The Feast always feels like my tango home. It’s never been anything less than delicious, but this one was just … perfect.
Everyone in tango knows how fickle it can be. Sometimes the stars align and everything works wonderfully. Other times we can have a less happy experience for no obvious reason. This was one of those occasions when the tango gods were in the best and most generous of moods …
Continue reading My tastiest ever Feast coming at just the right momentThere’s a phenomenon I’ve heard a number of leaders discuss, of growing bored with their own dance within a couple of years. The theory is that while a follower gets a different dance from every leader, a leader only gets to experience their own dance over and over again.
While that sounded logical, it didn’t turn out to be true for me for a long time, for a number of reasons. But let’s begin at the beginning (and if you don’t already have a cup of tea, you might want to make one now) …
Continue reading A six-year tale of adding, subtracting and re-adding pieces to my tango jigsaw puzzleI was awake and out of bed at the crack of noon, as I had a packed afternoon schedule ahead of me: drinking a hot chocolate at Cafe Tortoni, one of the city’s Grand Cafes.
While most of the city virtually defines ‘faded grandeur,’ there’s nothing faded about the grand cafes. They’ve been beautifully maintained or restored, and the impressive settings leads to queues of people at the door …
Continue reading Cafe Tortoni; Pablo & Noelia class; and a sociable night at BilongónI was going to say it was less than a month ago when I described my tangostential crisis, but as I caught a lurgy and was out of action for half of it, it was actually four milongas ago that I wrote:
I’m now at a somewhat odd stage in my tango – and I’m not quite sure what to do about it […] I feel simultaneously delighted with where I am, and frustrated with where I’m not.
Every problem in tango turns out to be either far simpler, or far more complex, than I imagined. Fortunately in this case it was the former …
Continue reading Four milongas later, my tangostential crisis is over (for now)I wrote last time about my tango crash, feeling that with my newly-improved posture, it was like I was starting all over again when it came to learning how to dance.
Emma diagnosed the issue and provided me with a way forward, but circumstances conspired to delay my first real-world test until the Los Angelitos 10th anniversary milonga on Sunday …
Continue reading Five hours of wonderful dance, and I feel back on trackTuesday night saw the first London milonga re-opening after 14 months of lockdown, one day after ‘freedom day’ in England and Wales. I was of course there, despite the 30C temperature!
The evening began with a one-hour mixed-level lesson that turned out to be more mixed-level than expected …
Continue reading Dancing at the first milonga in london after lockdownI’m currently awaiting a hospital referral for recurring abdominal pain which has left me largely out of action for the past month or so. The unpredictability of when the pain will strike, coupled to tiredness from broken sleep, has made it difficult to commit to anything in advance.
However, when a friend suggested an on-the-day decision to attend the Tango Amistoso class and practica, I decided to give it a go. By the time I got there, I was already questioning the wisdom of this decision …
Continue reading The healing power of tango, and musical hilarity
I wrote last month that I was feeling like I’m on a roll now. Things that once would have felt complicated now quickly feel straightforward; things I would once have had to think about now feel obvious; I’m able to think about how I want the follower to move, rather than my own steps; and finding exits to new things is now instinctive …
Continue reading A tale of two cities, tango edition
In Luis and Natalia’s intermediate class, we’d been playing with the contra-giro over the past few weeks, so they decided to do the same with the giro tonight. Or, more specifically, a medio-giro.
You can obviously enter a giro from any step – forward, backward or either side. The version I’ve used so far has been from a side-step, and the one we used tonight was from a back ocho. We played with a few different variants …
Continue reading Connecting some dots, and returning home to Tango Terra
The theme of this week’s Tango Space intermediate class was advertised as a cross-system sequence. This would usually be enough to send me running for the hills but for two things …
Continue reading A minor mystery solved, and a bit of Tango Terror
Thursday’s lesson was on ‘dancing to the pause.’ This was familiar territory to me, but was still a really useful lesson – partly for one simple movement, and partly as a reminder of how far I’ve come from my mathematical days.
The lesson started with the 8-beat phrase, and an initial suggestion to slow on the 7th beat in order to pause on the 8th. This is a very slight variation on what I usually do when walking to rhythmical sections, which is to decelerate on the 7th beat in order to do a weight-change instead of a step on the 8th …
Continue reading Tango maths revisited, and the fragility of tango heaven
Things have been pretty non-stop of late, and I did briefly consider skipping the class to just go to the milonga – but I’m so glad I didn’t!
