveling LOD:  With QQS rhythm, Ld is facing out of room, and steps L tog L (remember "la marca" for helping the Fl do this sd tog step). For Fl, R tog R.
2. In place: Ld steps through with R (as if going to the cross, but facing outside wall, so move goes fd diag LOD). Robert's version: Ld touches L foot fd and replaces it under self; then does small rebound with R foot, returning to L; then steps bk on R, turning slightly to move back fd diag LOD, ready to start over.  My version: turn the step touch into a rebound step, moving with the follower. The follower steps bk on L (like going to the cross), bk on R with a rebound fd onto L; steps in place with R; rebounds L back onto R; and steps fd with L, ready to start again.

This is much easier than it sounds.  I diagram my dancing, rather than writing out the words like this, but I don't know if it is easy for others to understand my diagrams.  Here's my notes for the basic framework.  It reads like Arabic, from right to left, as that is the direction of the steps. Arrows denote diagonals from LOD, not forward or back for the dancer (I think navigationally most of the time):

 

Variations that are built onto the framework:

Holding pattern:

• If there is no room to progress LOD, don't do the initial traveling QQS (step tog step).  Instead, replace it a rebound/traspie step LOD, and a small step fd with L for Ld (small step bk with R for Fl).
• Continue with rest of pattern.

Turn in place (CW with Ld walking backwards):

• One variation that happens at the END of the basic framework is a small walking circle instead of the last rebound/traspie and step (the ultimate QQS of the pattern).
• The leader does a rebound/traspie step with the R, back onto the L, and then walks backwards in a curved path R L, making sure to lead the Fl to step to the Ld's R (what Robert calls outside and I call inside!), rather than straight in line with the Ld. These four steps have a QQSS pattern to the rhythm.
• Followers rebound L to R, and then walk forward L, R.
• To end, go back to either the holding pattern or the traveling QQS LOD at the beginning of the basic framework.

Follower does "step together step together" turn around leader:

• Instead of the basic framework's last traspie and step at the end of the pattern (or the turn in place), the leader can initiate a turn in place for the couple.
• Do NOT lead the traspie step after the follower steps fd. Instead, lead immediately into the turn with the Fl's L.
• Make sure that Fl gets a clear signal to stay facing the Ld, so as not to start a grapevine step.
• While Fl does step tog step tog etc., Ld does small paddle step. The weight stays primarily on the L, with small paddles of the R foot to turn. (This is Robert's version; I do it slightly differently)
• To end, you can finish with the end rebound and step movement from the basic framework to prepare to travel LOD again.

Side rebound/traspie steps combined with traveling steps:

• This is one of my favorite steps of Robert's repertoire.
• The leader takes the last rebound step of the basic framework and redirects the Fl to step LOD with the L (Ld does rebound with R then back onto L; and steps bk LOD with R).
• The leader is traveling LOD, but facing backwards; the Fl is facing fd LOD.
• Continue with a rebound and travel step to the other side (Ld's L foot, Fl's R). On this side, the leader must tell the Fl to step THROUGH, not just in front of the Ld. This gives the pattern a sexy, tigerlike prowl, rather than a bland feeling. The extra twist in the torso allows the pattern to twine LOD.

Clockwise circles with leader walking forward:

• The follower walks backwards in a tight circle (so as to avoid going to the cross!), starting with a side rebound/traspie step to the right with the R foot, rebounding to the L, and walking back R, L.
• The leader leads a side rebound with the L (R), walking forward L, R.
• Make sure that the body's torsion stays strong for the leader's R fd step, so that the leader walks to the inside (Robert's "outside"/Fl's R) to corkscrew the movement.
• You can combine these with the leader walking backwards circles, as we practiced in class, making a strange sort of mobius strip kind of move!
• Enter from the other circles (leader walking backwards) by doing the traspie section of that circle, taking ONE slow step, and immediately doing the first traspie of this circle, starting a new pattern. The timing for this is QQS QQS, rather than QQSS.

Traveling traspie steps with leader facing LOD:

• This is the same as above, but opposite facings.
• You can enter this pattern best from the clockwise circles described above (there are lots of options, but this is the one we worked on in class).
• Ld does rebound with L foot, back to R, and steps fd LOD into center track. Ld then does rebound with L foot, back to L, and steps fd THROUGH to the inside track (Fl's R side, Robert calls it outside) with the R for the springy feeling of the move.
• Fl does rebound with R foot, back to L, and steps bk diag LOD with the R foot. Next rebound is with L foot, back to R, and step bk diag LOD with L foot.
• I'm not sure I should describe the step after the rebound as diagonal: remember that we practiced stepping straight behind ourselves? The FEELING is diagonal because of the torso rotation, but the progression is straight towards LOD.
• Exit into more turns or back into the sd tog sd initial step of the framework.

My blog platform now supports video, so my New Year's resolution is to learn how to post pictures/videos of this instead of words!!

Hope to see you January 6th for the new session: we'll learn some of my favorite moves, as well as continuing with Robert's repertoire.