Category Archives: Private lesson

Festival, Following, Private lesson, Workshop

Finally achieving a long-held ambition to write a short blog post about the Feast!

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Given that the Feast is not only my favourite tango festival but also the most frequent, I’ve written the occasional blog post about it in the four years I’ve been coming. Each time, I think I can’t possibly have anything new to say, and every time I write several thousand words.

But this time I’ve finally achieved my long-held ambition to write a short post! Anyone feeling short-changed by this will find some video compensation at the end …

Continue reading Finally achieving a long-held ambition to write a short blog post about the Feast! →
Festival, Following, Group class, Private lesson

My tastiest ever Feast coming at just the right moment

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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 moment →
Group class, Practica, Private lesson, Thoughts

A six-year tale of adding, subtracting and re-adding pieces to my tango jigsaw puzzle

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There’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 puzzle →
Private lesson

One hour down, six months to go: A private with Valentina Garnier & Juan Amaya

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Those who’ve been following my blog from the early days will be aware that I have, on occasion, born some resemblance to a kid in a candy store when it comes to tango.

While I’d very much calmed down even before my enforced absence, my most recent private demonstrated that there are occasions on which the over-excited toddler can re-emerge …

Continue reading One hour down, six months to go: A private with Valentina Garnier & Juan Amaya →
Private lesson

It takes two to tango, right?

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Just refreshing my memory; it’s been a while. I’d been off the dance floor for almost exactly six months. No dance, no solo practice – not even listening to tango music, because it was too painful to hear it and not be able to dance.

So before diving in at the deep end at the Feast, I thought I’d better book a couple of privates to remind me about one or two of the finer points of technique – like how to embrace, walk and pivot …

Continue reading It takes two to tango, right? →
Following, Private lesson

Seesaw steps, and learning to slow the leader when my following gets lost

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April saw the return of Emma from her Great Indian Adventure, and with excellent timing too, as it also gave her the opportunity to see her framed drawing, which I’d picked up just a few days earlier (below).

While Emma is gentler than Filippo when it comes to feedback, she wasn’t taking any prisoners in the warm-up dance we did! She was straight into mixing in interrupted steps and changes of speed …

Continue reading Seesaw steps, and learning to slow the leader when my following gets lost →
Following, Private lesson

A massive increase in my following sensitivity, sometimes for several seconds at a time!

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I’ve always been in awe of following as a skill, but never more so than after my last couple of privates. If I combine the technique input from Mabel and Filippo, I now have 11 bullet points on which to focus!

This is problematic given that my tango brain struggles to cope with three things at a time, but there are four pieces of good news – including what both Filippo and I felt was a night-and-day difference in the sensitivity of my following …

Continue reading A massive increase in my following sensitivity, sometimes for several seconds at a time! →
Following, Private lesson

Which way are we pivoting again? Mabel gave me six things to think about while I figure it out

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My following adventure had some rather large gaps, caused by a mix of general life stuff, and two of my teachers fleeing the country. But a third one hadn’t yet reached that level of despair, so the fun had recommenced.

In my last lesson with Filippo, I’d managed to follow him surprisingly well when he stuck to steps and rebounds and upped the speed, and Irina subsequently led me in a milonga song at Tango Secrets, also with remarkable success (all in relative terms, you understand!). It was now time to see what magic Mabel could muster …

Continue reading Which way are we pivoting again? Mabel gave me six things to think about while I figure it out →
Festival, Following, Private lesson

I’d normally be in BsAs now, but The Feast is for sure the next best thing

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The past two years, I’ve spent the whole of March in BsAs, and this year my hope was to stay for April too. Sadly, having my flat on the market, with no idea when it might sell, made it impractical to be away for two months this spring. I’m hoping instead to be there for October and November.

But if I can’t be in BsAs, there’s no other place I’d rather be than The Feast …

Continue reading I’d normally be in BsAs now, but The Feast is for sure the next best thing →
Following, Private lesson

Slow, slow, quick – a frustrating then exciting continuation of my following adventure

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I did religiously do my solo practice work on the technique bullets I listed last time, but my progress had been at worst undetectable, and at best slow. That saw us start by working on the same things as last time: a posture check to start, another halfway through a step, another at the end of it.

It was still more common for me to correct my posture after losing it than it was for me to maintain it throughout, and I was still struggling with pivots. I asked Filippo if he could slow these right down, taking four beats to lead a 90-degree pivot, so that I had time to be clear on the direction and degree of pivot, and could then actively focus on my posture throughout …

Continue reading Slow, slow, quick – a frustrating then exciting continuation of my following adventure →
Following, Private lesson

Returning to a centimetre-by-centimetre approach to following, this time at the right moment

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Learning to follow still feels to me like an absurdly ambitious goal, but even at this early and utterly incompetent stage, I’ve started to see some signs of progress.

One of these is finding that an approach which was wrong for me when I first started this adventure is now exactly what I need …

Continue reading Returning to a centimetre-by-centimetre approach to following, this time at the right moment →
Private lesson

Making my simple milonga a little less simple, and a little more milonga

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I last week mentioned my relationship status with milonga: “It’s complicated.“

There’s still a huge gap between what my head would like to be doing, and what my body feels it can lead at milonga speeds, alongside a concern about a possibly equal-sized gap between follower expectations and my reality. On the other hand, there are followers who knowingly drag me out onto the pista for milonga tandas, and even a couple who specifically seek me out for them. 

While the focus of my current privates is following, Irina Zoueva expressed her confidence in upping my milonga leading game several levels – and the resulting private turned out to give me a little following practice too …

Continue reading Making my simple milonga a little less simple, and a little more milonga →
Private lesson

Can a metaphor increase my dissociation? It appears so …

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The end of the year had seen a little flurry of milongas: Biela Tango, Tango Secrets, Etonathon, New Year’s Eve at Negracha, and New Year’s Day at CamTango. The new year continued with a tango-themed dinner, and my first visit to Tango Cafe – on which more another time.

But it can’t all be play; there’s also work to be done …

Continue reading Can a metaphor increase my dissociation? It appears so … →
Festival, Milonga, Private lesson

Adopting an all-or-nothing approach – and having it all at The Feast

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Last time my Feastward journey was cancelled by Storm Ciarán; this time by Aslef! But at least the latter gave notice, allowing me to rebook my train journey for the Wednesday evening.