The Thursday intermediate class is always excellent, and tonight we started with what had to be the most ironic exercise ever for me …
Continue reading A fabulous lesson as always, and some (likely explicable) magic at Tango Terra
Tonight’s tango itinerary was the Thursday intermediate lesson with Luis and Natalia, and then … a dilemma! It was the monthly Tango Space drinks, which I always enjoy, but also Tango Terra.
It wasn’t feasible to do both, so a decision needed to be made …
Continue reading A really fun lesson, and a great evening socialising
I loved tonight’s intermediate lesson with Luis and Natalia.
The eventual aim was a lovely flowing circular sequence with a double sacada. It’s again the sort of thing that would have had me running for the hills a few months ago, but tonight I was able to keep up with the various versions along the way, and I think the final one too. We actually ran out of time on that one, so I can’t be 100% sure as there was no opportunity to video it, but I’ll try it at Saturday’s practica and we’ll see …
Tonight’s intermediate class was building on last week’s class, adding a couple of different ways to continue it.
I won’t bother describing the sequence in any detail, as that wasn’t the point of it for me. I’m never going to use it in a milonga, but I liked it for three reasons …
Continue reading An exciting class, and an excellent Tango Terra
Intermediate classes can vary tremendously in focus, from long, complicated sequences to pure technique.
Tonight’s Tango Space class was my idea of the perfect group lesson: half technique, and then a sequence which was really also a disguised technique exercise …
Continue reading A fantastic class, and a wow milonga at Tango Terra
Why does no-one ever believe me when I say I’m only staying for the first hour of a milonga?
Today was the final Tango Space workshop of the year, a one-hour one billed as lessons Pablo and Anne had learned from their students, followed by Prosecco and mince pies – then the monthly Browns milonga …
Continue reading They make long hours at this time of the year
I caught the end of the Tuesday intermediate class before the milonga and it looked like it was a nice turn, so I was looking forward to the Thursday version with Luis and Natalia. But it turned out it was actually voleos*!
*Variously spelled as voleo or boleo, but I suspect the latter arises only because of the Spanish pronunciation. The former also wins the Google Spellcheck Test (try each and see which has the greater number of hits), so voleo it is here …
Continue reading Erk, voleos! But the Tango Terra fun continues, and a musical mystery was solved.
I’d caught the end of the intermediate lesson on Tuesday, on leader and follower decorations, and it had looked fiendishly complicated. I very much hoped Luis and Natalia could be counted on for either a more accessible version, or a careful build-up to the final thing.
I needn’t have worried. Not that I could do the final version, which involved the leader pivoting on one foot while doing lapices with the other, but Luis did indeed break it down well. I was able to do my own version of it, pivoting on two feet without the lapices. And my ‘one thing from each lesson’ approach meant that while I wasn’t going to do the whole thing, I did very much like another new way to do a medio-giro …
Continue reading Another ‘one thing’ from my lesson, then a great night at Tango Terra!
You’ll have to excuse the blobby photos from milongas. I’m really trying not to take photos this trip. Instead, I’m shooting very short video clips with my phone, and will then edit them into maybe a 5-10 minute overview of the whole trip. This means most of my photos are in fact screengrabs from video, thus not the greatest quality.
The daytime part of the blog is rather brief: I had breakfast in bed, then lazed (apart from accidentally writing a blog post).
I made up for this laziness in the evening, managing one-and-a-bit classes and three milongas …
Continue reading Patio de Tango, La Viruta and a magical evening at Salon Canning
Many friends have claimed I don’t understand the concept of holidays. There is some truth to this. With my background in business travel with extremely limited time off, I’m used to making the most of the time, so there isn’t much lazing around. I’ve always taken the view that you can do that with greater comfort, convenience and economy at home.
However, this morning was a relaxed one. I did nothing more than visit the two tango shoe shops directly opposite the hotel …
Well, ok, yes, but ‘best night of tango of my year-and-a-bit of dancing’ is a little longwinded and doesn’t quite have the same ring to it …
Continue reading The best night of tango of my life (so far)
Today was a fairly thorough introduction to Buenos Aires. In particular, how Argentine time works.
Our plan was to attend a class, an afternoon milonga, another class and an evening milonga. We only managed the latter two – mostly because we spent a great deal of time getting our hands on some cash …
Continue reading A busy first day – but just the one milonga …
I’m not generally going to the pre-milonga Tuesday lesson these days, but the topic was one I must have missed before: ocho cortado with circular movements. That sounded both fun and useful, so I headed over for that.
