Tag Archives: practica

Tips on tango technique for leaders and followers, Uncategorized

Intelligent Tango: Our posture is a movement NOT a structure

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We have been talking about posture in our last few posts, examining why it feels unnatural and how you can make it feel more effortless, more comfortable.

Recently I got a comment from one of my readers saying:

“I would like to work more on being aware of the posture and feeling the balance all the time while dancing to the music“

I love these questions that tap into how our posture feels instead of can you give me the 10-ways-to-straighten-up type of questions

Dance your way in posture– Stop feeling like a robot..!
robot- posture
Photo credit: Thomas Hawk via Foter.com / CC BY-NC

There is nothing more frustrating than doing exercise after exercise and then going on the dancefloor and cringing through every step.

We have worked so hard to get our posture to a certain level, we are  still trying to find the BEST back exercise, the best hip stretch etc. to be able to maintain the posture.

OP! HERE IT IS!
Our biggest mistake about posture: MAINTAINING!

The reason we are feeling like a robot when we are dancing is because we believe posture to be a set structure. But posture is NOT a structure, posture is a movement.
If we are thinking of posture as a fixed stack of bones with muscles around keeping it place OF COURSE we can’t move.
But if we think of posture as a motion of our spine, and focus on relearning that motion, on understanding how our spine can move then things might start becoming a bit easier.

Creating a pattern for the movement of your  spine.

The truth is, you know HOW to get into your posture. You know where every part of your body needs to be.
You have heard all the rules like a million times now.

  1. Shoulders back and down
  2. Chest out
  3. Hips back
  4. Heels together etc

Notice though how all these cues deal with each part of the body separately, and not in a natural unison.
For our brain all of that is ONE movement the extension of the spine.
By working ONLY on separate parts and not on the motion of extension we make that path, that link, that map as Pete Blackaby says weak, poor.

The funny thing is, we have been working on that very movement for many, many , many years…
I mean, if you get annoyed by Tango teachers trying to teach you how to walk, as if you are a 2 year old, I don’t know what you are going to do when you see this:

posture
http://www.mommyish.com/2015/04/15/cloth-diapers-are-the-worst/

You see for how long we have been practicing THAT extension…That POSTURE!
Daaaamn! haha

So what happened?
Well it is simple. When we were at that age every movement was new for our body and our mind. The years passed, only just a few of them…Hahaha…and we stopped trying to make that movement better.

Why? Because it is good enough! As long as we can go about doing our chores no problem, as long as nothing breaks down, like my father’s old car, then its good enough!
Until something actually breaks down…mmm

Great news for us Tangueros and Tangueras… We get to re-pattern that movement in our brains and bodies through something we love, Tango, instead of rehab..!

How can we go about doing that?

Well it doesn’t really have to do just with body or only with the mind. Our mind has a poor pattern for the extension of the spine and therefore our body struggles with it.
More stretches or more exercises will not do the trick…

If you look around you, you will see many people who are fit but have really limited movement vocabulary, and really poor posture– don’t make me take pictures in the gym…Come on! Haha

Does that mean you can quit the gym? Haha
No my little couch potatoes!
It means you need to spend your time in the gym in a more clever way.
Find exercises that will involve the spine AND to actively focus on creating that motion again and again, noticing how you spine feels going through it.

What could those be?
Here are a few ideas:

posture #1
Photo credit: yogamama.co.uk via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
posture #2
Photo credit: yogamama.co.uk via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Do these exercises not focus on what your muscles are doing that will give your mind different feedback–not good or bad, just different. Focus on bones and specifically your spine.

How can you do that in your Tango practice?

If you don’t have a particular interest on fitness activities or if you want to add a little more of that motion into your practice routine here is a video to help you to do that: Dance your way in Posture

The first few times you might feel some stretch in specific spots of the body, but again that has to do with muscle, so don’t follow the feeling the stretch creates.
You are not doing that for the stretch, you are doing it to build the pattern of the motion. Go through the exercise as a best as you can bring aware of your whole spine moving, without getting distracted by the stretch.
Secondly, you don’t even know if those spots in the body need to be stretched further anyhow.

Go slow and focus on creating motion in your whole spine simultaneously.

