The moment is always changing--and so is my axis

I've been reading about impermanence: nothing stays the same forever. I've also been thinking about my axis in new ways that bring together the idea of permanence and balance. Here's what I have so far.

I realize that I've been talking about axis as if it is some attainable location that can be found and maintained. However, being on balance, or on axis, is not a stable state. Even if I have completed a step "perfectly" and have arrived on balance in a new spot, the one thing that can make me fall over, is trying to lock my axis into place.

What if the idea of axis was a constantly moving, micro-adjusting approximation of being on balance? The proprioceptors in your ankles send balance messages to the brain, creating small adjustments to keep you upright when standing. The circulatory system (and other body systems) circulate fluid throughout the body. You breathe in and out, unless you concentrate so hard to dance that you hold your breath; causing you to fall over.

What if axis is more like a fluid held inside a mostly stable body shape? Can we use this picture to have better balance by accepting that balance and axis constantly shift?

Body Dynamics for a technique boost

Body Dynamics is about learning to dance tango with elegant, sensuous power. It is about learning to use your body efficiently, so that you have reserves to pull out when your partner and/or the music demand more from you. This class will help you master balance, axis, breath--all the challenging parts of tango. In Body Dynamics, you find your own voice and energy within the dance to make it YOUR dance.

This is a serious class that yields major results in flexibility, technique and dance level, in a short time. We start with about twenty minutes of tango-specific stretches: a combination of what my teacher, Georgina Vargas, has taught me; and other stretches culled from my 25 years of teaching dance. Then, we do drills and exercises for the remainder of class, sometimes with a partner, sometimes solo. Each week, I focus on something that will be used in the advanced class, so that each person has a solid block of technique to apply to the steps taught that week. I also work on something for my students who take my intermediate/advanced intermediate class on Thursdays at 8 PM.

For example, this week the Thursday 8 PM class will be starting six weeks of milonga traspie (syncopated milonga), while the advanced class will begin tackling ganchos, leg carries and amagues in combinations.  We will spend part of class working on fast, small steps with elegance; and part on freeing the legs for swingy movements; as well as working on how to lead ganchos.  Each week, the material covered varies according to the needs of the other classes.

I can see the results of Body Dynamics: my students who take it improve much faster than those who do not. However, I know it is hard to make time for two classes a week, so I always offer a special for taking it: sign up for Body Dynamics and one of the other classes this session, and pay only $90 (instead of $120 for both); such a deal! Not sure if it's the right class for you? Drop in and check it out for $12. The Om Studio is at 14 NE 10th, PDX, just off Burnside. See you there!

Reverse culture shock: coming home from Buenos Aires

As both an anthropologist by training and a former Peace Corps volunteer, I am familiar with culture shock.  I have lived abroad, traveled and/or studied for periods of up to two years, on three continents. In adjusting to a foreign culture, you expect to find differences--sometimes very hard to adjust to--but you think that coming home will be easier.

Reverse culture shock is more of a shock to my system than culture shock. Nothing has ever struck me quite as strongly as my inability to choose a box of cereal in the cereal aisle, after returning from two years in Morocco (and two choices of cereal). However, the emotions I experience upon reentry from Buenos Aires almost rival that feeling of disorientation.

Each time I come back from Buenos Aires, I have a period of time when I need to re-adjust to my home tango culture of Portland, Oregon. I am used to cabeceo, and I feel a mental jolt to have someone walk up and ask me to dance verbally, even though I occasionally do the same thing after a prolonged absence from Argentina. Also, I get used to the high level of musicality I find in Buenos Aires, even if the technique level is not terribly higher than in Portland. I expect a more relaxed body contact and more energy exchange when I come home, and often feel frustrated by the North American focus on "steps" instead. I become accustomed to small steps and no room, and have to mentally adjust to the more globe-trotting Portland dancer who sometimes does multiple laps of the room during a tanda.

I call this period of time "the Buenos Aires letdown" and spend a lot of time griping about being back for a few weeks. When I go dancing, I experience a sense of withdrawal from a drug, a craving for high intensity tango in Buenos Aires, my favorite addiction. Gradually, I remember why I dance in Portland (to see friends, to relax, etc.) and rejoin the community mentally.

But those first few weeks are hell.

Dancing to tango music: what does that mean?

Students often get frustrated by tango music. After all, we have grown up with rock music here in the United States. Many of us dance by moving to each beat of the music, repetitively. We shimmy; we play air guitar; or we sit still, listening.

Our grandparents' music is swing if we are older, or rock if we are younger. Tango is not something we heard as children. Many of my students say that they prefer dancing tango to alternative tango, because it feels more like rock music. So what do you do to tango music? How do you learn what to do?

One approach is to dance on each beat of the music. Those of us with musical training, or with natural rhythm, can do that. Some people are able to watch others dancing and cheat off of their rhythm. Those for whom music is a foreign language from a distant planet, struggle with stepping to the musical beat. After a long battle, most are able to do this with practice.

I think that tango music yields a much richer experience if you dare to leave the beat behind, at least from time to time. As North Americans, we seem to find pausing to music a bit nerve-racking: our Puritan ethic of looking busy and keeping busy, does not jive with the enjoyment of a moment in dance where we are doing little more than sharing a moment of doing nothing!

If music is easy for you, consider listening to the melody and the feeling of a song as a place to start learning how/where to pause. There are natural pauses and breaks in the music that encourage the dancer to pause and play. For beginners, I tell people to stand on one leg, and "draw your name in cursive on the floor, as if you were drawing in the sand with your big toe." This way, the whole process of deciding WHAT to do with a pause is eliminated, letting the dancer focus on the music. Then we dance, incorporating our "adorno" into the dance.

