Tag Archives: dance in heels

Proper Alignment and Improper Alignment

It all started from this short video on Improper Alignment:

Ido Portal, the importance of improper alignment

As Ido Portal says in the video, “improper alignment is a certainty not a possibility.”
Practising therefore for those moments of improper alignment is crucial for our progress but also for our understanding of our body.

Managing the weight transfer

As you can tell from the video when I first introduced this exercise, it was the first step towards better alignment.

Here though I want to invite you to change your focus…instead of looking for the perfect communication path between the different parts of the body, focus on feeling every little tiny bit of your foot; even to the expense of that communication.

For example, see how far out you can take your heels out before you drop to the floor. Notice how that improper alignment makes you feel. Or the reverse how far in you can bring your heels…and again notice how that makes you feel.

Don’t try to fix it! 
Only exaggerate as much as possible without, of course, causing harm to yourselves, and notice, make mental notes of the experience.

A yummy practice for our feet

In this video, we are exploring the limits of our base of our feet. We are creating and playing with improper alignment.

Because if you don’t know where the edge is, what improper alignment feels like. How will you find the centre, a safe place where you can just be without any tension or uncertainty?

And as Ido Portal says there is no proper alignment, but proper preparation… for misalignment.
We can get off balance any second of the day… lets prepare for THAT!

Feet: Alignment and Misalignment

This third video explores transitioning; changing our level, shifting our weight, and moving in space.
Personally, I don’t believe that standing on one leg or doing calf raises endlessly will make your steps steadier, smoother or more powerful and secure.
Becoming aware of the how your feet manage the transition from the right to the left and the front to the back, definitely will though.

Does that mean, that you don’t need to ever to do balance drills again..?
NOPE!
haha
It means that you will have to include them in a more holistic practice, one that focuses on the transition and not solely on the drill itself. One that focuses on improper alignment as a certainty. One that explores the edges and the limits as much as the centre

Tango Heels… Own them don’t just wear them

I am not sure where you stand on Tango heels… I hope I am not laughing on my own here..! hahaha
Heels and generally shoes are super important, not only in Tango but in our everyday life.
Shoes protect our foot from the environment. They shouldn’t though, at the same time, restrict the foot from properly moving, and perceiving the environment.

Heels are they that evil?

Personally,  I don’t want to get into the conversation of whether heels are healthy for us physically and psychologically– I won’t even comment on the latter–for 4 reasons.

  1. In Tango women wear heels, that is how the dance is danced– they don’t have to be stilettos, they don’t have to be high, they just can’t be flat. When you are attending a milonga, you need to look that you are part of the party… If you are showing up in jeans, a star-trek t-shirt and all- stars and then you are wondering why nobody is asking you to dance… It is because they think you are NOT there to dance
  2. Bio-mechanically heels are not considered the best of shoes, but a heel in the dance actually helps the dancer find the forward alignment required for Tango
  3. Tango shoes, if they are of good quality, provide support, protection and flexibility, that you can hardly ever find in a street shoe and especially in flats.
  4. I don’t see how wearing-flats-and-dancing-on-your-toes all night is a better alternative… It is actually a lot worse, because there is no support for your heel and your toes take all the load

Extra, ultra personal reason that is secretly admited by almost everyone: They look good!

How can make our experience in our Tango heels as beautiful as the shoes themselves

It is funny but we make many mistakes when it comes to buying shoes and especially our Tango heels.

If you are a little bit like me you probably buy with two criteria:

  1. How it looks and
  2. Whether you can afford it

Then as you will hear me saying in the video, the shoes arrive and it takes you two years to actually feel good dancing in them because you overestimated your abilities and they were actually too high.
Yeah..! To my defence it only happened once, they were really beautiful and now I wear them all the time! haha

I even have proof: Milonga practice in the sun..!

In the video following you will find a few tips on how to choose the right pair, in terms of quality,  size and height. Tips on how to align yourselves over heels without hurting your back and a fitness sequence to get those legs a bit stronger, because the stronger they are the better you can handle heels.

Heels…Own them don’t just wear them!

Have fun!
Chrisa

P.s: If you want more detailed tips for the exercises presented in the blog, subscribe to the newsletter for a bunch of Tango goodies!

P.P.S: If you want a program that has deconstructed Tango to its essential elements–posture, balance, walks and ochos. If you are interested in a program giving you all the tips on making the right selection of exercises, recipes on how to sequence these exercises and suggestions on how to scale your practice and anchor it to things you already know, check out Intelligent Tango at: https://bautanz.com/programs-and-courses/
I put Intelligent Tango together based on my own practice. My intention though is to give you the freedom and the responsibility to make this your practice. To build the dancer you want to be on the dance floor.
I would like to hear your comments and thoughts to make this a great class!