Chrisa

P.S: For the movement “geeks” who like me can’t resist reading research such as this: Graziano’s study of the brain

Tips on tango technique for leaders and followers, Uncategorized

Make your giros “YUMMY” by bringing them down to the bare essentials

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Last week we talked about how we can use embellishments to practice on important Tango elements.
With a simple embellishment, we saw how we can practice balance, posture, disassociation, ochos, timing and much more.
Today we are going to take things a bit further by unweaving our giros step pattern!

What is a giros exactly?
giros
Photo credit: thy khuê via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Oups! Not this one..? haha
Ok!
So a giro is a sequence where, the follower–usually–is moving AROUND the leader.
It can be done in an open or a close embrace. It usually follows slow-slow-quick-quick-slow rhythmical pattern. And it might be of high or low speed.
In terms of footwork, a giro is basically a combination of steps and pivots. Specifically, forward, back and side steps combined with forward and back pivots.

You want the video now, don’t you?
Here you go: A practice drill for some yummy giros
Go to 0:16 to see the actual giros step.

What causes trouble in the giros?

The most common problems followers have in giros are:

“I feel off balance, especially during the back ocho…If I try to make it bigger I fall back, if not, I am moving away from my partner”
“Relying to much on my partner for balance. As I am going around, my partner complains that I am dropping all my weight on him…”
“I am feeling like I can’t keep up…either my steps are too small, or my timing is off, or both…?”

Any of these ring a bell, or many bells..? Mmmm…Yes! I know…
So, what are you noticing though?
The first problem has to do with big back ochos, the second one has to do with body alignment and the third one with steps and timing of the giros…So, aside for the timing, the rest have little to do with the giros itself.

NOW PAY ATTENTION here, this is super important, not only for the sequence we are looking into today, BUT for every sequence in Tango!

The giros reveals the technical problems the followers have. Meaning, you are not having trouble with the back ocho because your giros is not good enough. You are having trouble in your giros because your back ochos are not good enough… Two completely different problems.
Same goes for body alignment, power/ size of your steps, disassociation, posture, even timing!

The giros is not the problem, you are messing these things up even when you are not doing a giros, you just hadn’t realized.

How can we fix it?

All right, lets go back to our video here:
A practice drill for a yummy giros

As you can see I am taking the sequence and I am breaking it down to its bare essential pieces.
Side step, forward step, pivot, side step, back pivot, back step.

When you see it written out this way, it is quite clear what you need to work on:
Walks–forward, side and back
Ochos– front and back

That’s it! If you make those better, your giros WILL be better!

As you can see in the video, in order to practice those elements I put  together, a LINEAR combo of side steps and forward/back ochos.
I start off against the mirror, not only for balance but so I can make sure that I am keeping my distance between me and my artificial partner the SAME throughout the drill.

Not having to go around, I get the chance to:

  1. focus on my footwork
  2. work on the power of my steps, without jeopardizing my balance
  3. alignment and posture
  4. disassociation
  5. transitioning smoothly from one step to the next AND
  6. timing between my steps and pivots

And then I put ALL that to the test…NO partner!
Doing the “NO PARTNER” test will give you great insight. Try to identify which part of the sequence is working out for you and which is giving you trouble.
Don’t just go through the movements, try to see where you are lacking. When you have spotted the culprit, practice on THAT!

For example, say that when you step away from the mirror, during your forward ochos you are having trouble keeping your balance.

STOP RIGHT THERE! Practice your forward ochos ONLY!
Why?
That is what is causing the trouble. If you can’t do it, following  a straight line what makes you think you can do them in a circle?

Do the same thing for any other component…

Don’t go back to the BASICS go back to bare ESSENTIALS

What we did above with the giros you can and SHOULD do for every sequence, from the simplest one to the most intricate!

Why?
First of all, even if you don’t fully remember the sequence–see I know you now ALL too WELL..haha–you can still practice parts of it.

Secondly, to get better at something you need to be able to identify, what it is that is holding you back from progressing. When you have a whole sequence to practice on, it will take a long time and many repetitions to find what it is that makes the whole or part of the sequence go wrong. If you break it down, in a matter of minutes you will know, what it is you need to focus on.