Then, we practice using pauses of different durations. Most leaders think they are pausing when they don't move for one count of the music. Before the follower has even figured out that there is a pause, the couple is off and running again. To avoid this, I have students count while pausing: "one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi, etc." up to "six-Mississippi" or "eight-Mississippi." At this point, the followers have happily done an adorno, and are ready to move. The leaders are usually frothing at the mouth. We can ALL slow down.

The difficulty with pausing, is to figure out how to pause appropriately with the music. We have all seen the "advanced" dancer who plays with the music so self-consciously that every beat is accounted for, but his poor follower does not usually look happy. How can we pause organically, fitting it into the music?

Unfortunately, the answer is "get to know the music." If you know a song, you dance better to that music. You know where the pauses are. You know how emotional, or relatively steady, that singer sings. You know where your partner will try to end early, or if the final "bum-bum!" will be missing. Start listening NOW! Play tango until you are (almost) sick of the songs that you hear each week at the milonga.

Single-axis turns

My advanced class will be working on single-axis turns for the next few weeks: here is a head start on Monday night!

The basics

Single-axis turns are turns in which the leader and the follower are (as much as is possible) sharing an axis while spinning on one foot in place, and then exiting.

A single-axis turn can be done:

• in a right or left turn;
• with either the leader's right or left foot;
• and through any step of the follower's turn.

My main teacher for these was Luciana Valle, but I also studied them with Chicho Frumboli and Gustavo Naveira. I was taught them in open embrace, but I prefer to dance as many of them as possible in the interlaced, close embrace that I usually use to dance. Why? Because I find it easier to control the follower when I have a full embrace, rather than just two hands to guide them.

 

Secrets to make single-axis turns easy

Tips for leaders

1. Remember to keep your leg, knee and foot relaxed. This will allow you to land on balance, without knocking the follower out of your way.
2. "Pink Panther" timing: da-DUMP! The follower's foot hits the ground, and then you step around/behind a split second after they start the weight transfer. This allows you an escape hatch if the partner lands off balance, so that you can bail on the turn, OR help them regain balance. It also allows you to "ride" the momentum of the follower, instead of working harder ;-)
3. Don't go for super-rotation instead of technique: a a half turn is fine (heck, a quarter turn is fine). When you and your partner are aligned correctly, you will find that you turn a lot more, even without much effort.
4. There should be a moment at the end of the turn where there is a feeling of suspension before the exit: don't fall into an exit, use that suspension and enjoy it! It's like a wave gathering and then breaking.
5. Exit with the follower's easiest exit (usually back or forward) and arrange yourself as needed. If you need to change feet for stability, then do it, but ONLY to exit. For example, on the follower's back cross step version of this turn, I sometimes lead this in parallel, then transfer weight to exit in crossed system.

Tips for followers

1. Don't panic.
2. Remember to use your body like a spring: all joints are soft and flexible, but the body also stretches on axis so the whole thing doesn't compress.
3. If in general you struggle to keep your hips "back" for good alignment, focus on that while spinning to stay on axis.
4. Did I mention don't panic?
5. Do the best turn you can do, with excellent technique on each step, and you will be on balance, ready for anything. Do NOT try to "help" the leader with the step. Focus on doing the best front, side or back step you can instead.

Using single-axis turns

First, make sure you can do some basic single-axis turns before you string them into combinations:

• left turn, step through follower's open step with left foot (or right).
• left turn, step through follower's front cross step  with left foot (or right).
• left turn, step through follower's back cross step with left foot (right is dangerous here).

When those work, try them to the right. For some people, these are almost impossible. For me, the "harder" direction turned out to be easier for me. Try all of them, and see what makes the most sense to you.

I like using boleos and/or drags in combinations with single-axis turns, but I will hold off on making suggestions until we've worked through some of the combinations in class, and then I'll post the ones that folks like the best.

 

Upcoming classes start next week!

My Monday and Thursday night classes will start a new six-week session next week.  Come check it out:
 

• 14 NE 10th, PDX (one block from Norse Hall)
• $12 drop in
• $60 for 6 week session
• $90 for any two classes taken in the same session (i.e. Body Dynamics & Adv.)

Class topics/descriptions:

Body Dynamics (7 PM Mondays, Int/Adv)

This is the class that will improve your dance the fastest, but it is "no vacation!". Each session, we work on stretches and drills that will help in 8 PM classes on Thursdays AND Mondays. Wear clothing to stretch on the floor, and bring both socks and your dance shoes. This is a true tango workout!

Take It To The Next Level (8 PM Mondays, Advanced)

This class will focus on single-axis turns and multiple turns this session.  We will use drags and sacadas in combinations that work well with the single-axis turns to create fun combinations for the advanced dancer. We will learn some new adornos to play with on the dance floor. Connection, musicality and sensuality, here we come!

Top 10 Tango Moves (7 PM Thursdays, Beg/Int)

This class focuses on getting the basics down, dance-floor-ready, and connected to your partner.  For more advanced dancers, get the little details you never learned as a beginner! We always do some work on walking technique, plus some other topics.  This session, we'll do front and back ochos, basic paradas, and adornos for lead and follow for creativity and musicality.

Next 10 Tango Moves (8 PM Thursdays, Int./Adv. Int.)

