I enjoyed my first taste of barridas, so was looking forward to another class on these with Juan Martin and Steffi. Steph and friends had, however, warned me 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
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 …
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
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 …)
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