I’d actually only danced once since the last Feast, at Tango Secrets. That’s been partly a lack of time, and an aversion to heading out into freezing temperatures – but mostly it’s because I’ve reached an all-or-nothing mindset with tango …

Continue reading Adopting an all-or-nothing approach – and having it all at The Feast →
Private lesson

Another fabulous private with Mabel Rivero, on the four secrets to check steps

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I’d had an absolutely wonderful following private with her at the summer Feast, but was too slow to grab a slot this time. I asked Fernando to let me know if a slot magically became available, and he said that if there were not enough takers for a scheduled follower technique workshop, then I could have that time.

Given how good her last one had been, this seemed a long-shot, but each time I checked the sign-up sheet my luck was holding, and that happily remained the case …

Continue reading Another fabulous private with Mabel Rivero, on the four secrets to check steps →
Following, Private lesson

Tackling pivots as a follower, and a side-benefit of collaborative dance – a great restart to my following lessons

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It’s been a long wait to resume my following lessons! Diego is in Edinburgh, and Emma has been in BsAs, and I only managed this one before dashing off to Heathrow for a brief trip of my own.

The wait was worth it, though. Not just for the lesson, but also because I finally got my hands on the sketch I’d fallen in love with when Emma posted it on Facebook! I will frame it, but it works pretty well on the temporary stand I’m using, and goes well with my BsAs print …

Continue reading Tackling pivots as a follower, and a side-benefit of collaborative dance – a great restart to my following lessons →
Following, Private lesson

I can now follow in a 1930s milonga, while a 2024 one is looking surprisingly feasible

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My latest following lesson was with Diego. He normally comes to my apartment, but as he had wall-to-wall bookings, I had to cycle to his studio in deepest south London, fending off dragons, rogues and vagabonds as I went. It was worth it.

We danced a song, and I entirely failed to follow a cross. Twice. Or maybe more, who knows. He did, however, have good news for me …

Continue reading I can now follow in a 1930s milonga, while a 2024 one is looking surprisingly feasible →
Festival, Milonga, Private lesson

Feasting upon delicious tandas and school dinners in sunny Devon

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The Feast is always a delight, but I’d originally thought it might need to serve as something of an antidote to the previous weekend’s London Tango Marathon. Amazingly – and despite floorcraft crimes deserving of 20 years to life – I had an absolutely dream time there, so I had two magical weekends, rather than one.

The trip got off to an interesting start with the train. The journey had everything: drama, pathos, comedy …

Continue reading Feasting upon delicious tandas and school dinners in sunny Devon →
Following, Private lesson

A truly incredible following lesson with Mabel Rivero

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One of the resident teachers at the summer Feast was Mabel Rivero. I’d caught a glimpse of a private she was giving at Tango by the Sea late last year, coincidentally to another man learning to follow, and it looked amazing! So as soon as I saw she was teaching here too, I signed up for a private on the Sunday afternoon.

Fernando does have a photo from my lesson, which I’ll substitute when the poor man has a chance to catch up with messages, but for now Mabel is the super-smiley one in the centre as we waited for the train home …

Continue reading A truly incredible following lesson with Mabel Rivero →
Festival, Following, Milonga, Private lesson

My heart remains in BsAs, but the spirit of the city is alive in the UK

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I’ve been back in the UK for almost two months now, but the pull of BsAs hasn’t diminished in the slightest. While most of my body got on the plane to Heathrow, I seem to have forgotten to pack my heart. If only my bank account shared my sentiment, I’d get straight back on a plane again tomorrow.

Fortunately, there are places in the UK where the spirit of the city is alive, and I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy three of them since my return: the Argentine ambassador’s milonga, the Sheffield Tango Festival, and a return visit to Tango by the Sea …

Continue reading My heart remains in BsAs, but the spirit of the city is alive in the UK →
Following, Private lesson

Another hit of the following drug, in a joyful private with Emma

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Tango has an astonishing ability to energise. I’d been woken at 4am by a certain chocolate-coloured feline who decided to make a heroically unsuccessful attempt to jump onto the living room window-sill. I was alerted to this fact by the sound of two cacti pots crashing to the floor. (Orange Boy had a solid alibi as he was asleep on my pillow at the time.)

I didn’t get back to sleep, and when Emma arrived for my private some 14 hours later, I was feeling not dissimilar to the cacti. But as soon as we danced the first song, I found myself feeling as lively as a 4am cat …

Continue reading Another hit of the following drug, in a joyful private with Emma →
Private lesson, Thoughts

When a thirst for understanding turns into a deluge!

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Tango is an extraordinarily skilled hunter, capable of looking deep into each of us, and figuring out the most reliable way to draw us in.

Once she’s captured us, she has many ways to leave us incapable of ever escaping her all-enveloping embrace. But I think with each of us, there was a singular weakness she used to ensnare us in the first place. With me, it was my thirst for understanding …

Continue reading When a thirst for understanding turns into a deluge! →
Buenos Aires, Milonga, Private lesson

Feeling like a tango god or tango toddler; rarely anything between the two

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This city can make me feel like a tango god. When I get the right milonga, the right atmosphere, the right music, the right follower, the right floorcraft … when everything flows effortlessly, my partner and I reading each other perfectly, and I feel like I own the floor.

It can also make me feel like a tango toddler. When I’m at a milonga where the music is relentlessly fast, where everyone is spinning in high-speed circles, and I wonder what the hell I would do even if someone was looking in my direction …

Continue reading Feeling like a tango god or tango toddler; rarely anything between the two →
Buenos Aires, Milonga, Private lesson

An Argentine embrace, and a wonderful night at Muy Martes and Parakultural

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I have a dozen identical white linen shirts, which you might think sounds like a lot. But given that I generally need a change of shirt during a milonga, and am sometimes doing two milongas a day, dropping and collecting laundry is a regular task.