Designed to add more repertoire for the dance floor, navigation and musicality for leaders AND followers, this class learns a new combination each week that is ready to take over to Norse Hall and use by the end of the hour.   This session will cover turns with a parada, a lapiz and/or enrosque for the leaders; and turn technique as well as more advanced adornos for the followers.

No pre-registration required: just show up!
 

Dancing in tight spaces: tips for leaders

With the Valentango festival coming up here in Portland, a lot of my students have asked for pointers for dancing in small spaces. Having spent more time leading on the Buenos Aires dance floors than most women, I have experienced leading in VERY tight spaces. I learned to hold my own while men who objected to my leading, tried to push me and my partner off the dance floor. I also learned how to dance and have fun without using much room by following skilled leaders.

When I dance in small spaces, I concentrate on the follower's experience, not mine. I don't worry about what to do with my feet. I put my follower's feet in safe spots, and my body usually ends up in the right place. I keep my solar plexus relaxed, which helps my follower stay more relaxed. I make sure that I lead to the appropriate level: I try out different moves, and then stay within my follower's comfort zone in terms of levels and steps.

I focus on making each dance fit the music as perfectly as I can. If it's a rhythmic tango, or a vals, or a milonga, I play with the rhythm. If it's a romantic tango or a vals, I look for the pauses, for the changes in flavor of the music, and work from there. I tend to dance the feeling of the music and the melody more than I did as a beginner or intermediate dancer.

However, I try to NEVER dance the music instead of dancing my partner. If my plan for the music and steps isn't working, my first responsibility is to the follower. I slow down; I wait for the follower. I make sure my follower feels secure and protected. So what if Joe Schmoe watching from the tables thinks I danced "off" the music? If my follower is happy, I am happy.

One of the best tandas I have ever had, was at Salon Canning one Sunday afternoon, to Pugliese. Before that, I had really thought that, to do justice to Pugliese, you needed a bit of space, but we were shoved in about the third row in from the tables, with almost no space to move. That guy made every pause count, with small, wonderful movements as we had space. Although he was not a advanced, polished dancer, his dance changed the way I led more than almost any lesson I have ever had. It was an experience in connection with my partner, with the music, and with the entire crowd surrounding us. I try to dance like that every tanda.

Dancing in tight spaces: tips for followers

With Valentango approaching, I have been thinking about what advice to give followers for dancing in small spaces. Leaders often panic when faced with tight quarters. Even a trusted leader may panic and leave you to your own devices as they try to figure out what to do. What can you do to help?

First, I focus on being on axis. If I keep my alignment in order. I make sure that I have my shock absorption system working: feet, ankles, knees and hips are soft and energized. I make sure my heels are down on the floor, not off the floor where I could injure other dancers. I keep my torso elastic and stretched, connecting to my leader. This makes it easier for the leader to lead me, leaving more focus for navigation.

Next, I DANCE. It's easy to cheat in small steps, and not dance your best. When in tight spaces, I play with my quality of movement, small changes in speed, and use my smaller adornos. I try to be as musical as possible. Every step counts. I am never treading in place, waiting to dance. I am dancing each step, making every bit of the song count for myself and my partner. I am dancing my heart out, in less than a square meter. If I really dance, my leader feels that and dances with me.

Third, I try to ensure that no one is going to run into us from a direction my leader cannot see. If I need to, I will use my left hand/arm to give a slight warning signal to my leader if s/he is about to back up into trouble. But make sure that you don't get into "back-seat driver" mode: you are following.

However, if you are the kind of follower who gets tense in small spaces, you may need to close your eyes and concentrate on relaxing in order to let yourself be led; I used to do that for years until I learned not to panic. If someone runs into you and your lead, exhaling and releasing the tension in your body will help you not get injured--and will make it easier for your leader to lead you.

Have fun!

Leading different size steps for a saucy tango

Now that all the followers have learned to take uniformly sized steps, we are starting to learn to vary the size of steps during the dance. WHAT?!? What was the point of learning to keep them the same?

• Safety: As the leader learns to lead, there are already so many variables that having a constant step size from the follower helps make tango danceable;
• Control: You can't learn to vary your step size on purpose until you have learned to FEEL where your body normally exists in space (kinesthetic awareness).

Now that you have learned control over your steps, we can play with the dance to add flavor (what my teachers Oscar and Georgina call "picante") to your movement, based on musical promptings, other people's use of space, of just for fun.

Two of the combinations we have worked on in the Monday advanced class have dealt with leading the follower to use small steps interspersed with larger steps. In both, we changed the follower's "back-side-forward" steps of a giro into something a bit different.

The marca is the key to changing the follower's step size

One of my advanced students told my teachers that he didn't like using his hand as a part of the lead. He said he had been trained to NOT use his right hand and embrace to control movement. Oscar told him that he could continue to dance like that and "do your four or five moves" but in order to develop clear leads for more moves, he needed to learn to use the marca.

This is to head off all the comments from those of you who say to me, "But [x teacher] told me not to use my hands!" I believe that that person probably just didn't understand 100% how to make this dance easier and more elegant. Yes, it IS more work to learn to lead this way, but it means that your follower will go where you want, and do what you want them to do. I personally like to see that glazed, happy look on my follower's face after a tanda; don't you?

The point of the marca is not to signal the follower, but rather to be able to control the follower's movement gently and effectively. The follower does not need to "know" a signal because the follower's body is adjusted by the marca to make the move work.

The marca needed for step size is the suspension of the follower WHILE MOVING. When I suspend the follower:

• If she is stationary, she will (hopefully) stay put on one leg;
• If she is moving when you suspend, the follower's feet stay under her more, making her steps smaller: this is what we need!

