In tango (along with a bunch of other codes – codigos) there are 3 top reasons to use the phrase Thank you in the milonga setting. Saying Thank You is considered a code of conduct in Argentine Tango but maybe not in the way you think. If things are “not going well” on the dance […]
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There is a lot of discussion about the “invitation” in tango but not so much said about, what I’m calling, “the approach” in Argentine tango. What do I mean by “the approach”? I have included 2 videos with my dissection of the approach as I have become really interested in this lately. After all, you
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We all have voice and choice and I grew up learning to take responsibility for all of my actions. I would like to empower you to feel the same. With Argentine tango we are faced with a lot of variables that can impact a single person as well as a community. Tango communities are infused
Video #9 finally up – and it’s a great drill for turning. Whether it’s to understand your steps in turning better or to just understand how to use your whole body more efficiently. (These grapevine steps are sometimes referred to as a molinete or more in general a giro and they are part of the
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In Video #8 in the Series of Exercises for improving your tango dancing, we continue the exploration of pivots: your pivoting privilege, your pivotability. Pivoting is your privilege as a follow in the dance. The idea again is that you must be pivotable. This doesn’t negate the question do I or don’t I pivot in
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When Women Kept the Balance at the Milonga: A Tango Meditation (or possibly a rant) There was a time when women actually kept the balance at the milonga. A time when culturally if a man did not dance at a certain level the woman would turn down a cabaceo without thinking about it. The women,
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This is Video #5 in my series for increasing flexibility, stability and mobility to improve your technique in the dance. This video includes a Mini Summary of the previous videos with a couple additions. I have put them into a little sequence as I really want you to find them manageable and do-able. Always progressing
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Video #4, let’s get moving Up and Up and Up. This video continues our adventure in exercises to help to improve our technique in Tango. This video advances the articulation of the foot by using the floor. It might look a little bit like video #2 and that’s good. Have you been doing those exercises?
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Move you leg but not your body is the theme of video #3 in the series on how to improve Technique for Dancing. This video might look a bit like a ballet exercise and it is my lazy version of a rond de jambe. This literally translates as circle of the leg, which is what
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Are you pushing the floor to dance? “If you push you fall”, says my Maestra. This is not the quality we are necessarily looking for in our dancing. Below is a short video where I give a snapshot about this concept of pushing or dancing. Pushing is a very real feeling from either perspective of
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The Popular Practilonga! Practice + Milonga = Practilonga! Since my interview and time spent chatting with Mitra, I have found that the topic of growing tango and teaching beginners to really be a hot topic (again or still). I spoke recently to my colleague Karen Jaffe of Tangogypsies in Asheville, North Carolina and she spoke
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In part 1 of New Ways to Engage Tango Newbies I discussed how I thought Peer to Peer Learning really added an extra dimension to ASU Tango students’ learning. In this blog I interviewed colleague Mitra Martin, Co-Founder of Oxygen Tango, in Los Angeles for her ideas and explorations into peer to peer learning at Oxygen. What
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Alignment and Posture and your Tango What is the difference between these 2 words? When I hear alignment I think of my car: when it is aligned it functions properly. Posture makes me think of someone “posturing” a presentation to the world that may or may not be alignment. We talk about our tango posture –
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Traveling for Tango [v_icon color=”#dd0000″ size=”18px” target=”_self” name=”moon-airplane”] I recently received a message from a young colleague who was asking for some advice on becoming a traveling teacher and expectations on traveling for Tango. I know some of you are experienced in traveling for tango and some are just starting out on the great adventure. Those
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And yes I am on the road again! Bye bye Budapest! Hello Switzerland! 5 weeks have passed in Budapest. And this post is probably the least about tango! I had quite some adventures in the end! Like: Having tea in a very eclectic TeaHaz called Zold Teknós (something about turtles!)– decorated with actual teepees and
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