The hours of my local laundry are clearly shown as 11am to 9pm. Of course, this being Argentina, that doesn’t mean 11am to 9pm. It means ‘We do, broadly speaking, have the general ambition of operating hours which may perhaps bear some resemblance to these. Oh, and we may randomly close for half an hour to an hour at any point.’ Which explains this sign when I got there at 5pm …

Continue reading An Argentine embrace, and a wonderful night at Muy Martes and Parakultural →
Practica, Private lesson

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

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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 →
Milonga, Private lesson, Workshop

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

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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

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

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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 →
Private lesson

Returning to leading lessons as BsAs fast approaches

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Three things to me are clear from my following adventure: I’m really enjoying it; it’s helping my lead too; it’s going to be several months before I get anywhere close to being able to follow competently in a milonga.

That being the case, and with my month-long return to Buenos Aires rapidly approaching, I decided it was time to use my last few privates before March to tune-up my lead …

Continue reading Returning to leading lessons as BsAs fast approaches →
Following, Private lesson

Pugliese helping out with my latest following lesson

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A busy work trip to Vegas followed by a bout of COVID brought home as a souvenir meant that I hadn’t done as much solo practice as I’d hoped – and it showed! Though Emma seemed more impressed by my following than I was, with rather more ‘Esa!’s than I felt were merited.

But despite me still feeling I was 70% clumsiness to 30% flow, Señor Pugliese joined Emma as co-teacher to deliver one hugely important lesson …

Continue reading Pugliese helping out with my latest following lesson →
Following, Private lesson

It’s all in the smallest of things, as I battle with following back ochos

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We all know tango is never a straight line. Some days, you feel like Gavito, other days like a baby elephant taking its first steps. Tonight was one of the latter days.

But despite the fact that I felt I wasn’t remotely on form, Emma still delivered another ocho revelation …

Continue reading It’s all in the smallest of things, as I battle with following back ochos →
Following, Private lesson

Emma’s forward ocho miracles, and following a less industrial-sized lead

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This evening was my first following lesson with Emma, and it was an amazing one!

So far, I’ve felt that the act of following itself is really starting to fall into place, but that I had a zillion technique issues to address with my pivots. That’s absolutely still the case, of course, but I felt like in the course of a single lesson my forward pivots went from 20% to 60% (where my current standard for 100% is “could pass for a halfway-competent beginner follower, given a sufficiently dark room”) …

Continue reading Emma’s forward ocho miracles, and following a less industrial-sized lead →
Following, Private lesson

Following is really starting to click, thanks to a lesson I learned in motorsports

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I’m really amazed at how well following is really starting to click now! And it’s all down to an approach I learned in my pre-tango obsession: motorsports.

The biggest problem I had when I started this latest tango adventure was anticipating the lead. I was listening to the music and knew how I would interpret it. At best, I would be expecting to move in one way and then have to quickly switch gears in my head to follow what was actually led; at worst, I was doing completely unled movements …

Continue reading Following is really starting to click, thanks to a lesson I learned in motorsports →
Following, Private lesson

I’ve made surprising progress in my following: I now feel like a beginner

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Perhaps it’s an odd way to express it, but after three more privates, I now feel like I’ve reached the stage of being a beginner follower.

What I mean by that is that, previously, I very much felt like a leader trying to make the very difficult transition to following. Some tango concepts learned as a leader were helpful, of course, but in other ways my experience as a leader was actually hindering my attempts to follow. Now, though, I feel like I’ve (mostly!) succeeded in letting go of the internal struggle between the two, and can actually fully focus on the follower role …

Continue reading I’ve made surprising progress in my following: I now feel like a beginner →
Following, Private lesson, Thoughts

Following … a leader, and my tango heart

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I had my third private as a follower, and while I missed plenty of things, I for the first time had an experience of Just Dancing from the follower side.

I also decided to follow my tango heart when it comes to when, where and how I dance …

Continue reading Following … a leader, and my tango heart →
Following, Practica, Private lesson

An amazing leading dividend from just two lessons as a follower

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While leading and following are two very different mindsets, the technique is the same – just that followers need more of it at any given level.

I knew from past experience that following is a very powerful tool for improving my lead, but I really couldn’t believe the extent to which this paid off after just two (new) following lessons …

Continue reading An amazing leading dividend from just two lessons as a follower →
Following, Private lesson

A time to lead, a time to follow

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Six weeks ago, I said I was pausing my privates while I figured out my next step. A few days after that, I mulled over the possibility of learning to follow – at least, to some degree.

Sure, I’ve taken a few lessons as a follower, but those have always been geared to helping my lead, rather than actually focusing on following. But I’ve decided it’s now time to have a real go at the opposite (and, I suspect, more challenging) role …

Continue reading A time to lead, a time to follow →
Private lesson

Time for double-time: A very delayed post

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Despite working independently, Laura and Diego somehow ganged up on me while I was in BsAs back in March. There have been two things I’ve always viewed with terror in tango: cross-system, and double-time.

I’d dipped a toe in the cross-system waters, though always aimed to return to the safety of parallel system at the earliest opportunity. But the occasional rebound aside, I’d still mostly kept double-time at a safe distance …

Continue reading Time for double-time: A very delayed post →
Buenos Aires, Private lesson

Double-time in pivots in a great private with Laura, and an impromptu video interview

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I’m a little behind on the blogs now, in part because of working, and in part because I accidentally created another little project for myself while I was here! I really haven’t gotten the hang of holidays.

I said before that Diego and Laura have proven the perfect teaching duo, even though they have been working with me independently, and that continued today …

Continue reading Double-time in pivots in a great private with Laura, and an impromptu video interview →
Buenos Aires, Private lesson

My teachers here have never met, but they work in perfect harmony

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Diego and Laura (website to follow) have never met, but their teaching couldn’t be more complementary if they were a team. Each is, in theory, working with me on different aspects of my dance, but it all meshes together so well it’s as if they planned their privates with me together.

Today’s private was with Laura, and I find it hard to believe we covered so much in such a short time …

Continue reading My teachers here have never met, but they work in perfect harmony →
Buenos Aires, Milonga, Private lesson, Progress update

Last ones standing: Closing Salon Canning at 4am (Video)

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A friend suggested I might get more sleep if I weren’t writing my blog posts. In truth, I’m buzzing so much when I get home from milongas that there’s no chance I’d sleep anyway if I tried going straight to bed. Writing is for me a way of winding down, even if I do also do it for a living!