Medialuna to the left (1st part of the combination)

Rather than getting three medium-sized steps for the medialuna, this combination asked the follower to step "big-big-tiny" in order to end in the cross: #4 is the key part:

1. salida
2. regresa (side step back towards original position)
3. 1 step LOD (leader left foot, follower right foot)
4. medialuna to the left, with the leader stepping forward diagonal on the first step with the right AND STAYING ON THAT FOOT, and then pivoting in place with the chest to twist the follower into the cross, rather than taking a forward step on the third step of the turn.
5. Use the marca to pivot the follower into the cross with a light suspension. This limitls the size of step the follower can take.
6. Collect and (if needed) pivot counterclockwise, then both move laterally facing left diagonal LOD, and collect again to pivot clockwise and step laterally, facing right diagonal.
7. End ready to move LOD.

 A note: I teach followers to do uniform giro steps UNLESS led to do #4. Other teachers in the community teach to automatically do the cross, but then the leader has only one option for movement. This way, the leader has a choice of possible movements, one of which is to truncate the forward step into the cross.

Main object of doing this medialuna into the cross: use your new skills in step size to adjust spatially to position your next move on the crowded dance floor.

Eighteen years and still together!

This week, I made a joke about having a long-term marriage with tango, complete with ups, downs, dry spells, and long arguments. Then I started thinking about it: my relationship with tango has been very much like a marriage.

Tango and I started as an infatuation. In one short weekend, in December 1995, I fell in love at first sight. I started practicing three days a week with the one, and then two people in town who knew tango and were interested in getting better. I posted the "You know you are addicted to Argentine tango if..." checklist on my office door at the university, and set about solidying my habit.

As the infatuation turned into a new love affair, tango took precedence over many other parts of my life. I switched from a PhD program studying the Balkans, to a MA program in cultural anthropology, and wrote my thesis on Argentine tango. I started studying Spanish. I saved all my money and went to Argentina three years in a row (as a graduate student!), with the excuse that I needed to do research. If I hadn't switch my thesis focus to tango, I am pretty sure that I would have failed out of graduate school.

I started teaching tango because I was desperate to have tango partners to share my obsession. I initially taught tango as part of my advanced ballroom class at the University of Oregon in 1996.  I came in and announced to my class, "I have started learning Argentine Tango. I don't know very much about it, but I will teach you all I know." I started hosting a weekly practica, as well as organizing workshops with traveling teachers. I convinced the dance department to start offering tango classes for credit. After all, this was my big love, and I wanted everyone to share it! The daily routine of married life, of schedules, going out on special dates, cultivating mutual friends, creating a shared history--this was what I was doing.

As with most newlyweds, I thought that my love for tango would stay at a fever pitch forever. I remember chatting with Jose Garafolo, one of my earliest teachers, and asking him why he didn't go out to the milongas in Buenos Aires. When he told me he had already been teaching for ten years, and after work, didn't feel like going out dancing, I thought he was crazy. I could not imagine feeling that way about tango. After all, I was in LOVE. How could one not want to dance as many hours a day as possible? How could teaching get in the way of dancing?

Like a long-term marriage, what is fabulous and exciting at the beginning, becomes more comfortable, more predictable over time. Now, after dancing tango for eighteen years, and teaching for seventeen years (I don't recommend this quick path to anyone, but back then, we were desperate for teachers), I understand Jose's point of view.  When I have taught six or seven hours of tango in a day, I have to force myself to go to the milonga to dance. I still love dancing and I love seeing my friends of many years, but my love affair has become my job. I am married to tango.

And yet, there are those moments from time to time that are even more exciting than at the beginning, because now I understand the movement, the music, the lyrics, the cultural details--there are richer, more moving tandas, that I would not have appreciated when in my lovestruck mode. This is why I keep going back to Buenos Aires, going to the milongas in Portland, practicing drills and combinations at home, and teaching. I wouldn't give this up for the world. So even though I "cheat" on tango by dancing West Coast Swing or going to the salsa club, I am married for life to tango.  'Til death do us part, baby, 'til death do us part.

To show off is human?

Today, one of my students said that he has urges to show off when folks are watching, and asked me how to stop being aware of others watching him dance. I know that that the tango politically correct answer would be somethinglike, "You should just focus on your partner, and not pay attention to the others in the room, except to navigate." After all, this is a social dance between two persons.

However, my first thought was, "Hmm, I know exactly what you are talking about!" We are all human and imperfect: I feel the urge to show off whenever I am passing one of my teachers at a table at a milonga, or when I know that a really good dancer is watching me. I want to impress that person, so that they want to dance with me, or are proud of my progress, or just to show off--and I am a self-conscious, shy person in general, who prefers to remain more in the background in most situations. Imagine if you are more outgoing!

So why is it a problem that we want to show off? After all, can't we also show our partner off and make them look good to attract other dance partners for them?  This doesn't have to be a purely selfish action. If we acknowledge that most of us can't stay only in the moment, focusing on only one thing/person for even a tanda, why does it matter if we think about a little showing off?

I think that the problem is that, usually, we mess up when we try harder. We get nervous about something, and our bodies tighten up. How many times have you thought, "Oh, [x] is watching, so I'll try something cool/fancy/harder," only to screw it up WHILE that person is watching? How embarrassing! I find myself thinking things like, "OK, just relax! Do NOT try to show off, just be cool. After all, this is about dancing with the partner I have right now and focusing on them. Focus! Do the right thing! Oops, I just messed up..."