As it turned out, we didn’t get as far as the circular movement part, but I didn’t mind at all …
Continue reading Making friends with ocho cortados, and my first milonga fix for a fortnight
A couple of my Ms had both suggested I try a new school: Tango y Nada Mas. They run three classes, all on a Monday evening: fundamentals, improver/technique and intermediate/advanced – followed by a one-hour practica.
The plan was to try the improver/technique class, have a drink with M while we sat out the intermediate/advanced one, and then do the practica. This, it turned out, was a very sound plan …
Continue reading Trying Tango y Nada Mas for the first time; a lesson in levels
I’ve long said what I really wanted from intermediate classes was not additional vocabulary, but work on technique within my existing vocabulary. Quality, not quantity, of movement.
Tonight’s* Tango Space class seemed to be promising exactly that …
Continue reading Feeling at home in the Thursday intermediate class
Yeah, this is another lengthy blog post. You know the drill: grab a cup of tea or glass of wine before reading …
Some might argue that a 2-hour practica, 90-minute group class and 3-hour milonga is a touch enthusiastic. Indeed, an unkind person might be tempted to suggest this has shades of a return to The Crazy Days.
Especially as I was doing all of this instead of going to a friend’s birthday party, but then she is a tango teacher so is understanding of the early-stage addiction to all things tango …
Continue reading A really useful hiphop-free practica, and a crowded but fantastic milonga
My approach to milonga tandas has so far been to try to cabeceo someone for the third song, on the basis that my single-time steps and rebounds are fun for one song but too boring for three.
Since mostly getting the hang of the six-step pattern, which feels more varied than it is, I was toying with the idea of upgrading to two songs. After this workshop, I may even risk an entire milonga tanda …
I’d always shied well away from the Tango Space intermediate class, having seen the end of the Tuesday class a number of times. It always looked like a complex sequence, well in excess of my step memory.
But several friends told me I’d like the Thursday version with Luis, not because the final sequences were any shorter, but because he has a strong technique focus and breaks down the sequences really clearly – though it turned out Pablo and Amy were teaching tonight as Luis was away …
Continue reading A first venture into the Tango Space intermediate class, with cambio de frente
Ok, this one, too, might sound a bit like a return to The Crazy Days, with a practica, group class and milonga all in one evening – but it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Tonight’s Tuesday milonga was temporarily relocated to O’Neill’s this week due to redecoration at the normal venue. As there was no separate room for lessons, they were offering an all-levels class which sounded like it might be fun (‘Tango Secrets’). Plus the milonga was likely to be crowded given the smaller space, so I thought the pre-class practica might be a good plan if I hoped to do any walking …
Today was a little like going back in time to my crazy days of tango, when I signed up for every class and workshop on offer, peaking at seven classes and a milonga in one week.
Today was a two-hour practica, a 90-minute intermediate class and a milonga …
I’d heard mixed reports about the Tango Bridge milonga. It’s always hard to find a consensus view, as different people have different tastes, and what is great for dancers at one level may be less so for those at a different one.
I’m of the view that I ought to try each central London milonga at least once – and live music tonight seemed the perfect argument for trying this one now …
My temporary tango routine continues with the Wednesday and Sunday Juan Martin and Steffie classes.
I thought this blog post would be short, as I was hardly able to do anything in last night’s intermediate class. But I turned out to be very, very wrong about that. So grab a cup of tea and make yourself comfortable …
Continue reading A lesson too far, but one new turn and three old thoughts
I enjoyed my first taste of barridas, so was looking forward to another class on these with Juan Martin and Steffi. I had been warned that leaders often over-use them. A well-executed barrida once or twice in a tanda can feel lovely, I was told, but not more than that.
Like seasoning, then: just the right amount really adds to the dish, but too much can make it inedible …
Continue reading Rebounds, barridas, sacadas, planeos – and a very busy time at a milonga
Let’s start with the bad news: the topics of tonight’s classes with Juan Martin & Steffi sounded perfect, but I didn’t feel that what they actually taught was a particularly good match for the promise.
The beginner/improver class was supposed to be on ‘the fundamentals of the embrace,’ while the intermediate one was billed as ‘figures in close embrace for crowded milongas’ …
Continue reading The art of circular dancing feels tantalisingly close
I decided last time that Juan Martin and Steffi’s classes are so good that I had to take full advantage of their limited time in London, despite my determination to do fewer classes and more milongas. The classes do at least double as a way to get to know followers for the Los Angelitos milonga which follows, so I can kind of claim they are in the spirit of dancing more.
