Algo de Tango

 (To most: “Some Tango”, to the others: “Tango Algorithms”)

Class: www.westchestertango.com

Contact: Laxmi Parida (tangoWNY@yahoo.com)

 

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself”,  old Chinese wisdom.

 

0. Raison d’etre

A dance is always to music and a good dancer feels the music in himself/herself.  This “feeling” is hard to define and describe: as they say it’s an art and not science. However, there is a structure and a science to a well-articulated dance such as tango.  How does the intertwining of the limbs and the bodies of the dancers work and work with such ease and grace?   And, so easy on the eyes! The passion and the sensuousness aside, there is a method to this art and I will take the liberty of labeling it an algorithm.  I am tempted here to share what once my friend, philosopher and guide, Alberto said about engineering students who are not compelled to study art or Latin: they are like efficient blenders brrrring away monotonously.

 

As a lot of followers will agree, there are some dancers that are a delight to dance with and others not.  And, so say the leaders. I wondered why. It is not some inexplicable feeling, but with time and with thought, I have learnt that every “why” has an answer and surprisingly simple ones.  I hope in the class, I am able to communicate these insights and the following notes will help to reinforce them.

 

Roadmap: When I announced the milonga in upper Westchester, a performing artist from the Zydeco group, called me, and among other penetrating questions asked how is Argentine tango, a rather difficult dance, taught to otherwise busy and much less committed suburbanites.  The answer was and is: persistent drill of  (1) technique exercises and  (2) elementary dance figures.  So, shall the notes in this presentation be organized. Usually, depending on the gathering, a lagniappe is thrown in, which is documented in the last section of this presentation.

 

0.1 What is the origin of the word “tango”?

Tango historians and scholars are not in complete agreement about the origin of this word and a few possibilities are offered, amongst which are two of the following:

  • A type of music of African origin played on a kind of drum to which couples danced in close embrace
  • A place where people gathered to dance

 

0.2 Who can tango? The good, the bad and the ugly

The only one who really can’t, is the one without a pulse.  Anyone who can walk, can tango.  Also, my good friend Rob told me that he often dances with an excellent dancer who is deaf. Some of the impeccable dancers that I have encountered have been Argentinean grandmothers and grandfathers, not necessarily in the prime of their shapes. Need I say more?

 

However, observed hard facts differ from the utopic conclusion of the last paragraph: Less than 5% of the social-dancing community can and will do the Argentine tango in their lifetime.  And, we are not even talking about the population at large but a very specific subset that indulges in social dancing. The lateral hip undulations, the flaying of the arms, the total abandon and ecstasy- this self-absorption that fetches cheers in a regular social dance, actually is a hindrance to tango. The person who said it takes two to tango wasn’t mincing her words. The connect between a tango couple is at the micro level- it is the maestro and the danseuse in perfect harmony!

 

So who can tango? Are you a sportsfan or a sportsman? Are you a patron or a poet? It is one thing to admire poetry and quite another to write your own.  Tango is a beautiful, sensuous dance that will stir your soul; alas it takes persistence, effort, commitment and most importantly the will power.  Need I say more?

 

0.3 The Asymmetric Roles of the man & the woman

Tango is very follower-centric: it is a dance to flaunt the female of the species.  While the follower adds to the dance, the leader can only take away from the dance.  So, all you ladies out there who are fuming and fretting about the unfair “following” role on the dance floor, rejoice in the bigger picture!  It’s all about the follower: the leader is the background and the follower the focal point!  Figures are designed around the follower, the leader merely enables it.  However, it is vital that the enabler and the enablee are in perfect coordination, no wonder it takes two to tango.

 

In my experience, the average learning curves of the leader (in blue)  and the follower (in red) are as shown below.  It appears that the follower learns much faster in the beginning and then as the level of the two increases, it takes more time for the follower.

 

Yet another asymmetry is that most women optimistically estimate their skill level and the men pessimistically.  Perhaps a result of this is that the women prefer to dance with more advanced dancers whereas the men prefer the opposite.  My suggestion to every dancer is to attempt to reach the tango-nirvana: a state where everyone is an equally acceptable partner.