Thirdly, when you break the sequence apart, you can put it  back together in MANY different ways…and work on your improvisation skills too!
Like I am doing with the box/cross/basic step, or however you want to call it.

Fourthly, you don’t have to be an advanced dancer, or to know many sequences to start practicing. Even a SINGLE forward step can be broken down to: Projection, shift of weight and collection.
Work on each one of these elements separately, find the culprit, fix it and your forward steps WILL become better.

Have fun! 😉

-Chrisa

 

 

 

progress in dance, Tips on tango technique for leaders and followers

You need to get your Tango Priorities straight…#1: Embellishments!

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A friend and student recently told me this:
“I want to change my Tango priorities. Maybe do some work on embellishments.I would like to focus more around the dance itself instead of myself IN the dance.”

hey hey… I know… You are probably thinking:
Embellishments? This is the last thing you should be practicing on….instead you should focus on blah blah blah…
I know I thought of that myself, but instead of rushing to answer her request, I asked her to explain it to me…I wanted to hear her out

And she said: “I feel I have been very egoistic in my dance, trying to show people all the great moves I know. Now I feel it is the time to focus on the dance itself, on its subtleties, on its internal rules.”

But isn’t this the reason why people avoid embellishments?

Why we REALLY avoid embellishments?

I used to believe that people avoid practicing embellishments for two reasons:

  1. Because their teachers have made it clear to them, that embellishments are secondary in Tango. Therefore when they practice, they want to use their time effectively, focusing on Tango priorities, like balance, posture, disassociation, walks, ochos…
  2. Because they are fed up with all these dancers on the dancefloor, doing nice embellishments and then sucking in technique.

There might be some truth in the reasons above BUT my friend’s request made me think, of a more important, underlying reason. Tango is serious dance, and people don’t want to sound superficial by saying:

I want to make things look nice on the dancefloor!
Seeing all these followers doing these beautiful embellishments makes me jealous, I want to learn how to do them too!
Or
I want to make things look tidier, prettier

What is wrong with these statements?
Well if you are asking me…NOTHING!
It is a dance for God’s sake, you are supposed to look good while doing it and most importantly you are supposed to feel good and not guilty!

We are feeling guilty though, either because we are afraid of what other people might think of us and our commitment to Tango or because we judge others with similar criteria…
C’mon, we have all done it…
Looked around to check out the “show off” walking in the cafe on Sunday morning,  too awesome to be real!

The truth is though that our practice can benefit a tons from embellishments, if we use them strategically.

How can embellishments, help us work on priorities for Tango.

When we say priorities in Tango, we mean balance, alignment, posture, walks, ochos, musicality. As you get better, you’d probably have to fit improvisation in there too.

The question is can you work on all these elements, through an embellishment?

YES, you can!
And here is the video to prove it:
Embellishments– More than making things look pretty

Most importantly, though embellishments can help us discover new ways of creating movement, where the outcome might be the same but the quality of the movement is completely different.

And this in itself is a very important element in every dance!

Toe- taps. An opportunity to work on Tango priorities

As you can see, I chose one very simple embellishment, toe-taps.
This was a deliberate choice!
I didn’t want to have a very difficult embellishment to work with, because then naturally, all my focus would be on the embellishment itself.
So, if you don’t want to work on toe-taps, you can choose something else, but make sure it is not too demanding.

Toe-taps, usually happen, before a side step, and the dancer will bend the standing leg for the free leg to extend and tap, before taking that side step.
That in itself might a bit difficult for some of us. So try it a couple of times, staying strong over the standing leg. Without, letting the free leg just flop around, but directing the movement from the standing leg. Nice and controlled.

A great way to work on balance, and on the side step that follows. For which, you will not throw yourselves over. Instead you will control the swing of the free leg, bring it in to center, and the push your way over.

So already you have practiced on:

  1. The embellishment
  2. Balance, proper alignment and posture
  3. Side steps.

Things are about to get more challenging though! Because now you will go into a back step instead of a side step…
Why is it more challenging?
Usually because our hips are not properly aligned, for us to execute the back step and stay balanced.
So, FIND it!
With your focus on the standing side, and with the help of your tailbone, try to find the proper placement for the hips in order to smoothly exit into a back step.