Today’s classes were again advertised as technique-focused, with ‘pivots and communication’ the theme, though interestingly that turned out to be more true of the beginner/improver class than the intermediate one …
Given the unusual nature of what I’m seeking as my next step, it’s no surprise than the standard Tanguito classes didn’t seem an especially good match. That’s not a commentary on the quality of the teaching; it’s commentary on the gap between what most schools offer and what I actually want.
However, for a four week period, something rather different is happening at Tanguito. Namely, visiting teachers Juan Martin Carrara & Stefania Colina are taking over – and they were amazing …
Continue reading Two absolutely fantastic group classes with Juan Martin Carrara & Stefania Colina
I don’t know that tonight will be the last Tango Space class I’ll do, but it was my final planned one at least.
Tomorrow I’ll be trying the beginner/improver lesson at Tanguito with visiting teachers Juan Martin Carrara & Stefania Colina. They are covering the next four weeks while Bruno is on holiday, so if I like them as much as everyone tells me I will, then that will be my group lesson plan for the next month …
Continue reading End of a Tango Space era, and a surprisingly good milonga
Yeah, ok, the Saturday evening milonga at Browns isn’t quite like that, but it has always felt like the most intimidating of the ones I’ve been to so far. More so, interestingly, than the massive Romantica Milonguera milonga in May.
I think it’s the combination of a relatively formal setting, what appears to be a high level of dance, an atmosphere which has always felt somewhat on the serious side – and very few familiar faces (the usual suspects in the workshop didn’t stay for the milonga). A far cry from the informality of the Tuesday night milonga in a student cafe …
Continue reading Testing my confidence at a grown-up milonga, and a very obvious next step
Julia danced with me in the milonga on Tuesday, and told me afterwards that I was ready for the Tango Space intermediate class.
That was extremely encouraging to hear in terms of what it says about my technique, and as the intermediate class is a broad church, I can believe that I am somewhere in the right ballpark technique-wise. But I’m absolutely not able to cope with the step sequences: I’ve seen the kinds of things they do in that class! Even the more complex of the improver sequences took me about 45 minutes to learn, by which point there was little time left to focus on technique …
Continue reading Trying Tanguito/Los Angelitos, and not yet finding a solution to my dilemma
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
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 …
Continue reading Fewer classes, more dancing (though not in 37C temps …)
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
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
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 …
Continue reading The good and bad news about finding my dance
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 …
Continue reading Finally losing the future tense in ‘You’re going to be a very nice dancer’
I was feeling relaxed about tonight’s improver class, as the cross in cross system was essentially working yesterday (when I remembered to do the leader-only weight-change, doh!). So tonight would be a chance to work on my technique.
After that, my plan was an hour’s dance in the milonga, then trying to recruit a few volunteers to help me practice my giros in the practica from 9pm …
Continue reading More crossed crossing, and some counter-clockwise circling
As I started doing the improver as well as beginner classes at some random point in the cycle last time, there are things in the improver class I’ve done before, and other things I haven’t. The cross in cross system is one of the latter.
I wasn’t wildly optimistic, for a couple of reasons …
Continue reading The cross in cross system, without getting cross
I realised today there’s quite a difference in musicality between what I do in solo practice at home with Mrs Mop, and what I do in milongas. Part of that is entirely understandable: at home, there are few demands on my attention dollar. I normally decide in advance what types of movement I’ll be practicing, so I can spend 50 cents each on technique and musical interpretation.
In a milonga, of course, my partner and the navigation need a lot of my attention, and usually I’m deciding on the fly what movements to lead, but there’s another factor …
Continue reading Actitude, Pugliese and following the follower
Many years ago, I did an introductory scuba diving course. Known as the PADI Open Water Diver course, it took four days, and comprised about a day’s theory, some swimming pool exercises and then a couple of days of diving. Do that, and you emerge as a certified diver.
Want to become an Advanced Open Water Diver? Certainly: go on to do one deep dive (30m), one navigation dive (following a compass to swim in a triangle) and three other ‘adventure’ dives (eg. a night dive), and suddenly I’m an ‘advanced’ diver – with all of eight days in the water.