 

1.     Technique Exercises

There are two components to the skills one must acquire to be a good tango dancer:

  • Individual form: Like any other dance, a good form is about 50% of the whole! The exercises that we do at the start of every class should help and they are described  below.
  • Partnering skills: This is the most important skill to acquire in tango. The leader must be subtle and the follower sensitive. It is a difficult skill and beginning leaders tend to be loud in their lead but with time and practice, they mellow. Beginning followers tend to anticipate and “back-lead”. Again, following is also a difficult skill but it helps to focus  and not let the mind wander.  Also, it is not a good idea to work both on your leading and following skills: move on to the other only after you have mastered one.

 

 

The Stretch-Step Exercise:

Points to remember
  1. Weight on right foot and maintaining the axis of balance
  2. Stretch left foot to front and then feet together
  3. Stretch left foot to side and then feet together
  4. Stretch left foot to back and then feet together
  5. Repeat with weight on left foot

 

The Lapize Exercise:

Points to remember
  1. Weight on right foot and maintaining the axis of balance
  2. Draw an outward circle on the floor, then feet together
  3. Repeat with weight on left foot
  4. Repeat steps 1-3 with weight on left foot
  5. Repeat steps 1-4 by reversing the direction of the circle
  6. Repeat steps 1-5 by hooking one foot behind the other while feet together
The Lapize exercises are done in-place. If you feel you are moving back (while hooking in the front in Step 6) or moving forward (while hooking behind in Step 6), then rotate your hips slightly to aid in the hooking, keeping shoulders absolutely square to minimize any forward or back movements.

 

 

The Tango Walk Exercise:

 
The ABC’s of posture:
  • Axis (be aware of your axis, along your spine; always pivot around  your axis to change direction)
  • Balance (keep upper body quiet, like you are balancing a stack of books on your head as you move)
  • Core (initiate movement, walking or pivoting, from your core, breathing comfortably)
 
The 123’s of walking:
1.      Move to the music in the line of dance, counterclockwise on the dance floor, looking straight ahead, not at your feet
  1. Always step straight  perpendicular to your hips  or at zero degree for a side step (never at an angle,  exceptions only in certain figures)
  2. Always pass through vertical neutral (knees & ankles together)

 

 Walking with a partner:

1.       Leaders: Express your intent through upper body

2.     Followers: Follow that “sternum”

 

Contact-walking with a partner:

Leaders:  When she steps back with her left, make contact with the inside of her right foot with the inside of your right foot. Similarly, you can work on the left side. This will enforce a good balance in your walk as well as get you to lead her to take the back step with your upper body. Followers: Follow that “sternum” and do not anticipate the contact.

 

Corrida  with a partner:

Corrida is a little run: for example the rhythm could be  walk-walk-quick-quick-quick. This exercise helps you listen to the music and also helps in breaking the monotony of the walk.

The Sacada-Walk Exercise:

This is a “displacement” walk exercise. It is a slightly advanced exercise, that emphasizes the lead and follow of the dancers. This is done in a crossed system (see the next section on terms). The steps 1-2 below are repeated till the music stops.

 

Leader

Follower

Comments

 

Left, side

Right, side

 

 

Left, forward

Left, back

In crossed system

 

Right, forward

Right back

 

 

Left forward

Left back

 

1

Right, forward  positioning his right outer upper leg to make contact with her

Right, back in an embellishment

 

2

Right, forward

Left, back

 

 

The Push-to-cruzada  Walking Exercise:

Again, this is a slightly advanced exercise, that emphasizes the lead and follow of the dancers. This is done in a crossed system (see the next section on terms). The last steps 1-2-3 (right front cross) 1-2-3 (left front cross) below are repeated till the music stops.

 

Leader

Follower

Comments

1

Left, side

Right, side

 

2

Left, forward

Left, back

In crossed system

3

Right, side, gliding her right foot in front to a cross

Right front cross, shift wt to right

 

1

Left forward

Left back

 

2

Right forward

Right, back

 

3

Left, side, gliding her left foot in front to a cross

Left front cross, shift wt to left

 

1

Right forward

Right, back

 

2

Left, forward

Left, back

 

3

Right, side, gliding her right foot in front to a cross

Right front cross, shift wt to right

 

 

 

The Forward Ocho Exercise:

1.      Weight on right foot

2.    Pivot, initiating from the hips, to the right by about 20 degrees

3.    Step forward with your left

4.    Bring right foot together (vertical neutral)

5. Weight on left foot, pivot to your left

6. Continue the step-pivot routine until tired, very tired Remember to keep your shoulders facing the front squarely (the so-called disconnect between your hip and the upper body)