I have made it to bed on previous nights, albeit sometimes at 5am. Last night, however, I was so euphoric that I might as well have had a nose full of cocaine for all the hope there was of sleep …

Continue reading Last ones standing: Closing Salon Canning at 4am (Video) →
Buenos Aires, Milonga, Outdoors, Private lesson, Spanish

Accidentally achieving one of my goals by going to the wrong milonga

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I slept for about nine hours, though still felt that was about ten hours short of the required quota. However, we did nothing in the morning, so a bit of lazing was the perfect start to the day.

This was helped considerably by my foresight. I’d decided that a one-month stay was more like short-term living than long-term holidaying, so had brought with me some key home comforts – including my favourite tea, infusers, and pint mug …

Continue reading Accidentally achieving one of my goals by going to the wrong milonga →
Buenos Aires, Private lesson

Day two, and time for a tune-up with Laura Heredia

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My post-Feast tango famine had left me feeling a little rusty, so I’d booked a private with Laura for the second day of my stay, to work on my technique before I hit the first milonga.

I’ve been incredibly lucky with my teachers. For me, a great teacher needs the ability to combine three very different qualities …

Continue reading Day two, and time for a tune-up with Laura Heredia →
Private lesson

Balance is just technique – working with Diego on the calesita

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When it comes to resolving my tangistential crisis, Filippo had given me a way forward which seemed to be working. Namely, take one element of my less-used vocabulary at a time, and figure out alternative resolutions for every step. Practicing those would then give me the confidence to use them in crowded milongas, knowing that I always had a plan B.

Another aspect of my crisis, however, was feeling unsure how far all my technique work was going to take me …

Continue reading Balance is just technique – working with Diego on the calesita →
Private lesson

A really fun private, addressing one element of my tangistential crisis

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I talked last time about my tango existential crisis, a phrase which clearly demands an abbreviated form.

Part of it was how, as the space in milongas gets squeezed, so too does my vocabulary. I had one theory about the reason for that, but in tonight’s private, Filippo came up with a second one – and a fun/sadistic way forward …

Continue reading A really fun private, addressing one element of my tangistential crisis →
Private lesson

Joining some more dots – in cross-system!

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Different teachers have given me different things. David, for example, was absolutely fantastic at giving me variations on things I already knew. At helping me connect the dots – something which has made my dance both more varied and more fluid.

With Filippo, I’m working almost exclusively on technique. But five hours of dancing on Sunday made me realise there is something rather fundamental missing from my vocabulary, so tonight I asked Filippo to provide a solution. It worked out better than I could have imagined …

Continue reading Joining some more dots – in cross-system! →
Private lesson, Progress update

A tango crash after the high, and a wonderful new teacher

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I kept saying, throughout my extended tango high, that there had to be a crash around the corner. It was a surprisingly long time coming, but when it did, it was an impressive one.

Let’s start with the good news …

Continue reading A tango crash after the high, and a wonderful new teacher →
Practica, Private lesson

Three years in, learning to stand, walk and turn

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Being a tango teacher must take a special kind of patience. Learning to dance takes so long that the only way it will ever happen is via shortcuts. Things that are good enough to work, to get people to the stage where they can dance.

Along the way, they have to turn a temporary blind eye to really fundamental technique issues that will need to be addressed further down the road. Things like learning to stand, walk and turn …

Continue reading Three years in, learning to stand, walk and turn →
Milonga, Private lesson, Progress update

Rhythmical dance is bringing me back to basics in a whole new way

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I wrote last time about the excitement I feel, at finally feeling like I might start to enjoy rhythmical tandas as much as lyrical ones. But there’s also the other side to this, which is why I choose the above image for this post.

There are times in my tango journey where it feels circular: Oh, this again! But it’s of course really a spiral. We learn something on one level, then we return to it later and explore it on another level. And we continually get deeper into each element – like revealing the fruit beneath the peel. (Hey, this metaphor is worth what you paid for it!)

Turning my attention now to rhythmical dancing is like revisiting everything from scratch …

Continue reading Rhythmical dance is bringing me back to basics in a whole new way →
Private lesson

An unplanned, and very exciting, focus on rhythmical dance

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I’ve long favoured lyrical tango over rhythmical – legato over staccato. While most songs of course contain elements of each, there’s a huge difference between say Fresedo’s Buscandote and D’Arienzo’s El choclo. The former has me leaping out of my seat, the latter shrinking back into it.

Partly that reflects my musical tastes. My non-tango music is dominated by singer-songwriters, so it’s natural that my tango tastes would lean heavily toward songs where the singer is the focus. But there’s a second factor …

Continue reading An unplanned, and very exciting, focus on rhythmical dance →
Private lesson

The back cross, and the power of not thinking

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Long enough ago that I can’t find my blog post about it, I did a group class with Winston and Silvia on the back cross. Since then, my hit-rate on leading it has been somewhere around 50%, so decided it would be good to work on this during tonight’s private with Filippo.

Janet said she has no real preferences in what we do – her focus is purely on posture and technique, and she can do that whatever the topic …

Continue reading The back cross, and the power of not thinking →
Private lesson

A somewhat ambitious private that I think paid off

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Regular readers will know that I am a bear of little brain when it comes to steps. That’s one of the reasons I don’t really pay much attention to sequences – it takes me an age to get the hang of them, and there’s zero chance I’d be able to do them in a milonga, even if there was room and it worked with the music.

My ‘lego block’ approach to learning – where I try to understand the individual components, and play with those – works far better for me. But tonight I did want to have a go at a short sequence …

Continue reading A somewhat ambitious private that I think paid off →
Private lesson

Clockwise giros, and the long list of technique issues my attempts revealed!

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Long-time readers will know that it took me a lot of time and a lot of privates to reach the point where I felt happy with my giros. They remain basic – you won’t find me doing any lapices or sacadas during them – but I’m happy with them for now.

Clockwise giros are another matter. Turning toward the closed side of the embrace feels a lot tricker, and my track-record with them is patchy …

Continue reading Clockwise giros, and the long list of technique issues my attempts revealed! →
Private lesson

Tango lives in the details

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I once saw an interview with Carlos Gavito, toward the end of his life, where the interviewer asked him what he was working on at that time. ‘My walk,’ he said.

I guess at a high enough level in any discipline, people still work daily on the fundamental techniques, but I can’t think of many other activities where we consider ourselves beginners for two years and are still having lightbulb moments about the most basic of things …

Continue reading Tango lives in the details →
Private lesson, Progress update

Resuming privates, and seeking out complexity!

