Yes, I do spend my free time geeking out about tango and the body. In fact, I spend most of my time at the chiropractor discussing feet, ankles, arches, etc. because he’s the only person I know who is just as interested—and has more information for all of us! Shout out to Seth Watterson: the Portland tango community has improved their technique because of you! And no, this is not a paid plug. I just think ALL of you should get Seth to check out your feet and balance, except then I would never get an appoinment!
How do my feet affect my musicality?
The better your technique is, the better you will dance. The better your balance is, the easier it is to dance well. When you are on balance, on axis, your brain has more time to think about what to do and HOW to do it, and your body has more time feel the music and allow the music to inform your dance.
Ways to get your feet to work better:
Do calf raises every day to strengthen your ankles. Here’s a video if you need to know what that means. I have been doing these to rehab my torn ankle ligament, and I have noticed that many of us have weak ankles, not just me.
Find the four corners of your foot, and root down. The mound of your big toe, the mound of your little toe, the outside of your heel and the inside of your heel all contribute to balance. Here’s a yoga class from one of my favorite online instructors to help you focus on your feet better!
Work on your posture of your whole body, too! Heidi Weiss is offering a set of Pilates classes starting in a week, to help!
Another person to check out is Portland Tango’s very own Linda Machtelinckx. She is setting up BreezeKinetics as a way to offer Zoom, and then (I think) in-person classes. The first class starts next week. Contact her for more details.
Whether you are into calisthenics, yoga, Pilates, whatever—build your own system of workout that strengthens and protects your body so you are stronger and ready to dance when we get out of lockdown!
And of course, I am here, creating space for you to put your tango, balance, strength, musicality and enjoyment together, twice a week!
This week in my tango group classes
Friday (22Jan21) @ noon: Milonga: going fast with comfort // plus topics requested by students (bk walk and adorno sequence)
Tuesday (19Jan21) @ 6:30 PM: Making little count: milonga, adornos and dancing in small spaces