Tango gradings aren’t quite that bad, but schools definitely use inflated levels designed to flatter the student …
Continue reading Dropping the beginner class, and getting some bonus experience as a follower
It could be said that a case might be made for the possibility of formulating the bare bones of an argument somewhat suggestive of the idea that I may have been taking my tango schedule to something of an excess.
Mounting a defence against this accusation would be a little tricky in a week in which I was initially scheduled to have nine group classes, a practica and a milonga …
Continue reading A relaxed milonga, and a plan to tone things down
Tuesday was the second improver class of the week, with more calesitas. I really like the balance of the Monday and Tuesday classes: the Monday one is always more complex but introduces me to new things, while the Tuesday one is simpler and focuses more on technique.
Tonight, we both entered and exited the calesita via ochos. You could exit with either a front or back ocho. The back seemed to work best when I had enough momentum, while the front was plan B for when things were slower …
I enjoyed tonight’s Tango Space classes a lot – in large part, I realised, because half the class are now friends. So, at best, we’re going to help each other figure it out; at worst, we’re going to laugh at our failures. Tonight was a mix of the two!
The beginner lesson was on the calesita. The improver class then introduced a couple of sequences that could follow a calesita: the first was a cross-system walk into a cross with a parada and forward ocho to exit, while the second was a volcada …
This week had looked like a solid plan for refining my ocho technique: a 90-minute private on Sunday, beginner and improver lessons on Monday, and improver lesson on Tuesday.
As things turned out, I had to work on Monday evening, so lost those two lessons. Still, I practiced in front of the mirror and it did seem like my side-steps were to the side, I wasn’t collapsing my inside shoulder to any notable degree, and I was giving a nice (if virtual) hand-push for the pivot. All that remained to be seen was whether this was a solo practice fiction or whether it manifested itself with a partner …
You know I was saying I was enjoying my delusions of competence, and expecting to continue to do so until Sunday? Yeah, not so much …
In a group class today, my delusions left the building. It was doubly frustrating, as it was a class I was really looking forward to: Understanding the Vals: rhythm and phrasing – how to keep it simple but ‘vals’ to it …
Continue reading My delusions of competence left the building
I talked before about the delusional phase most tango dancers get to enjoy.
In conversation among experienced dancers, someone said most people make it through the first couple of years of tango thanks to a healthy dose of self-delusion. By the time they realise they weren’t anything like as good as they thought they were, they are over the hump – or at least, too far in to escape.
I was complaining that having an advanced tango dancer as a life-partner meant that I never got to enjoy that myself …
With Hamdi and Amy still away, the improver class was again being taught by Federico and Julia. When they arrived about 15 minutes before the class was due to start, he wanted to know what the leaders had done to the followers yesterday!
There were about a dozen men and only one woman present …
The beauty of being in the second cycle of the Tango Space beginner classes is that I’m no longer having to learn new steps, and can instead focus on my technique. Tonight’s topic was the back ocho, and I can lead workable ones, so I wasn’t going to have to worry about the what, and would be able to instead focus on the how.
That’s needed because, as I mentioned before, I’d been cheating in my ochos …
Saturday was the monthly Tango Space workshop. This is usually in Farringdon, but this month was at Browns, Covent Garden, and with a guest teacher from Argentina.
The guest was Pepa Palazón, who organises the Viva la Pepa milonga in Buenos Aires and also runs the excellent Pregunta para vos website featuring interviews with famous tango dancers – thankfully with English subtitles …
Continue reading A Very Un-British Workshop, and trying a new milonga
I realised something after yesterday’s class, in which I wasn’t on great form despite my hopes that I’d really be able to work on my technique with a familiar figure.
I wasn’t stressed about it, but that’s not new: I’ve long accepted that the random ups and downs are just part of the deal. The realisation was that, actually, I still enjoyed it …
Continue reading Enjoyment, addiction and dim memories of a time Before Tango
The tango gods decided to amuse themselves this evening. The theme for the Tango Space classes is the ocho cortado, and I was already feeling comfortable with that, so felt like it was going to be a great opportunity to work on refining my technique.
Ha …
The first time we did planeos in the Tango Space class, I had been puzzled by them. After some solo practice and an improver’s class the following evening, they made more sense – though it still wasn’t anything I was going to attempt in a milonga.
This time around, the bank holiday meant no Monday classes, which gave me one improver’s class to see whether I might get comfortable enough to try it in the milonga which followed …
If I were in any doubt about my addiction to tango, this evening would have dispelled it. This was the first week since I started dancing in the milonga after the Tuesday class that I was unable to do so – and I really, really missed it …
Tonight’s improver’s class was on using the cross to change direction.