Thinking about what my student asked made me realize why I prefer to dance in Buenos Aires instead of in my home community. I like the anonymity: no one knows I am a teacher; no one cares if I have status. I get to dance more than at home, because I am just some tourist. I can blend in, with my dark hair and medium height and clothing bought in Buenos Aires.

What is really silly about this, is that I know folks are watching me dance in Buenos Aires as well.  Women touch me on the shoulder and say, "Pretty feet!" after a good tanda.  Men obviously watch, because new people invite me to dance. But I don't feel the pressure to show off, and I don't feel as self-conscious. This may only be my experience, but I feel more permission both to relax, and to screw up, outside of my home community.

As a result, I have more memorable tandas in Buenos Aires; tandas that I will always remember, even if I can't remember the guy's name. Last year, there was that tanda with Hector (who I have only met once) at Sala Siranoush. The year before, it was a tango tanda (and a rocking chacarera) with Guillermo, my tango crush of the year. There was the great tanda with Juan the year before that, when we talked about life and how there are rocks in the road, in between sweet dances.

What does that say about showing off? When I am more relaxed, I show off less.  When I show off less, I invest more in my tandas. When I invest more in my tandas, I get more memorable tandas. Focusing on my partner, instead of showing off, makes for better tangos. If I dance for my partner, instead of for the tables, I will have a good time, and dance better. Showing off is human, but resisting the urge makes for stellar tango.

Learning to lead is easier if you know how to follow tango

Many women I work with notice that they are learning to lead much faster than beginning male dancers. Why is this?

First, you already know the moves in tango. For example, if you have followed walking to the cross (the cruzada) five thousand times, it is not a new step. Even if you have trouble turning steps around in your head, the fact that you have been on the receiving end of the cruzada means that you already have data to plug into that move as a leader.

Second, you know what you DON'T like in a leader. If it annoys you that leaders push with their left hand, or don't use a solid marca to help you do the step they have in their mind, you are less likely to attempt to lead a step that way. Furthermore, you know what moves don't feel comfortable for the follower, and you can avoid those steps as a leader, even if they are fun for the leader; that triple boleo leg wrap thing is out! You have a checklist in your head of what a good leader does that you can follow as you learn to lead.

Third, you have prior experience dancing to the music. You already have favorite orchestras, or favorite songs. You are not building an understanding of the music from scratch, as a new leader would who does not have tango following experience. This seems to be true for milonga and vals especially, since many women admit to me that they are learning to lead so that they don't have to sit out milonga and vals tandas :-)

Fourth, you already know the other ladies at the milongas. Unlike a beginning male leader, you have friends who are willing to dance with you because they are your friends, right from the start. You have already done your "wait until they can recognize you" time in the community. Because many women start leading when they are advanced intermediate or advanced dancers, they already know the more advanced followers; this also speeds up learning time, as dancing with beginners is just harder.

Three out of four of these conditions were ALSO met for men, back when my teachers such as Tete (we miss him!) learned to dance.  In an interview, he told me about learning to dance with the other boys, and following for about a year and a half (the time changed the different times he told me this story) until he got tired of it and insisted on being allowed to lead.

The Argentine men who learned to dance this way, already knew what the move felt like as a follower. They had an understanding of what felt good (or didn't feel good) as a follower.  They knew the music from growing up around it. They didn't have instant access to lots of good followers, however: their friends had to beg dances as favors from the more advanced women, or they had to do the long wait for acceptance by the women in the community--until they were acknowledged to be a good dancer.

That means that a woman learning to lead today (unless she is starting both roles as a beginner, as I did), has many advantages. And, guys, perhaps you might consider working more on your following skills, right from the beginning: it may speed up your learning process! We can't be Argentine, but we can be good tango leaders!

Building stronger technique in the tango community (teaching to the weak spots)

Trying new things as a teacher

I have taught Argentine tango since 1996, and taught in Portland, Oregon since 2008. During that time, I have addressed many issues that arose in my community's dance technique. Each time I have focused on something that seems lacking in our dance, that weak spot has either disappeared, or at the very least, started to improve.

I began to teach my Body Dynamics class two years ago.  I realized that we needed to focus more on technique, and less on combinations, if we wanted to have a better level of dancing in Portland. With stretching and drills--instead of combinations--that class has helped my students arrive at a higher level of dance, faster than their peers, no matter what level of my other classes they attend.

I have hesitated to expand my new style of teaching into my other classes because I was afraid that folks would say, "But that's not how a tango class is supposed to be!" However, I cannot ignore how much faster the Body Dynamics students improve. Even if this is not the "traditional" way to teach tango, I need to push my comfort envelope as a teacher, and apply what I've learned the past few years to my classes.

I find it difficult to find enough time to revamp all of my lesson plans! Somehow, teaching 25 hours a week and being a mom of a child who needs an alternative school, medical visits, occupational therapy, a personal trainer for social skills, etc. does not leave a lot of time to plan. However, my new session that is starting this week (and early next week for my more advanced classes) will be a bit different.

The plan

What is changing:

• a bit of stretching and focusing on the body in each class, not just in Body Dynamics
• a small chunk of drills for each class, so that the combinations work better
• more focus on musicality: THIS is our community's weak spot at the present
• finding more energy in each step of the dance/combination by using the body correctly
• improving connection between partners, so that each part of the dance feels better
• dancing more vals and milonga in my classes; we need more practice in these dances
• working on making space for adornos and pauses in the dance; more dialogue between partners

I am practicing each day myself, and reviewing videos of my personal lessons from Oscar and Georgina. If my students see how hard I am working, I think they will feel empowered to work hard, too. After all, with Argentine tango, you will never get bored, because you can never dance perfectly: there is always more you can learn/practice/do in the dance. For me, that is why I am still doing this dance.