So this time you are working on:

  1. The embellishment
  2. Balance, alignment, posture
  3. Understanding your movement and how your body can create smooth transitions

Things will get a bit tougher, when you will create back ochos from the embellishment.

Before you even think of pivoting, notice the twist created in your core because of the embellishment. Try to feel how it is created from the movement of your hips and your free leg. And notice how it affects your upper body.
When you are ready, activate the standing heel, and bring it around, taking the free leg and the hips with it.
Here too everything is directed by the standing leg. So DON’T hop into your step, bend your knee, extend the free leg, push to step, pivot by bringing the heel around and repeat.

This time therefore you are working on:

  1. The embellishment
  2. Balance, alignment and posture
  3. Disassociation
  4. Back ochos
  5. Understanding your movement and how your body can create smooth transitions

If put some music on, then you can actually create small combinations of the exercises above, and work on your musicality and improvisation too!

But it is not over yet…Lets break some rules!

This is where things get interesting.
As you will see in the second part of the video, I am ONLY moving from the free leg.

Instead of bending the standing knee, to release the free leg, you will swing the free leg out and around to tap, and then let it lead you to a side step.

That in itself, if you haven’t tried it before, will challenge your balance, alignment and posture. Plus it will make you feel a bit weird, especially on the side step, where you NOT allowed to push!

Is it wrong? NO!
It is just a different way to do a side step. Reacting and directing it from the free leg, instead of the standing leg.
Doing the embellishment right before, will help you understand how the free leg can help you move without losing control, and will give you great insight on how you can isolate the axis without creating strain on the leg/hip/shoulder.

So what have been working on here:

  1. The embellishment
  2. Balance, alignment and posture
  3. Side steps
  4. Understanding the power of the free leg
  5. figuring out different flavors of movement and how your body can create smooth transitions
  6. Noticing where there is strain on the standing side–look for it at the femur 😉

You will then, just like before, do back step and then back ochos, directing them from the free leg.
This is quite demanding and will make you rethink your posture, especially on the ochos.
Just like before though, feel how the swing of the free leg, can move your hips back for a back step and around for the ocho. How that energy makes its way up to your core and what effect it has in your upper body.
This prep- work will help you a lot in your back ochos which you will be directing FULLY from the free leg. DON’T PUSH! haha

THE FINAL TEST

Traveling back ochos! What you will be working on?

  1. The embellishment
  2. Balance, alignment and posture
  3. Disassociation
  4. Connection between upper and lower body
  5. Back ochos
  6. Understanding the power of the free leg
  7. Figuring out different flavors of movement and how your body can create smooth transitions
  8. How much do you really need to pivot!

So what do you think now, are embellishments a waste of time?

-Chrisa

 

 

 

 

 

 

progress in dance, Uncategorized

Practice, practice practice…Why do I have to practice Tango?

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Practice, practice, practice….If I have to say or write this word again….Aaaargh

I dare you to scroll down this blog and notice how many articles talk about practice…
It is unbelievable… I mean you can easily turn around and tell me:

“YES Chrisa! We got it. We NEED to PRACTICE! Enough NOW!”

Why do YOU practice?
I am actually asking YOU. Why do you practice? WHY?

Photo credit: ananroca via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Leave a comment below, on what motivates YOU to practice.

Motivation comes from real reasons…

A quick research on the web, and you will find answers like these ones:

  1. To create muscle memory, so I can perform certain moves better
  2. To get better in Tango
  3. Build confidence on the dance floor or even
  4. “What our practice is actually doing is helping the brain optimize for this set of coordinated activities, through a process called myelination”

All great reasons! Can anyone disagree with any of those?
No, of course not.
The last one, I actually got, from a very interesting article which I am sharing with you here

Are they personal reasons though? Are they specific to someone?
No! On the contrary they are very generic.
TRUE but general, impersonal.