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It’s been quite some time since my last blog post. Lessons obviously had to stop during the stricter lockdown, and it feels great to be able to resume them. Even with regular practice, long gaps in teaching do make me nervous!

But it seems I didn’t have too much to fear. I do have work to do to restore my tango posture, but my fluency seems to be mostly intact …

Continue reading Resuming privates, and seeking out complexity! →
Group class, Private lesson, Progress update

A tale of two cities, tango edition

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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 →
Private lesson, Progress update

Feeling like I’m on a roll now

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This evening’s lesson with David began with more technique refinement and texture.

On the former front, for example, David approved of my collecting my feet fully in the side-steps when leading ochos, but wanted me to ensure that I was dragging my feet along the floor, not lifting them …

Continue reading Feeling like I’m on a roll now →
Private lesson

Finally dipping a toe into the cross-system waters!

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Fede has been trying to get me into the cross-system for what feels like most of my life, and I have always fended him off with crosses, garlic and silver stakes.

But a combination of two things meant that I finally felt ready to dip a small toe into the cross-system waters …

Continue reading Finally dipping a toe into the cross-system waters! →
Private lesson, Theory

Adding oomph: the next step in my tango journey

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More than a year ago, I wrote a lengthy post about finding my own dance.

Lengthy mostly because there’s a long pre-amble intended only as a personal reference. The relevant part here is this …

Continue reading Adding oomph: the next step in my tango journey →
Private lesson

Ganchos – something I swore I would never learn

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Many tango moons ago, I encountered the term ‘men who gancho,’ a less than complimentary term for sleazy men who lead a lot of ganchos and whose motivation does not appear to be to express the music.

I decided that was something I needn’t bother learning (though I have accidentally led them). But two things changed …

Continue reading Ganchos – something I swore I would never learn →
Private lesson

The luxury of two privates in three days: A more reliable colgada lead

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There’s a limit to how much I can take in at one time. With Fede and Julia, 90 minutes is usually about right: an hour can feel a bit rushed, while two hours causes my brain to melt.

But having that private on the Saturday, and another with David on the Monday, meant that we were able to work further on the colgada – and figure out the difference between getting the outward tension 50% of the time and most of the time …

Continue reading The luxury of two privates in three days: A more reliable colgada lead →
Private lesson

Resuming privates with Fede and Julia, and diving into colgadas

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With Fede and Julia now back from Greece, I was able to resume my privates with them. Thankfully they could see progress rather than deterioration in my dance!

I know I said I wasn’t looking to learn new figures, but I am looking to expand my understanding of the building blocks of tango movements, and having been introduced to one off-axis movement in the form of the volcada, it made sense to me to understand its converse, the colgada …

Continue reading Resuming privates with Fede and Julia, and diving into colgadas →
Private lesson

Another great private, and another change to the blog

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It seems hard to even imagine it now, but there was a time when I gave tanda-by-tanda descriptions of my milongas.

That made sense at the time, because in those early days I was dancing perhaps three, four or five at a milonga, and learning significant things from each. I dropped that approach in July of last year, and I think now it’s time for another change …

Continue reading Another great private, and another change to the blog →
Private lesson, Progress update

Clicking giros; continuing variations; and leading with my breath

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Practicing giros and contra-giros yesterday, something clicked. I was able to enter the giro directly from the side-step, forward ocho and back ocho – without my customary ‘side-step then outside walk’ entry – and I could no longer recall why I ever felt the contra-giro was any harder than the giro!

That’s a pretty huge step forward, and David declared my giros relaxed and fluid …

Continue reading Clicking giros; continuing variations; and leading with my breath →
Private lesson

Fake paradas, and connections in the contra-giro

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I have dim and distant memories of learning the contra-giro, but my only memory of actually using it is at Tango on the Thames and having a fantastic time just winging it!

I tried this during yesterday’s practice session, and it worked beautifully once, reasonably well other times and badly a couple of times! So tonight I decided to make that the focus of the lesson …

Continue reading Fake paradas, and connections in the contra-giro →
Private lesson

Voleo variations

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I once swore I was never going to learn to lead voleos as I’d seen (and on one occasion felt) them led dangerously on quite a few occasions. But after a brain-melting lesson last week, I wanted to make sure we kept things simple this week.

I told David I wanted to understand the principles, work on my technique and then have him show me some variations – all of which was achieved …

Continue reading Voleo variations →
Private lesson

A mystery solved, and five take-outs from a lesson which fried my brain

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Five takeouts fried brain.jpg

David’s view of what I can manage is flattering, but not always entirely accurate! Cross-system always fries my brain, so a sequence involving crossing, uncrossing and then exiting in cross-system was never likely to end well – especially after I’d been woken at 4am by damned mosquitos and so was really tired.

I did, however, partly solve a mystery around this, and got five really useful things from the lesson …

Continue reading A mystery solved, and five take-outs from a lesson which fried my brain →

Private lesson

Wobbly leader crosses, but a less wobbly understanding

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Leader crosses

I’m not looking for more figures, especially not complex ones, but sometimes a whole new type of figure can be a really effective way to open my eyes to new possibilities in terms of types of movement.

I would have sworn there couldn’t be a version of the forward ocho I didn’t know, but I was wrong …

Continue reading Wobbly leader crosses, but a less wobbly understanding →

Private lesson

An introduction to the world of off-axis dance

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Off-axis

When David asked what we wanted to focus on in tonight’s lesson with Wai Fong, I took a deep breath and asked him how realistic it would be to tackle a volcada.

My only previous experience of one was when it was just thrown in for fun at the end of a Tango Space improver class, but it had always struck me as a lovely-looking movement …

Continue reading An introduction to the world of off-axis dance →

Private lesson

Variations and verve

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Verve passion confidence.jpg

Monday saw our third lesson with David, again working on variations on things I already know.

The first of these was to lead a cross directly from the walk …

Continue reading Variations and verve →

Private lesson, Progress update

Making lemonade under lockdown

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Lemonade.jpg

We’ve decided to make the lessons with David a weekly fixture during the tango famine, working on that same mix of technique, and variations on things I already know how to do.

We worked this week on the planeo …

Continue reading Making lemonade under lockdown →

Private lesson

My first in-person lesson in 4.5 months – and it was a great one!