We started by practicing the cross. I had, the first time around, found that deceptively difficult for some reason. I subsequently got the hang of it, but I know there’s a vast chasm between a cross that works and a really good one, so I was more than happy to get more practice at it.
We then moved on to using it to change direction …
Tonight’s Tango Space lesson was on the medio-giro, and with no class on Easter Monday, it was straight into the improver’s class.
But I felt comfortable with the beginner’s version from last time, and it’s something I use a lot in milongas, so didn’t mind jumping in at the deep end this evening …
Continue reading When tripping over each other’s feet is a good thing
I said that I was prepared for a disappointment after last week’s amazing milonga, and I think if things had been terrible this week, I’d have shrugged and figured that tomorrow’s another day.
Instead, it was just puzzling …
Be careful what you wish for …
In conversation among experienced dancers, someone said most people make it through the first couple of years of tango thanks to a healthy dose of self-delusion. By the time they realise they weren’t anything like as good as they thought they were, they are over the hump – or at least, too far in to escape.
In reference to my six month appraisal, I complained that I hadn’t been supplied with the self-delusion to which I was apparently entitled …
Continue reading My legally-mandated dose of self-delusion was delivered after all
Tonight was my best tango experience yet!
The evening began with the Tuesday improver’s class, on the cross in cross system. Yesterday I’d been having mixed success with this, as I’m new to walking in cross system anyway. Tonight was still mixed success, but weighted more to the success side of the scales …
While I felt like I’d learned a lot about leading from my three hours of following, the proof is in the pudding – and tonight the pudding was served. Two of my regular followers in the Tango Space classes asked me what I’d been doing as they could really feel a difference.
I also got a little more unexpected following practice …
I may have mentioned once or twice <ahem> the difference between the theory of tango as a walking dance, and the reality of crowded milongas with lots of people doing endless circular movements. All good fun if you have any, not so much fun if you don’t.
I devoted not just one but both of my private lessons with Diego to this, and today’s Tango Space workshop was the perfect complement: Dancing in small spaces …
Continue reading Finally feeling like an improver (and beginner)
Tuesday evenings are straight into the improver’s class, as that precedes the beginner’s one. After a warm-up dance, we started with outside walking and then moved onto the cross.
I hadn’t been happy with my lead of the cross. It felt sloppy, and followers often ended up in a kind of half-hearted one. But tonight it clicked into place, and the key was fairly obvious in retrospect …
This week’s Tango Space theme is dissociation, and my week began as usual with the Monday beginner’s class followed by the improver’s one. The difference this week is that the 10-week cycle is starting again, so this time I’ve done everything in the beginner’s classes once before. I was hoping that would allow me to focus less on the ‘what’ and more on the ‘how’ …
Glamorously attired in the bottom half of a Virgin Atlantic sleep suit and a loose-fitting Nike t-shirt, I looked entirely unlike any ballerino the world had ever seen. Me, one other bloke and about 15 women, waiting in a dance studio in a Kings Cross college for a one-hour ballet taster class to begin …
Continue reading A ballet taster class, and a simple dissociation tip
My usual approach to Tango Space lessons does seem to do the trick: do beginner, Practica and improver classes on Monday; then the improver class on Tuesday (with the follow-on beginner class in reserve if I’m still struggling).
The two classes tend to take different approaches …
Continue reading A plan to move beyond my Minimal Comfort Zone
Back into group classes after my illness-enforced absence, and the theme was the calesita. A movement in which the follower pivots on one foot in the centre while the leader walks backwards around her.
In the beginner’s class, we did a sidestep entry, the calesita itself – and then the idea was for the leader to stop, but not stop the follower’s pivot. If all went to plan, her momentum would see her continue to pivot for about another 1/4 of a turn, by which time she should be facing the leader once more …
The theme of this week’s Tango Space lessons is the Americana. A figure in which leader and follower end up walking side-by-side.
Even the beginner version had a lot to think about. Rebound forward on left foot while dissociating to the left. Then during the spring back, dissociate right while stepping back with the left foot, and keep opening to the right while taking a side step. Then one Americana step forward together, the leader taking a slightly shorter step, then re-associate right and keep the follower’s weight on her left foot so you can walk out …
I’ve mentioned before the ‘endless ocho’ issue I’ve encountered, where I either fail to lead an exit, or followers go onto auto-pilot, or some combination of the two.