Class descriptions

Top Ten Tango Moves (Fundamentals)

I don't have a dedicated "beginner" tango class because we ALL need to work on our tango fundamentals. My class usually has some complete beginners, as well as intermediates reviewing, and folks learning "the other role" who already are advanced at leading or following. Class is at the Om (14 NE 10th in Portland) on Thursdays at 7 PM.

This class covers (depending on the level of the folks who show up):

• basic anatomy info for dancing tango
• easy warmup exercises to make learning work better
• walking
• walking to the cross in parallel and crossed systems
• walk variants for more/less space
• 1-3 versions of ocho cortado (linear, lateral, circular)
• front ochos
• back ochos
• turns to the right and left
• basic paradas
• tango, vals and milonga musicality basics
• axis, posture, balance
• using "the marca" (chest, arm, hand) to lead clearly
• adornos and pausas for the follower to play
• navigation and dancing in small spaces, right from the beginning
• cultural info (tandas, cabeceo practice, etc.) to help navigate going out dancing

Next 10 Tango Moves

This class is aimed at intermediate dancers, and is more fluid in content.  Most people who take it have danced at least six months, up to about three years. However, some folks have danced for many years, but like to take a class Thursdays before the milonga that is a block away. Class is at the Om (14 NE 10th, Portland) at 8 PM on Thursdays.

The plan for the next few months:

• warming up the body quickly to improve dancing
• improving mental focus for the dance and for learning
• Romantic tango musicality and moves
• vals focus (we did milonga last year, but not vals)
• turns: new entrances and exits
• calesitas
• boleos
• pauses and adornos to make the dance more dramatic/express the music better
• front & back ochos (and new variants)
• basic quebradas & enrosques for turns and deep ochos
• pivot and turn work for followers
• understanding syncopation better, and using it :-)
• creating your own combinations from what you know: personalizing your tango

Take It To The Next Level (advanced, minimum 2+ years dancing)

My advanced class is a one-room schoolhouse, with dancers who have done Argentine tango for anywhere between two and ten years. Many of them have come to me from other styles of tango, and are re-learning/polishing/adjusting their dance, as well as moving up to an advanced level. This class has an extremely varied range of topics during the course of the year. Luckily, many people take Body Dynamics for the hour before class, so many are already warmed up by the time class starts (Mondays at 8 PM at the Om, 14 NE 10th in Portland).

Most of what I teach in my advanced class comes out of Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas' repertoire, as they have been my main teachers since 2000. However, I also draw on Chicho Frumboli's teacher training classes for tango; Omar Vega's milonga traspie classes; and Tete Rusconi's vals classes, all of which I took in Buenos Aires over the years.

For the next chunk of time, here is the plan:

• light warmup, using the music for the day (different orchestras, different moods)
• musicality: vals, milonga and tango (romantic and rhythmic styles), and different "flavors" of tango
• leading technique: working on using "the marca" well, in order to have a broader range of material that works
• following technique: adornos, deep pivots for turns, boleos, etc., fabulous turns, you name it!
• exploring personal style: using the moves we work on to put together your own combinations, rather than just getting out on the dance floor and copying what I taught that week
• a new combination every week that focuses on the theme of the six-week session (I have a chunk of turns from Oscar and Georgina with quebradas, enrosques, lapices for the leaders; combos with pauses and adorno space for the followers; gorgeous moves for vals and tango; and probably playing with volcadas, although that may be in the New Year, depending on how fast we get through material...
• putting more sensuous, dynamic energy into the dance, so that EVERY step rocks: moving like a panther, like a lion
• more input from students about what topics we cover, as this is more of a master class with folks working on different aspects of a move, depending on level

Body Dynamics

Body Dynamics is not changing: this class is designed the way I would like to have ALL of my tango levels! Class is Mondays at 7 PM at the Om, 14 NE 10th in Portland.  Here is the current setup:

• 20 minutes of stretching
• 20 minutes of basic drills for balance, posture, pivoting, energy
• 20 minutes of targeted work on specific moves that will be used in my intermediate and advanced classes during the six-week session
• lots of peer coaching and working one-on-one, but not in designated lead-follow couples, so women get to know the other women and men get to know the other men: community-building!
• mix of traditional and alternative music

Hope to see some of you there!

What is this "marca" thing?

When I started Argentine Tango in 1995, my first teacher told us that we didn't need to use our arms and hands to lead, just the chest.  He demonstrated by dancing around without using an embrace. We took this to heart, and copied him.

When I first went to Argentina in 1999, I noticed that a lot of the older milongueros DID use their hands and arms to lead me. When I asked some of the nuevo tango folks with whom I was studying whether this was right, they said the older guys didn't have good technique--and that's why they used their hands to help lead. I enjoyed following the older guys, and switched to going to afternoon milongas on my third visit to Buenos Aires, in order to dance with the older generation, but I didn't change much about how I led. It's funny that I didn't make any connection between the ease of following them and their technique!

I started studying with Oscar Mandagaran in 2000 while in Buenos Aires. He advocated an embrace that used chest, arms and hands as a unit, the "marca," to lead ("la marca" means "the lead"). However, it wasn't until 2008 that I converted to teaching people how to use the entire body to lead, not just the chest. When I organized for him and Georgina Vargas in the USA, he took me aside and demonstrated how much easier it was to follow complex moves if he helped me with a clear marca, rather than just moving his chest. The difference was so clear that I had to start relearning tango to dance better.