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Variations.jpg

I was shocked to look back in my blog and discover that it had been two months since my last virtual tango lesson, and a full 4.5 months since my last in-person one. Lockdown time flies by simply because there are so few events in our lives by which to measure time.

A friend has been raving about David and Kim Benitez for ages, and I’d been meaning to try a lesson with one or both of them. The gradual easing of lockdown rules provided the opportunity for at least a halfway-house lesson …

Continue reading My first in-person lesson in 4.5 months – and it was a great one! →

Private lesson

Calesita and planeo fun, despite an unpromising hungover start!

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Hungover tango.jpg

Drunk tango can be a lot of fun; hungover tango, not so much.

After very much over-indulging with neighbours on Friday night, I was still feeling exceedingly delicate by the time my private started at 4.30pm on Saturday. The first song was so bad I think Julia was planning to send me back to the first beginner’s class …

Continue reading Calesita and planeo fun, despite an unpromising hungover start! →

Private lesson

A private that was hard work for all the right reasons

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hard work.jpg

There’s bad news and good news with pure technique lessons. The bad news is that, because you’re always working with the fundamentals, it can feel like: what, this again/still? And today’s lesson was working on basics:

  • Pushing into the floor from the standing leg
  • Reaching for the floor with the free leg
  • Keeping the core engaged during the step

Continue reading A private that was hard work for all the right reasons →

Following, Private lesson

A lesson in improvisation, switching between lead and follow

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improvisation.jpg

I know, a lesson in improvisation sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it was a private I really needed!

In trying to work toward truly improvised dance, I need a better understanding of the core elements and the possibilities. I also need to find ways of freeing myself from auto-pilot. I can kind of do that when dancing quickly, but slow dance tends to gravitate back to my core vocabulary …

Continue reading A lesson in improvisation, switching between lead and follow →

Practica, Private lesson

I love it when a plan comes together

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a plan comes together.jpg

This weekend was going to be pretty tango-centric, with a practica and private on the Saturday, and a milonga on the Sunday.

Saturday got the weekend off to an excellent start …

Continue reading I love it when a plan comes together →

Private lesson

Around and around: an excellent ocho technique class with Maeve

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encircle.jpg

My last lesson with Maeve was way back in March of last year, when we devoted a two-hour lesson to following instead of leading. That turned out to be one of my most valuable lessons.

Today’s lesson was me leading, but the theme was very much the same …

Continue reading Around and around: an excellent ocho technique class with Maeve →

Private lesson, Progress update, Theory

Time for a new approach to my privates

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private lessons.jpg

Scheduling challenges meant I didn’t have any private lessons last month, but now have three arranged for this month: two with Maeve while she’s in London, and resuming my regular privates with Fede and Julia toward the end of the month.

A lot changed for me in BsAs, so I realised I needed to take a fresh look at what I wanted to get out of my privates. Two elements are easy …

Continue reading Time for a new approach to my privates →

Buenos Aires, Milonga, Outdoors, Private lesson

Buenos Aires: the video

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Less a short film, more the video equivalent of a snapshot. All shot handheld on my iPhone. But while it won’t win any cinematography awards, it captures the memories rather well!

Buenos Aires, Milonga, Private lesson, Socialising

An amazing private, a lovely dinner and two last milongas

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Laura

Private lesson 3 with Laura Heredia

My third and final private was another with Laura, and it was an absolutely amazing one! Half of it was devoted to technique, the other half to more simple tools for use in crowded milongas and to give me more options for expressing the music.

We worked on the first step of the walk, aiming to get a vertical diagonal feel to it – pushing down into the floor with the standing foot while creating a rising sensation in the chest. Laura also had me try the Argentine style position with my left hand …

Continue reading An amazing private, a lovely dinner and two last milongas →

Buenos Aires, Milonga, Private lesson

A day that did not go entirely to plan …

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queer tango demo

My plan for the day was simple: work in the morning, a 90-minute private in the afternoon, a suit fitting, the first hour of a milonga in the evening and in bed by midnight.

Some of that happened …

Continue reading A day that did not go entirely to plan … →

Buenos Aires, Milonga, Not Tango, Private lesson

Passing my Spanish pronunciation exam; a great private; the best bookshop in the world; and some missing magic

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El Ateneo.jpg

As is usual this week, I had work in the morning. Getting up at 7am is never pleasant in my world, but it wasn’t as bad as yesterday thanks to me exercising restraint where milongas were concerned.

After work, it was time for my second Spanish pronunciation lesson, dealing with the rest of the consonants …

Continue reading Passing my Spanish pronunciation exam; a great private; the best bookshop in the world; and some missing magic →

Buenos Aires, Milonga, Outdoors, Private lesson

From tango lesson to feeling like a tango god in three easy steps

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Tango god.jpg

Most of my lessons are very technique-focused. The great thing about those is that a small detail can make a massive difference to the experience you give to a follower. The downside, however, is that because you’re always revisiting the basics, it can make you feel like you’re starting all over again.

Today, I went from feeling like starting again from first principles to feeling like a tango god …

Continue reading From tango lesson to feeling like a tango god in three easy steps →

Private lesson

Never mind the easy stuff; back to work …

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Back to work

I’d warned Fede and Julia that I hadn’t danced for a week, and would need to see first whether I could remember how. We danced a warm-up song, and Julia told me I could.

She had one piece of feedback to offer and a number of compliments, but I knew that ratio wouldn’t last when we got to work …

Continue reading Never mind the easy stuff; back to work … →

Private lesson

A Diego-engineered turn, and no wonder my barrida was messy!

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engineered turn

There’s a turn I saw once in a Pablo and Anne video and which I’ve seen several times in milongas, and it always struck me as one I ought to learn as it had three characteristics I liked.

First, it looked like it would feel really nice for the follower. Second, it seemed a very practical tool for a milonga, as it allowed a significant turn in a relatively small space. Third, it seemed rather simple. Two of these things turned out to be true …

Continue reading A Diego-engineered turn, and no wonder my barrida was messy! →

Private lesson

Engineering my giro technique, and a great way to end them

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giros

My tango engineer, Diego Bado, was back in town, and I had the first of two privates with him today. We started by just dancing so he could give me his current assessment of where my focus should be, and after that we would work on my giro technique.