I think Diego gave me a solution that should work regardless of the cause, but tonight I got to enjoy endless ochos of the useful variety …
Continue reading Endless ochos of the useful kind, and the social in social dancing
After rather too little sleep last night, I was feeling very tired, but didn’t want to miss a second Tango Space class, so decided willpower would make an adequate substitute for energy.
The theme was the back ocho, and the improver version ended in a new-to-me version of a Medio-giro, with a parada to complete the sequence …
One of the many mysteries of tango is the way one’s available talent can wax and wane for no apparent reason. The tango gods seem to randomly dish out highs and lows for no better reason than that it amuses them to do so.
Yesterday was a 3; today was a 10 …
Continue reading One of the many mysteries of tango, and the power of socks
This week’s Tango Space theme is the ocho cortado. I’ve done this before, so had the basic idea, but that was at such an early stage that I was very happy to meet it afresh.
I wasn’t on my best form this evening. Not terrible or anything, I just felt a bit clumsy. Also, the ocho cortado felt to me like it should be a snappy movement, so I was finding it harder to get the feel to slower music …
Continue reading Many mediocre ocho cortados, and one great moment
Tonight’s Tango Space workshop was an intensive one on the giro. This is something I could do in a rather clunky fashion, but wasn’t anything like confident enough to consider trying it in a milonga, so two hours devoted to it seemed like an excellent plan.
After a little dancing to warm up, the leaders and followers separated while Pablo and Anne respectively taught us our own parts. For the leaders, we started with a 180-degree pivot, then a 270-degree one, and finally a 360-degree one …
Well, that was a quick transition from ‘WTF?‘ to ‘Oh! Fun!’ …
I spent half an hour before work this morning practicing the leader movements for the beginner version, fixing one issue at a time. After about 20 minutes, everything felt right – and I even videoed myself to be sure it looked right. (No, you can’t. We’ve had this conversation before.)
Of course, without a follower, there was no reliable way to be sure, but it gave me sufficient confidence to brave the improver’s class tonight …
Continue reading Planeo playtime, and back into the tango high!
Hang on, that’s a planet. No wonder I was getting confused.
Monday was the first Tango Space class of the week, this time on the Planeo. A movement in which the leader lowers his height to lead a pivot, and the follower drags one foot on the ground in a semi-circle.
In the version we were doing, I was finding there was rather a lot to think about at once …
I tonight did both the beginner’s and improver’s classes again – though the order is reversed on Tuesdays. All four classes taught a different version of a 180-degree turn:
Tango Space sends out a weekly email letting us know the theme for that week’s lessons. Usually these reveal the actual figure we’ll be learning, but this week’s email invited us on more of a magical mystery tour! The beginner’s description revealed only that it was on changing direction, while the improver’s class merely added that it would involve a cross …
Tonight was the second Tango Space class of the week, again on the medio-giro. In hindsight, I should have gone to the improver’s class rather than the beginner’s one, as that would have further developed my skills; it just didn’t occur to me in time.
But the beginner’s class was still great to get lots of practice, and in a rather crowded room that included adjusting the size and angle to suit the available space, so that was really useful …
Continue reading Awarding myself achievement points for three things
Regular readers may remember that the Monday Tango Space classes have a beginner’s class, a 30-minute practica and then an improver’s class. The topic is the same for both beginners and improvers – the latter doing a ‘variation’ on the theme.
You may also recall me deciding last week to stay on for the improver’s class, with what might best be described as mixed results …
This week’s Tango Space class theme is the forward ocho. Although I have spent a … certain amount of time working on ochos, it was going to provide me with one thing I’ve consistently wanted: practice at pivots. I diarised two classes this week: Monday and Thursday.
Getting some practice really was great. It was a luxury to be doing something where I didn’t have to think about the logistics but could just focus on technique. I was comfortable enough that I was able to play around with the both speed and size of the ochos, and to begin to get a sense of the flexibility available in expressing quite different things with the same core movements …
Walking to tonight’s Tango Space lesson, it occurred to me that I could use ordinary walking as practice. Not a full-on tango walk through Waterloo (though I have been known to do that on an empty DLR platform, which I’m sure amused someone on the other end of a CCTV feed), but just practicing really pushing into the ground. And in doing so, I solved a mystery that had been bugging me for a while.