As a follower, I am sold on this precision that allows me to "let myself be led" rather than trying to figure out what the leader MIGHT want me to do.  As a leader, I like having the ability to help the follower arrive at the same place I do, with less work. To quote Oscar, "You don't want to use your hands and arms? Fine! Keep doing your four or five moves! If you want to do more, you need to help the woman understand what you want her to do!" There is a delicacy and a sublety about this way of leading that appeals to me, because it allows the fine details of tango music to come out, along with the improved connection between the dancers.

While new leaders (or leaders new to using this method of leading) can sometimes feel like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, pointing several directions at once, the end result is worth waiting for! It takes a while to figure out how to use the hands and arms to HELP the torso lead, rather than to have them take over, which is NOT a good marca. For those of you who are sure I am wrong, don't knock it until you give it a fair trial!

Heels down or heels up?

A Facebook discussion going on about whether you should have your heels down or up for dancing tango made me decide to tell my pain-to-no-pain story about why I changed my technique to using my heels on the floor for Argentine Tango.

When I started dancing tango in 1995, no one told us what to do with our heels. Many of the teachers who came through were men who focused on teaching combinations of fancy steps. Although I was studying and taking notes every workshop I took, I have no notes on what to do with my feet from those first few years, except for Luciana Valle's advice to "lick the floor with your feet" which focused on articulating your step, but we seemed to mostly practice it walking forward, so again, I had few notes on how to walk backwards.

My first few visits to Buenos Aires in 1999-2001, I spent a few months dancing and trying different techniques.  I studied with Tete and Silvia, Omar Vega, Chicho Frumboli, Gustavo and Giselle, Luciana Valle, Jose Garafolo, Chiche and Marta, the Puglieses, Graciela Gonzalez, and Oscar Mandagaran. As usual, no two teachers said exactly the same thing, as many of them danced different styles. I ended up with a lot of material to teach in terms of patterns and steps, but no clear path in terms of walking technique.

Dancing in the milongas, I learned to get my heels down, so that I didn't spike other people, and so that I had better balance. This helped cut down on the toe pain and lower back pain that I got when dancing for long periods of time. However, I didn't really start changing my technique until I brought Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas to Portland and Eugene, Oregon, for workshops in 2008.

I started my private lessons with them telling them all the things in their technique that I wasn't going to do (not a very flexible student!). They patiently took their time to explain WHY they did each thing that I had been told not to do, and to dance it with me.

One of the things they changed about my dance was how I used my feet. They had me articulate through my foot, using natural walking movement, so that I was not tensing my foot, or popping up on my heels, or rolling out, but rather moving efficiently. When you walk backwards in "real life," you roll over your heel, letting your toes relax off the floor. Not only does this give you better balance and less work for each step, it allows you to really MOVE when you step, in a much more powerful way than pushing off your poor toes.

This new approach to walking removed my foot pain on the dance floor: I can now work an 8-hour teaching day and end up with tired, but not painful, feet. When I dance at the milongas, my feet hold up better than the rest of me: I go home because I am sleepy, not sore!

Another benefit to rolling through my heels and working my feet correctly was that people immediately commented on how much better my technique looked. Now when I go dancing in Buenos Aires, women touch me on the arm on the way back to my seat, and say, "Pretty feet!" and "Who is your teacher?"

 It took a grueling six months to start to retool my dance after dancing tango on a daily basis for thirteen years, but it was worth it! I constantly try to improve my dance, and study with Oscar and Georgina as much as possible, so that I can teach the technique as clearly as possible.

Shoe repair in the Portland/Vancouver area

After trying several repair places in my neighborhood, I found that many places would not repair my stiletto heels because they "didn't have that size heel tip" available. Could I bring one with me? How frustrating!

Luckily, several of my students have found repair shops with more intelligent repair folks. I have not tried all of them yet, but so far, so good!

Vancouver area:

Corner Cobbler Shoe Repair, 608 Devine Rd., Vancouver

(360) 693-0921

Hours: M-F 9-6 and Sat. 9-3

SW Portland area:

Hillsdale Shoe Repair, 6311 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland, OR

(503) 344-3153

Hours: Tues.-Fri. 10-6 and Sat 10-4

NE Portland area:

JD's Shoe Repair, 728 N. Alberta St., Portland, OR

(503) 287-7078

Hours: Tues.-Sat. 10-6

I will be back to posting more regularly, about the Portland community and about anatomy, posture and all my favorite topics, as soon as I get my taxes squared away!

Current Class Schedule

The interlaced embrace: energy and connection

Coming back from Buenos Aires to dance in the USA is always difficult. It's not the level of technique: in some cases, that is comparable with the dancers in Argentina. Why are dancers here different? One Argentine teacher told me that he was glad HE didn't have to teach North Americans tango every day: "They don't like touching each other!"

To me, it's not the physical touching that is lacking, but the emotional connection. Most dancers I dance with in Buenos Aires are more open. I can feel their energy open up to me, rather than block my energy. It is rare to feel that with dancers I don't know in the USA, and sometimes even with folks I know well.

I think this might be true for North America, rather than only for dancing tango. Dancing last night (West Coast Swing), I could feel my partners going through the motions, but not DANCING with me. One man kept putting my hands on his body and gyrating, but never connected in energy: it was a solo act! In fact, I was struck by the connection that was established with one dancer from Los Angeles (Latino), because all the other dancers--with the exception of my sweetie--did not connect.

