Energy, Contrast, Sensitivity
3 elements to a fun dance that feels good.
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Straight Legs and LINES Aesthetic
The trick to getting those long leg lines is to bend one leg. That’s all it is. Bending the knee of one leg allows you to lower yourself and extend the other leg farther out, really emphasizing its reach. You can watch stage dancers and see for yourself. Anytime they show a super long leg,
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Changing the Tempo (slowdowns vs speed-ups)
The first rule of changing speeds is to contrast as best as you can. It’s not only clearer to differentiate the lead for your partner but also enhances the visual effect for spectators. Go slow before you go fast (half-time to double-time) or go fast before you go slow (double-time to half-time), instead of going
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Arm Energy – FAST vs SLOW movements
Your arms should always hold energy. The challenging part is figuring out how to differential the energy in your arms between fast vs slow moments.
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Arm Unification During Turns
It’s really important move both arms together as a solid unit during turns (sacadas or enrosques). What happens if you don’t?
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What is Connection in Tango?
Before 2018: Putting you and your partner, with the steps, with the music…everything, all together, in harmony. There are so many kinds of “connections”; you with yourself, you with the ground, feeling the music, the quality of the steps, the breath, the physical and metaphysical realm. And everything moves together as one. Blah blah blah!
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Memory Foam Embrace
Wait 3 seconds for compression (connection) time. And then move. Some partners have slower or longer compression times. Others have denser or softer compression. Adjust accordingly. It’ll feel good.
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Timing on Pivot Leads (boleo vs ocho)
When is the right time to lead pivots and boleos? Should pivots be lead early or on time? And boleos lead late? (As a “surprise” or often-repeated “ocho-interruption”? Even more important how do we lead the more intricate versions of each? (Such as over-turned ochos or super fast boleos.)
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Slowdown Aesthetic
Be very careful of when you slowdown (during the weight change). Let’s make 2 clear distinctions: If you slow down when the free foot is about to touch the ground, it looks SHY or like you don’t know where you’re going. If you slow down when the free foot is about to leave the ground, you
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Straight Back Steps (not angled)
All back-steps should be STRAIGHT BACK during a performance (not angled). When you’re in a crowded milonga, angled back-steps make sense. But during a performance, they look kinda of clumsy and steal your opportunity to showcase a nice line. Need me to spell out the issue?
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