He complimented me on my musicality, but then we were straight into the long list of technique issues on which I need to work …

Continue reading Engineering my giro technique, and a great way to end them →

Practica, Private lesson

Finally losing the cross-system battle, and ‘the best you’ve ever danced’

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cross system

Today I lost a long-running battle with Fede … He kept wanting me to use cross-system, arguing that it would open up a whole new world of possibilities. I kept resisting because I felt like it would open up a whole new world of complications.

But as what I wanted was more simple ways to turn, and he said the answer to this was to be found in cross-system, I relented …

Continue reading Finally losing the cross-system battle, and ‘the best you’ve ever danced’ →

Private lesson

A rough-and-ready close-embrace giro (and a bonus clockwise one)

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giros

Today’s private with Fede and Julia was resuming work on the giro, and discovering that my difficulties with it are only partly technique-related; a significant part of my problem has been over-thinking it. (You’re amazed, right?)

We started, as ever, with a warm-up dance – and both said that fewer lessons and more dance is clearly paying off …

Continue reading A rough-and-ready close-embrace giro (and a bonus clockwise one) →

Private lesson, Progress update

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 …

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

Private lesson

Finally feeling able to re-introduce giros to my dance

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giro

Having called in Julia and Federico to bump my ochos up to a whole new level, and sort out my cross, it was time to tackle my nemesis: the giro.

With ochos, I had a workable open embrace version. They were clear, and I felt I could easily lead them to the music. Things were trickier in close embrace, and there was plenty of scope to improve my technique, but it was a decent starting-point.

With giros, I didn’t really feel like I had that much …

Continue reading Finally feeling able to re-introduce giros to my dance →

Private lesson

Figuring out the multiple steps to my one-step cross

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the cross

The cross is one of those movements where I’d never felt I’d found the happy medium. If I lead it the way I think I’ve been taught it, then it only works about 50% of the time. And if I lead it clearly enough to get it up to 100%, I really feel like I’m throwing the follower around.

I’ve tried to find a compromise between the two, but that seemed to be the worst of both worlds: it didn’t always work, and it felt like I’m moving the follower rather than moving my chest and trusting her to move herself. So I wanted to devote today’s private lesson with Federico and Julia to the cross, and in particular the one-step cross …

Continue reading Figuring out the multiple steps to my one-step cross →

Private lesson

Official tango dancer rating: 30%

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30 percent

Yesterday, I felt 0% competent; today, I was officially declared 30% competent.

I had a private lesson with Federico and Julia, who run the Monday Tango Space classes, and the focus was on my ocho technique …

Continue reading Official tango dancer rating: 30% →

Following, Private lesson

All about the embrace

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embrace.jpg

Today was going to be more following, this time with Bridgitta, in the practica at Tango Garden. As things turned out, we switched back and forth, me leading something and then Bridgitta having me follow the same thing to illustrate how different versions feel …

Continue reading All about the embrace →

Following, Private lesson, Theory

Michael Lavocah on Troilo, and more learning about leading through following

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following.jpg

Sunday’s tango-related fun kicked off with a 90-minute talk on Troilo by Michael Lavocah, author of Tango Stories, Musical Secrets.

I couldn’t even begin to do justice to the talk in a brief blog post. Lavocah clearly has an immense breadth and depth of knowledge, and boundless enthusiasm for sharing as much of it as humanly possible …

Continue reading Michael Lavocah on Troilo, and more learning about leading through following →

Following, Private lesson

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever had

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following.jpg

I mentioned last time my plan to spend a little time learning to follow in order to help inform my lead. The question was: could I, within say 4-5 hours of private lessons, reach the point where I would get ‘aha!’ moments about my leading?

The initial idea was to devote a two-hour lesson with Maeve to following, then see whether we both felt I might hit that 4-5 hour deadline …

Continue reading One of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever had →

Private lesson, Progress update

A breakthrough after an unplanned break

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breakthrough.jpg

It’s been said that it can be a good idea to take a break from tango every now and then, to allow things to consolidate,. I could see sense in that, but the fixed cycle of the Tango Space classes complicated matters. I wanted to wait until I’d completed the full 12-week cycle, and then pick a week with a topic where I felt sufficiently comfortable to skip a week.

As things turned out, I didn’t get any say in the matter …

Continue reading A breakthrough after an unplanned break →

Private lesson

Unmet expectations

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rebound.jpg

My expectations of today’s lesson with Mariano were very definitely not met …

Continue reading Unmet expectations →

Private lesson

The gentle art of dancing in small spaces

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small spaces.jpg

After loving Diego Bado’s teaching in the Follower’s Liberation class, I knew I had to get a private lesson with him before he left London.

It’s amazing how much a good teacher can pack into a one-hour lesson! But let’s start at the beginning …

Continue reading The gentle art of dancing in small spaces →

Private lesson

‘You think you can embrace; you cannot’

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Embrace.jpg

Today’s lesson with Mariano felt like that Tango Cynic infomercial – only my version would be ‘you think you can embrace; you cannot’ …

Continue reading ‘You think you can embrace; you cannot’ →

Not Tango, Private lesson

Ballet fitness, musicality, and a truly shared dance

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ballet fitness.jpg

Ballet fitness class

You’ve got the tango bug pretty bad when a friend talks you into doing a ballet fitness class.

Bridgitta’s argument was that ballet training offers a lot of benefits for dancing tango. It was hard to argue against this given that I’d already booked a ballet taster class next month for exactly that reason.

I’d expected the class to be all women. As it turned out, a third of the class was male. But that third was me …

Continue reading Ballet fitness, musicality, and a truly shared dance →

Private lesson

What goes up …

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not feeling it.jpg

That was a long tango high! But what goes up …

Today’s lesson with Mariano wasn’t a full-on tango crash. It wasn’t like I couldn’t do anything any more. But I just wasn’t feeling it. My movement felt clumsy. I was getting mixed up with a simple sequence of steps (a new-to-me form of ocho cortado). My pace was off. And I was really inconsistent …

Continue reading What goes up … →

Practica, Private lesson

Dancing the corrections

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dancing the corrections.jpg

Saturday saw me at Tango Garden for some guided practice with Bridgitta in the practica – plus a floorcraft exercise in the milonga.

