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
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
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
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
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 …
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 …
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!
I wrote last time about my challenge with motivation. About the wonderful theory of lockdown being the perfect time to hone our technique, and the less wonderful practice of dancing feeling like such a distant dream it’s hard to maintain the motivation.
I had figured out one thing that helped a little with technique exercises …
Continue reading Dancing the exercises, and three levels of collaborative dance
A lot of friends seem to be having similar experiences with the lockdown at present. There’s this idyllic theory, that we could be using all the extra time we have productively. Writing plays. Learning languages. Reorganising our homes. Doing tango technique exercises.
And then there’s the reality, which is not feeling the motivation to do any of these things …
Continue reading Tango in lockdown: motivation, practice and confidence
Aside from a single tanda with Steph a month ago, it’s been seven weeks since I last danced. Worse than that, I haven’t done much solo practice either – which is unusual for me.
I realised it’s because I just haven’t felt motivated without the reward of dance. Usually, I do regular solo practice, then get to feel the difference it has made within the next two or three days. With no milongas, it felt like all work and no payoff …
Continue reading My first time dancing for seven weeks – and it showed …
