I have been a multi-disciplinary dancer for many years now. I started my dancing journey in 2012 with my first lesson on some basic salsa steps. I do Salsa, Bachata, Meringue, Waltz, East and West coast swing. Last year, i stumbled upon Tango and i instantly got attracted towards this dance due to its complexity, precision and technique required for its execution.
Tango takes many years to become an advanced beginner or intermediate dancer. It has strict rules on what to do and not to do in Milongas. Many of them spend their lifetime perfecting tango.
This repository documents all tango techniques i have learnt over the course of last few years.
(1) First, as a leader, we must have a very good understanding of what we want, (2) then have the ability to communicate the lead with your partner and (3) then give them time to execute the movements.
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Body Posture
- Shoulders - not crouching or relaxed back -- Balanced position with chest open [Front/Back]
- Shoulders - not leaning left or right -- Balanced position in the middle [Left/Right]
- Axis/Balance - not leaning forward or back - Center Position
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Embrace (Connection with Partner)
- Leaders Right Hand / Right Arm - This is the space in which women dances, so that we make sure that our hands are very well placed on her back
- Position of the hand - Depends on the body type, height of the partner etc. (Middle of the back, waist etc.). Make sure that we place our hands so that the placement entails maximum contact (flat). This ensures that women feel sense of security.
- Parts used
- Hand (Much contact along women's back)
- Inside of the forearm (Much contact along women's back)
- Leaders Left Hand
- We don't do much leading with left hand in traditional tango (With few exceptions)
- Used as reference point / point of stability
- Reference point - Have a nice curvature of the arms and the height to be at Man's eye level
- Wrist
- Forearm
- Bicep area
- Inner Thigh
- Outer Thigh
- Inner Foot
- Outer Foot
- Forward
- Backward
- 2 Sides (Right and Left)
- Sending the Partner first (Initiation)
- Waiting for the Partner to execute the movement
- Step with the Partner (End the movement exactly at the same time with the Partner)
From outside, this execution looks exactly like we do together, but we are always leading the partner first, before we step in tango.
- Neutral Position
- Downward Position (Little bit lowered or relaxation in the knees)
- Upward Position - ONLY APPLIES TO WOMEN. Here the man can suspending the women upwards. He won't be suspending himself when suspending women.
The resposibility of the Man is to make sure that he is aware and leads/manages
- Axis
- Steps
- Awareness about weight of the leg
NOTE: Make sure that we shift the weight of the partner to one leg before any movement.(Most cases)
- Containing the Women vs the freedom to let the women do the movement.
- This must be done by adjusting the embrace - Either loose embrace vs tight embrace (Many degrees of variability depending on the movement)
- Circular Energy - ( Example, Suspending women in one leg and turning women left and right)
- Square Energy - (Example, Square like U)
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Basic types of walk Systems:
- Parallel System - Torso in-front of the partner
- Cross System - Position the body slightly to the side + slight release of the embrace (30% lets say)
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Switching from Cross System to Parallel System
Credits to Chijenlu for this cheatsheet. In coming days, i will be redoing this flowchart. Stay tuned!
- Back Ochos and Front Ochos
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Enrosque + Lapiz
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Barrida
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Sacada
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Ocho curtado
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Molinete
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Boleo
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Calecita
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Forward and Backward Ochos
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Volcada
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11/30/2018 - Ocho Curtado and Axis
- Leaders should always pay attention to the their own axis and their partner axis
- Leaders Axis is used when we lead molinete.
- Partner's Axis is used when we lead Back ocho to partner.
- When Partner's Axis is used, leaders must going around the partner. It is a subtle change in lead, but it makes a huge difference on how the partners feel the lead.
- Remember disassociation of body
- Class Video: https://youtu.be/04W3ZKKVopI
- Leaders should always pay attention to the their own axis and their partner axis
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12/02/2018 - Doing continuous Ocho Curtado using left lead
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One of the important tips i got from today's lesson was the usage of "Lat muscle" and be aware of the lat muscle to turn and lead women. This is especially a critical aspect for me to lead the women correctly, because i use my hand a lot to lead women which may be confusing for my partner.
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How different is molinete and left Ocho Curtado and how to differentiate the lead?
- Molinete lead is a constant linear motion on the left or right
- The axis of the women tend to be neutral, so that they can do the forward and backwared ochos during molinete.
- For Ocho Curtado, the axis of the women is leaning more towards men, (But note the women can still hold their own axis), a side step and a quick twist. The position of the leaders legs remains constant.
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Class Video: https://youtu.be/jHzoeuvhPFo
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12/10/2018 - Back Ocho and Front Ocho
- In this class, i was taught how to easily transition from leading side step to back Ocho.
- To lead this, after leader's side step, the leader have to change foot while transitioning follower into back ocho.
- By this way the follower would not be able to feel leader's switch of legs.
- After doing couple of Back Ochos, switch the leg again to go with Parallel System
- Class Video: https://youtu.be/i78SrovHbAE
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3/18/2019 - Walks and Musicality
- When holding my partner, the right hand must not produce a lot of pressure when holding. Have enough pressure to lead, but not lot of pressure to tip the partner over the axis.
- Always remember to keep the shoulders relaxed - I make this mistake a lot even though it is not prominent - This is especially useful when you are going to dance for many hours. Your shoulders would get tired if you do not continue to keep it relaxed.