Bridgitta started the latter by discussing some scenarios – like someone walking backwards into our space – and different ways to handle them. Then we just walked arm-in-arm so we could focus purely on floorcraft, with Bridgitta having the same view of the ronda as me.

I felt somewhat self-conscious about this strange arm-in-arm thing we were doing in a busy milonga, but it was obvious from quite a few knowing and approving smiles that this was a recognised and appreciated technique …

Continue reading Dancing the corrections →

Private lesson

Giros, Pugliese and Practice

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Pugliese.jpg

After last night’s drunk tango, I had the kind of hangover commensurate with the amount of wine consumed. Which made for a somewhat more challenging two-hour lesson this afternoon than would otherwise have been the case.

In principle, we were just working on technique, and I’d asked Maeve to work with me on two things: improving my dissociation in ochos, and aiming for some fluidity in giros. However, in my hungover state, the lesson included some remedial material too …

Continue reading Giros, Pugliese and Practice →

Private lesson

Enter the parada (with a glimpse of sacada in the distance)

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shutterstock_67263034.jpg

When I started this blog, I was mostly doing it as a diary for myself. I figured a few tango friends might enjoy reading it, hence making it a blog. It’s much the same reasoning as the Journeys section of my website: mostly I enjoy reliving the experiences, and interested friends effectively view it as a kind of extended Facebook post.

So I’ve been surprised to see from the logs that the blog gets over a thousand visits a month. I think readers fall into one of four categories …

Continue reading Enter the parada (with a glimpse of sacada in the distance) →

Private lesson

One small pivot for man …

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shutterstock_717004249.jpg

… one giant leap for his tango!

Today I had a 90-minute lesson with Bridgitta, in which I worked on the medio giro, then into a full giro.

Everyone told me that once you have one pivot, others become far easier – and they were absolutely right. Everyone also told me that from a medio giro to a full giro is really straightforward, and that too turned out to be the case …

Continue reading One small pivot for man … →

Private lesson

A tentative tick for the medio giro, and the missing ingredient

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shutterstock_689573419.jpg

Another lesson with Maeve, as usual starting with working on my walk, and then moving on this time to the medio giro.

I’d been introduced to three different versions of this between Mariano and two Tango Space lessons. One of the three was easier to remember than the other two, so we worked on that one. (Oddly, it wasn’t the simplest version.)

This reinforced my previous learning: it’s not about the exact steps; these can vary. Whenever I stop worrying about exactly what my feet are doing and focus on the overall shape of the movement, things work much more smoothly. Which is a paradox of tango I’ll return to shortly …

Continue reading A tentative tick for the medio giro, and the missing ingredient →

Private lesson

The milonga fun continues!

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shutterstock_3540075.jpg

The above is a simplified representation of the impression I’d always had of the steps involved in milonga. But by the end of yesterday’s lesson with Maeve, things were rather clearer.

The two-hour lesson covered three things. First, refining my walk, aiming to get more dissociation into it. Second, introducing the cross-system walk. Third, some simple milonga steps …

Continue reading The milonga fun continues! →

Private lesson

Going with the flow

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shutterstock_301709159.jpg

Last lesson with Mariano, we just briefly tried the medio giro at the end. Not enough to get a feel for it, but just a taster. So I was rather expecting to pick up this evening where we left off, but no, Mariano decided we could dive straight into the full giro.

Amazingly, he was right …

Continue reading Going with the flow →

Group class, Milonga, Private lesson

One perfect moment … and many imperfect ones

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shutterstock_584269093.jpg

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 →

Group class, Private lesson

Four lessons in a weekend, or ‘Ochos: what was all the fuss about anyway?’

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shutterstock_717877786.jpg

My tango torrent commenced with four lessons in a weekend, so this blog post will be a long one …

Lesson 1

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?’ →

Private lesson

An Official Declaration

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shutterstock_96192980.jpg

When I started writing this blog post, this was my original opening:

I look forward to the time when I can stop writing about bloody ochos. I’m hoping this will be at some point within my lifetime. It is, however, not yet.

By the end of it, I’d realised that, actually, it is. This is, despite appearances, not another damn blog post about that damn ocho …

Continue reading An Official Declaration →

Private lesson

All my life’s a circle

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shutterstock_1017550231

I have a one-thing-at-a-time mentality when it comes to, well, most things, actually. When it comes to learning tango, my theory was to stick with one figure until I felt I had a reasonably good beginner’s version of it – and only then move on to something else.

But in line with my determination to ‘be more ocho,’ instead of insisting doggedly that we stick to the ocho, I left it to Mariano to decide how we spent today’s lesson. Which turned out to be a practical demonstration of how, in tango, everything is connected to everything else …

Continue reading All my life’s a circle →

Private lesson

Ocho, ocho, wherefore art thou ocho?

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shutterstock_556393642

Yeah, I know it means why rather than where, but I never let facts stand in the way of a cheesy title.

One word. One move. You’d think one lesson might be enough to get me to the point where I could produce something which might bear a rough approximation to an ocho if viewed from a distance on a dark and foggy night. But no …

Continue reading Ocho, ocho, wherefore art thou ocho? →

Private lesson

The right teacher for the right time

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A recent experience made me appreciate just how much is involved in a great teacher-student relationship.

It starts with compatible goals. A student who collects moves in much the way a philatelist collects stamps will need a different teacher from one who wants to achieve a certain level of proficiency with one move before embarking upon another …

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Milonga, Practica, Private lesson

Five lessons and a milonga

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Curiosity and obsession …

I get curious about anything and everything. I flirt with understanding everything from the construction of modern skyscrapers to how DLR trains know where they are. But every now and then, I take an intellectual lover.

My bookmarks were packed full of articles on everything from floor-craft to musicality. Our cleaner was bemused by my practicing my walk in my home office before work. YouTube had virtually stopped recommending anything that wasn’t a tango video. From flirtatious glance to tango leaving her toothbrush in my bathroom had taken but a few weeks …

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Private lesson

The impossible journey

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‘Love music, can’t dance’ had had for so long been a part of my self-identification that the very notion of this not being an established fact seemed hard to imagine. And yet it was an illusion shattered with a single evening of ceroc.

I discovered, to my great surprise, that when you combine a halfway decent musical ear with some well-taught fixed steps, the result is something which looks not entirely dissimilar to dance …

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