 

The Back Ocho Exercise:

1.      Weight on right foot

2.    Pivot, initiating from the hips, to the left by about 20 degrees

3.    Step back with your left

4.    Bring right foot together (vertical neutral)

5.    Weight on left foot, pivot to your right

6.    Continue the step-pivot routine until tired, very tired

7. Remember to keep your shoulders facing the front squarely

 

The Boleo Exercise:

 First, practice balancing on one leg, and then practice the boleo by hooking the free leg around

 

The Molinete Exercise:

This is the “windmill” move, which is a little difficult, done in a circle. So, the first exercise is the grapevine on a straight line. Once, you have understood and mastered it, you can do the grapevine on a circle in four steps and then circle in three steps.  It is important to master this, since a lot of figures are built on this move. If the molinete is not executed correctly, these figures don’t work.

 

Sub-exercise 1 (along a straight line)

Keep shoulder and upper body square to the facing direction and in this exercise you move from left to right on a straight line

  1. Forward- Pivot around right leg and forward step to the right with the left
  2. Side- Step with right
  3. Back- Pivot around right and back step to the right with the left
  4. Side- Step with right

Continue this till you reach the right end of the line. Then repeat the steps by switching legs and direction to move from right to left

 

Sub-exercise 2 (along a circle – four points)

Keep shoulder and upper body square to the center of circle, move in counterclockwise direction and then repeat in clockwise direction

To facilitate equal-sized steps, mark four points on a square on the floor and step only on these points during the exercise

 

Sub-exercise 3 (along a circle – three points)

This is the hardest and do this only after mastering sub-exercise 2

Keep shoulder and upper body square to the center of circle, move in counterclockwise direction and then repeat in clockwise direction

Mark three points on an equilateral triangle on the floor and step only on these points during the exercise

 

 

 

 

2. Elementary Dance Figures:

 

The Central Dogma:

It takes two to tango & the follower is never wrong

 

 

Terms:

  1. General position: follower in front of leader
  2. Right outside position: follower in front and right of leader. Also called the outside position.
  3. Left outside position: follower in front and left of leader. Also called the inside position.
  4. Crossed (or cross) system: Leader’s left foot synchronized with follower’s left a & leader’s right with follower’s right

5.     Parallel system: Leader’s left foot synchronized with follower’s right  & leader’s right with follower’s left

  1. Cross/open position: The is the configuration w.r.t. the partner.  In a stepping forward position, if your hips are open w.r.t. your partner, you are in open position. If your hips are crossed (if you know what I mean), you are in cross position w.r.t. your partner.  Note that this definition depends only on the location of your partner, irrespective of his state.

 

Note that Cross is an overloaded term:  (a) the cruzada or cross which is the special feet-together position, (b) the cross system of stepping, as (2) above, and, (c) cross position, which is the configuration w.r.t your partner.

 

Basic Guidelines:

The leader and the follower should practice each figure in phases, moving to the next phase only after some confidence is achieved at the current phase.

Leader:

  • Phase 1:  Repeat and understand the feet positions
  • Phase 2:  Focus on upper body to make sure you are expressing your intent to the follower correctly
  • Phase 3:  Practice with a follower

Follower:

  • Phase 1:  Repeat and understand the feet positions
  • Phase 2:  With the leader, work on your “following-sensitivity” by focusing on the leader’s upper body
  • Phase 3:  Erase the steps from your conscious mind and follow the leader

 

Figure:  Six-count Box

This is a figure one can resort to, to make simple forward, back and steps.

Count

Leader

Follower

Comments

1

Left, side

Right, side

 

2

Right, forward

Left, back

 

3

Left, forward

Right, back

 

4

Right, side

Left, side

 

5

Left, side

Right, side

Feet together

6

Right, back

Left, forward

 

 

Figure: Eight-count cruzada  (left cruzada)

This is a foundational figure. Most later figures will be put in the context of this one, hence it is good to understand and internalize this one.

Count

Leader

Follower

Comments

1

Left, side

Right, side

 

2

Right, forward

Left, back

Right outside position

3

Left, forward

Right, back

 

4

Right meeting left

Cruzada ,(left front)

General position

5

Left, forward

Right, back

 

6

Right, side

Left, side

 

7

Left meeting right

Right meeting left

 

8

Right, back

Left, forward

 

Steps 5-7 called La resolucion