Monthly Archives: July 2019

Group class, Milonga, Progress update, Tango

Kicking off the Just Dance phase, and a new approach to the blog

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Just Dance

I’d decided that moving fully into a Just Dancing phase – as in ceasing all lessons for a time – was just a bit too radical for now. In part because pre-milonga group classes are the best way to meet followers and decide which ones I’d like to cabeceo given the opportunity.

But my focus at present is very much on enjoying the dance, and worrying less about what I’m learning. Which also, I think, needs a new approach to the blog, but I’ll get to that …

Continue reading Kicking off the Just Dance phase, and a new approach to the blog →

Group class, Milonga, Progress update, Tango

Fewer classes, more dancing (though not in 37C temps …)

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fewer classes more dance

As someone put it today, it’s 37C in London and Boris has just been appointed PM: we have officially entered hell.

No more so than in the back room at the Shield Cafe, which is an oven at the best of times …

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Group class, Practica, Tango

Changing direction, in small and large ways

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changing direction

Tonight’s Tango Space topic was changing direction. I wasn’t sure what approach to this Fede and Julia would be taking, but in the practica beforehand M wanted to have a go at another method of doing so: the movement from the Boston intermediate class.

I’d shared the demo video of this, and M thought it looked fun. It was indeed, and I hadn’t yet succeeded in leading it as taught, so was happy to give it a go …

Continue reading Changing direction, in small and large ways →

Group class, Milonga, Tango

More basics, more presence, more musicality and one more milonga

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more

Of course, getting the final piece in my vocabulary jigsaw puzzle doesn’t mean that I can rest on my laurels for a while. Indeed, having made the decision to stick to simple, musical dance, then that puts all the focus on my technique!

The idea of today’s private with Julia and Fede, then, was just to dance and for them to figure out the priorities for refining my technique …

Continue reading More basics, more presence, more musicality and one more milonga →

Private lesson, Progress update, Tango

Getting the last piece in my ‘simple, musical dance’ jigsaw puzzle

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jigsaw puzzle

This week has been an eventful one in my tango journey!

On Monday, deciding to finally put Pablo’s actitude advice into practice, and set aside my inhibited Brit persona during dance – and immediately seeing how well this worked even in a class.

On Tuesday, verifying that I can actually do this in a milonga, albeit with some caveats. On Thursday, finally being able to drop maths from my tango syllabus. And today, a lesson with Diego which put into place the last piece in my ‘simple, musical dance’ jigsaw puzzle …

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Progress update, Tango, Theory

There’s no tango maths required after all!

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tango maths

Sometimes a tango teacher will say something that’s blindingly obvious once they’ve said it, but which hadn’t occurred to me before then.

One earlier example was the times I was unsure where my follower’s weight was. The blindingly obvious solution to that, of course, is to lead a weight-change – then you’ll know where it is because you just put it there! And yesterday Irina Zoueva kindly messaged me in response to my previous blog post …

Continue reading There’s no tango maths required after all! →

Progress update, Tango

Where next?

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where next

Now that I have a clear focus for my tango, and the necessary reassurance that it’s a good idea, it seemed a good time to look at where my learning should go from here.

At the end of the current Tango Space cycle, I’ll have completed it twice, at mixed levels …

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Group class, Milonga, Tango

The good and bad news about finding my dance

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connection

After successfully setting aside my dance inhibitions in yesterday’s practica and lesson, it was now time for the real test: how well this would work in a milonga!

The good news is that the answer is … very well indeed. The bad news is that it comes with a caveat: with the right conditions …

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Group class, Practica, Progress update, Tango

Finally losing the future tense in ‘You’re going to be a very nice dancer’

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breakthrough

Tonight was a real breakthrough for me.

Have you ever made a decision, carried it out and then got immediate and undeniable evidence that you made the right choice? That’s what happened to me tonight …

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Tango, Theory

A difficult question, that turned out to have a very simple answer

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playlist

I posted at length last month about the kind of dancer I want to be, the executive summary of which was:

  • A warm embrace
  • Dancing to the music
  • A clear and comfortable lead
  • A collaborative dance
  • Simple things, done well

That second bullet is key …

Continue reading A difficult question, that turned out to have a very simple answer →