The first time I ever really got that part of the walk right, Mariano could immediately see it. Yet I couldn’t figure out how that could be. How could something that happened purely inside my own body be not only felt but seen … ?
Tonight was my final group tango lesson of the year: the Tuesday Tango Space lesson, also on the medio giro. (I have one more private lesson this year, with Maeve).
When I first decided to do two Tango Space lessons each week, I thought they were the exact same lesson, so I’d be doing each twice. For anything I found difficult, that would give me a second shot at it; for anything that worked the first time, it would be an opportunity to work on improving my technique.
In fact, the theme is the same for each class in any one week, but the exact lesson varies. So both yesterday and today were the medio giro, but the two classes taught two different versions of it – both of which were different to the one Mariano showed me. There are, I’m quickly learning, endless variations of everything tango …
Continue reading Last group lesson of the year, and the journey so far
Monday evening was the first of two Tango Space lessons this week on the medio giro.
One thing that has really fallen into place with me now with pivots is realising that it’s not about the precise steps – it’s more about thinking about the direction and energy and feeling you want to impart. When Federico and Julia were demonstrating the medio giro, I noticed his exact foot placement varied, and as soon as I realised that, it became much easier to do it myself – because I was now focused on the objective and feel rather than whether the angle between my feet on the back cross should be 75 degrees or 90 degrees …
It doesn’t take long learning tango before you become intimately acquainted with what appears to be a universal phenomenon among dancers of all levels: tango highs, and tango lows.
But according to a great diagram created by Steve Morrall of tango school Bramshaw, seen below, I should feel pretty happy to experience either. Both peaks and troughs represent stage two of the learning experience …
Continue reading Perhaps entering stage two of the learning process
A new day and a new class: my first taste of the Tango Space Monday class. I’m not the only person to go to more than one lesson each week, so I was pleased to see a few familiar faces.
As with all Tango Space lessons, it starts with the walk. Federico had me lead him, and I again found that my walk comes together nicely when I really concentrate on all the elements – but doesn’t when I don’t. Oddly enough …
Continue reading Ochos: aiming to move beyond passable imitations
Saturday saw me first at the beginner’s class at Tango Garden, and later at a Tango Space workshop.
The Tango Garden class has a constant influx of first-time students, so often doesn’t progress beyond the walk in practice embrace. This was the case again today …
Continue reading A two-year journey, or deceptiveness in advertising
In my final lesson on Sunday, a 30-minute one with Mariano, I had one perfect moment.
My then-gf wasn’t happy with my lead. ‘More chest!’ So I stopped. Mentally ran through my checklist for the walk. Feet grounded. Knees soft. Upright posture. Shoulders relaxed. Head up. Push back against the floor. Lead with the chest. Arms doing nothing other than maintaining the embrace. Then I began walking.
Everything came together. ‘Yes!’ she said, emphatically. ‘Now you look like a milonguero,’ declared Mariano. Just for that moment, I felt like one too …
Continue reading One perfect moment … and many imperfect ones
My tango torrent commenced with four lessons in a weekend, so this blog post will be a long one …
The group lesson at Tango Garden again had some complete beginners, so didn’t progress beyond the walk. In most activities, redoing the very basics – starting with changing weight – would be annoying, but in tango there is so much to learn and refine even in something as simple as changing weight …
Continue reading Four lessons in a weekend, or ‘Ochos: what was all the fuss about anyway?’
Today was the beginner’s group lesson at Tango Garden. It was supposed to be on the ocho, but turned out not to be as there were several people there for their very first lesson, so we instead just did the walk. But practicing the walk with a partner suits me just fine, and it was actually a great confidence boost to successfully lead two first timers.
I went back later for the practica, and instead found myself dancing one tanda in the milonga …
Another Saturday, another beginner’s group lesson at Tango Garden. Except today, a family emergency meant the teacher was unavailable. What was available was a class for ‘beginners+,’ a small but significant suffix I’d most definitely not yet earned.
But I was there, and Maral and Mariano seemed confident no-one would die. The goal, for those legitimately in possession of a plus sign, was a sequence of steps I couldn’t even hope to accurately describe, let alone imitate. Feet flashed and bodies whirled. It looked like an Olympic dressage event while I’d gone there for a seaside donkey ride …
A tango dancing friend protested I was having it all too easy. Private lessons and a highly experienced follower on tap. Not like in her day, when you had to (tango) walk 43 miles through the snow in your bare feet, listening to scratchy music through a crystal radio with a broom for a dance partner …
ben lovejoy 