There is a social component in what I experience as the connection in Buenos Aires. There, I have discussions about relationships, work, politics, love--in between dances in a tanda. In some cases, we started up conversations from the year before and continued them! When the dancing is REALLY good, we tend to talk about how good the dancing and connection feels, and often discuss the orchestra or the singer and how that is working to our advantage in the tanda. I don't experience that very much in the USA, except with established friends; and then we shy away from deep conversations, as if that would interfere with the dancing.

Is it more accepted to open to another person emotionally outside of white American culture (most of the dancers here would fit in that category). The Argentines I spoke with certainly think so, but there are cultural sterotypes about North Americans there, so perhaps that is not a valid observation.

What I try to accomplish in my teaching tango, is to establish a deep, interlaced embrace that allows for movement for both people, and allows for maximum balance and comfort. I think that aids in allowing emotional and energetic connection. That is one reason I've moved away from the square, stuck-to-your-sternum embrace I was taught years ago: if I am struggling for balance, how can I relax enough to allow a real connection to happen? When your body relaxes, your center relaxes, and you can allow energy flow to form a unified couple. It will take a bit more work to get our North American comfort zones small enough to let vulnerability in enough to really connect with others.

What do you think will help us open up to our partners and let our vulnerability out to play?

Food for thought: how can we improve the tango dance experience in our communities?

My last two nights of dancing in Buenos Aires are not happening: I caught a cold, and stayed home last night and tonight. I decided it was more important to try to get well than to squeeze more dance time out of my visit; especially as I don't like to give colds to other people!

Most people take vacations to relax. I usually come home from Buenos Aires more exhausted than when I left. Perhaps this time, I will be ready to jump back into life.

I always come home with a list of things that I want to change about my teaching, about my practica, and about the Portland tango community. As I have a young son, I don't travel much in the U.S. tango community, so I don't know whether these problems exist in other communities or not.

1.  Guys, let's dance with the women who aren't getting dances!

Maybe they are shy, or new, or lack the confidence to really accept a cabeceo (or don't know how to cabeceo!). What I've noticed this time in Buenos Aires that I never noticed before: There are nice guys here who dance with people who have been sitting down a long time. They are good dancers, but more importantly, they are GENTLEMEN. These guys don't just dance with their favorites, and they don't peacock around, showing off. They quietly make the milonga experience better, just by being nice. We could use more of this in our community.

2.  Ladies, let's accept at least one cabeceo from someone below our dance level every time we go dancing.

Although the foreigners I met were obsessed with getting good dances, the Argentine women with whom I sat, danced with their friends, no matter what level they were, and they had a lot more fun. I would like to see more of this friendliness towards the men in Portland, rather than the snooty attitude that occurs when women try to demonstrate how good they are by rejecting lower-level male dancers.

3. Let's get to know each other as people!

There was less of a feeling of competition between women when I sat at tables of Argentine women. Instead of trying to intercept cabeceos (and yes, I sat at a table of competitive foreigners who would lean in front of others to cut off their view of the men), Argentine women chatted with me. They directed my attention to better dancers with whom I might like to dance, and my best tanda of the entire visit came out of my table partner digging me in the ribs and saying, "Hey! Look! That guy who is a really good dancer, is looking at you! Look at him!!" I am happy to see that the women in my community are starting to meet outside of tango, and to make friendships, so that there is more camaraderie at the milongas. This is a good start.

4.  Let's introduce new people to our friends and ask our friends to dance with them!

As a teacher, I feel this is part of my duty to my students, but shouldn't everyone try to expand the feeling of community by including the new people more? That person might not dance well now, but maybe they will in the future. Or, perhaps they will never dance well, but they are a wonderful person who we want to stay in our community. Or, perhaps that person will become your best friend! Someone recently told me about a very difficult time in their live, when coworkers were unsupportive, but their tango community reached out to them. 

I guess my main point is: let's spread that tango love! We have a choice as to how we act, so let's start the New Year with a resolution to be better community members!

La Feria de Mataderos

Today I went to the Feria de Mataderos with a friend (thanks, Sarah!). Like the other artesanal fairs, this has a bunch of imported, Chinese cheapo stuff around the edges, handmade things at the heart of the fair, and various other amusements.

The fair is open from Easter until Christmas, more or less. As next week is the last week for this year, it appeared that some of the folks had already stopped coming. Sarah was looking for certain booths that were not there.

We found a booth selling tango shoes at VERY reasonable prices. The vendor said that her prices will have to go up next year, but they were much cheaper than in the store. She and her husband make all the shoes: nice leather and well-sewn!

I found goat's milk dulce de leche for my son, who does not eat cow dairy! I also bought artesanal pan dulce as a gift for my hosts and whole wheat bread for myself. Add a few pretty trinkets for presents (as they are surprises, I am not putting them in here), and choripan, and that was pretty much it for the day.

The folk dancing hadn't started yet when we left, but the music stage was set up and they were singing and playing music. It was too hot to dance anyway: 33 degrees Celsius. I got burnt to a crisp: one of the guys in the milonga tonight said I had white circles where my glasses had protected my face!

By the way, if I hadn't had Sarah along, it would have been hard to see the fair from where the bus stopped. However, if you look for the big fountain, that helps. I am not sure if it was amusing or alarming to see a fountain that had signs posted: High voltage! with people swimming in it! The fountain is that industrial, mini-nuclear-reactor-looking thing in the foreground.