As opposed to these:

  1. I want to become the best dancer in the world
  2. Because I want to go on the dance floor and make every head turn
  3. I practice because I want to get approval from my peers/ partners/ teachers
  4. Because I want to post a video on facebook, get a 1thousand likes and make everyone jealous.
  5. Because I want to meet women/men.
  6. I practice, because my social skills suck so this way I have a chance of making friends through my dance skills.
  7. Because I want to fit in with the “cool kids” of the milonga

Vein? Ridiculous? Or maybe, PAINFULLY true!

C’mon, don’t get defensive on me now!
I am not saying you should go around the world and admit all your motivations publicly…

Say for example, you want to get better in tango to become more attractive. Maybe you were never really good in relationships, or maybe you are shy, or you want to make your ex jealous.

For whatever reason, that is what you want. Great!

At the same time, I am pretty sure you also want  to get better in tango because you like the dance…
So publicly you would say: “I just love the dance” knowing though it is not only the technical elements of Tango you need to work on BUT also the social skills required to survive and have fun in a milonga.

This is why I practice..!

Publicly I will say: “I love the dance” and it is ABSOLUTELY true!

Some of you have met me, so you can back me up on this one. You know I am always looking for new things to make my dance better overall, in many different ways, and in different aspects.
Privately though…”I want to be the best”….

Aaaaah! There, I said it!
That one is off my chest, plus now I know what route my practice needs to follow…
Will 1 hour a week of basic, elementary practice do it? NO!
What about 2 hours of tango practice, plus gym, plus other dances, plus learning the history, plus listening to more and more music, plus timely visits to the chiropractor, will THIS do it? YEAH! that’s more like it…

See different reasons, different practice!

Would you be willing to share one of your private reasons with me? With us?

Attempt it I say…see how it will change your practice!

-Chrisa

 

 

 

 

progress in dance, Uncategorized

Is Tango a priority? Do the Tiny- Tango habits test…

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I got this idea from Dr. BJ Fogg who has created a very interesting and fun method called, Tiny Habits
So I thought I should share the method with you all and give a Tango version of it, the Tiny Tango habits.

This is what I got from Dr Fogg’s method. I am more focused, it makes me more responsible with my time and I have come to realize that sometimes you just need to get started. Also, I am really feeling victorious…haha…even if I am having a bad day at least I know I stuck to my new habits, at least I still did those..!

So give the Tiny habits method a look. I think you are going to have fun learning how to create habits, plus you will get to  learn a lot about yourself too.

Now the Tango spin..!

How does Tiny Tango habits work?

It is very simple!

  • First you start choosing 3 very basic Tango elements, for example: forward ochos. This element needs to be as straight forward as possible, aka it can NOT be the latest triple gyro sequence you learned in class
  • Then you attach your new tango habit AFTER something you regularly do, for example, getting out of bed, or brushing your teeth. It has to be something you will most definitely do.
    Depending how often you want to do your Tango habits during the day, you will chose the activity to attach it to.
    For example, this is what I chose for Dr. Fogg Tiny habits 5-day method:
    After I get out of bed I will do 1 sun salutation.
    Everytime I brush my teeth, I will floss 3 teeth after.
    After I go to the loo, I will do 3 push-ups”
  • As you can see all these are very short time-wise, and that is why they are called TINY! So whatever you decide to do you will only do it for 30secs.
    You don’t have to set your watches, that will spoil all the fun…
    Instead just say: After brushing my teeth, I will do 4 forward ochos.
    It shouldn’t take you more than 30secs to do 4 forward ochos.
    So, you brush your teeth, you grab hold of the sink and you step, pivot, step, pivot, step, pivot, step, pivot. DONE!
  • It shouldn’t be something you feel unsure or afraid to do. It should be something you feel secure trying out on your own, that will not cause any pain or strain in your body.
    You are not ONLY trying to practice the ochos. You are trying to check if you can/ want to create Tango habits for yourselves.
    So basically you are practicing on the ochos and on the creation of habits at the same time.
Why do I believe this to be effective?

Usually what happens with most of us, we go ALL or NOTHING.

We believe that if we don’t spend at least 1 hour in practice there is no point. So we end up not doing nothing but look at other people getting better, progressing in Tango, feeling envious, when we could have started small.

