Monthly Archives: February 2023

Practica, Private lesson, Tango

A back cross private with Emma, and a practica to put it to the test

Leave a comment

I don’t generally use my privates to work on figures, but I did want to add the back cross. There are times when a slow rebound feels right for the music, but I also feel I over-use them, so wanted to have something which had a similar feel to it, but allowed more variety.

I’d had a private on this a loooong time ago, but because I hadn’t felt confident enough to use it in milongas, I’d long since forgotten how it worked. So that was Emma’s task last night …

Continue reading A back cross private with Emma, and a practica to put it to the test →
Group class, Milonga, Private lesson, Tango

Milonga with Diego; a workshop with Corina and Ines; and an unusual Tango Garden

Leave a comment

Milonga (the dance) and I have an unusual relationship.

Most leaders run a mile from it during their early years; I didn’t. Because I could dance to the beat long before I had the vocabulary to dance to the melody, I was actually very happy with milonga tandas from a very early stage. And because a lot of leaders hide, it made it very easy to get dances, even as a raw beginner.

But as my lyrical dance emerged and evolved, my rhythmical dance felt increasingly unsatisfactory – all the more so at milonga speeds. I wasn’t so much afraid of boring followers as feeling bored by my own dance. I was doing the usual leader’s milonga journey in reverse: I’d now become one of the leaders who avoid it …

Continue reading Milonga with Diego; a workshop with Corina and Ines; and an unusual Tango Garden →
Milonga, Private lesson, Tango

Another magical milonga at the ambassador’s residence, and a breakthrough lesson with Emma

Leave a comment

The Argentine Ambassador’s milonga is one of my absolute favourites. A spectacular setting, fantastic DJs, three dance floors, and a friendly atmosphere. If the grandeur were more faded, you could almost imagine it were BsAs.

One difference from the real version is that, in London, a flexible embrace is the norm. That’s also the case in some BsAs milongas, but in the more traditional ones, the prevailing style is very much sustained close-embrace: where everything can be danced chest-to-chest. I therefore followed up with a private focused on this …

Continue reading Another magical milonga at the ambassador’s residence, and a breakthrough lesson with Emma →
Milonga, Tango

Much pleasure indeed at Un Placer

Leave a comment

Diego B had given me two recommendations, one quite some time ago, the other just yesterday – but I have my suspicions that the two may be related.

The first, dating back some time, was that I needed to have the courage to cabeceo more advanced followers. The second was to suggest I dance at Un Placer …

Continue reading Much pleasure indeed at Un Placer →