So the idea behind all this is to start small, to start tiny and to scale up on your habit.
30 secs NOW can become 1 hour in the very near future.
0 secs and many decapitating excuses will only keep you feeling jealous
Not to mention that if you frame your Tango habits like this:

After I go pee-pee, I will do 4 forward ochos

hahaha
Normal (pee-pee) frequency is 6-7 times…24-28 forward ochos…not so bad after all!

Lastly, consider this. All high end professionals do not depend on motivation. In fact no one  can depend on motivation, because it is not a steady marker, it fluctuates and changes depending on our mood, on how tired we are, on how much sleep we got, on how we eat… the WEATHER.

You can though depend on HABIT.
Think now of all the things we do everyday out of habit. Now we don’t even give them a second thought we just do them  but remember how long it took you to get used to them?

Exactly!
It will take time to build on them but after you do you won’t even have to think about them, you will just do them.

What is the big bet with your Tango habits?

To DO them for 5-days!

This is the test.
Are you going to write down 3 Tango habits and never do them?
Are you already thinking this is ridiculous and you are not even going to write any potential Tango habits?
Do you still believe that 30secs is NOTHING?

OR

Are you one of those who grab on every opportunity to invest in themselves?
Will you see this as a fun game through which you get to practice your tango and you learn a new skill– building a habit?
Are you already thinking that after those 5-days, if everything goes well, you might keep it up and slowly scale, adding a few more seconds everyday?

Can you take this BIG tiny step?

-Chrisa

P.S: Send me an email with your 3 potential Tango habits and I can keep you accountable for the 5 days following the email..! 😉

progress in dance, Uncategorized

How you can practice Tango without a partner

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Last week we were talking about progress.
What is progress, how you can monitor your progress and a quick way– “The Hotshot Rule”– to set up a system that will keep you in control and active.

I received a few messages, where number 1 on the list of their imaginary Tango Hotshot was, practice.
The problem though is that they don’t have a partner plus they have no idea where to start.

Why do we skip practice?

Tell me if this sounds familiar…
Inspired by someone you admire– teacher, performer, partner, fellow instructor– you decide to starting your own practice.
You book a studio for an hour or two, you get your training AND your dance shoes, you set up your playlist.
You get to the studio nice and early, to change, get water, have some fruit, focus, turn your phone off. It is time for some serious practice…

….Ten minutes later….

Walks…DONE!
Ok! I am going to try something else, maybe some ochos.

…Ten minutes later….

Is this it? I have booked the studio for two hours…What do I do now?
Maybe musicality…Yeah, that is what I need. here we go!

…Ten minutes later…(If you have gotten this far)

DAMN! This is not working!

You get the idea?
What is the problem here?

There is no plan for this practice. There is a schedule, aka practicing for 2 hours on Tuesday, but there is no plan.
Why are you practicing? What are you practicing on? How do other people practice?  Where do you want to be after this practice, dance- wise?

How to practice to ensure success

So before you begin, ask yourself: Why do you want to practice?

Not acceptable answers:

  1. Because my teacher told me so
  2. I got this guide from Bautanz and I want to start using it finally
  3. I want to get better

These are not acceptable answers because they are not personal and they are not detailed.

I started practicing because I felt like shit, really awful when I danced in milongas.
I know, I know, you, who know me, are going to say: No Chrisa. Your dances weren’t shitty. I love dancing with you!
Thank you! hahaha
They were shitty though, or they weren’t good enough any more.
And I am not going to lie. In the beginning I thought the leaders I was dancing with, weren’t good enough.
BUT what are the odds, that I am doing everything correctly and it is ALWAYS the other person’s fault, especially when I am  dancing with different people, in different cities or even different countries?

Highly unlikely. So I got to work

I booked a studio, for 1 hour, knowing that I will probably won’t last in there for that long. How did I know I wouldn’t last that long?
Because, before I started practicing, I read this book: “Talent is overrated”

It is a great read not only for Tango, but for everything you want to get better at.
You will get to understand, not simply how other people practice, BUT how GREAT performers work and practice.
Their mindset, the set up, the risks they take and much more.

After you have figured out WHY and HOW now it is time for WHAT.

After a few failed attempts I realized, I needed to understand what it was specifically that felt so shitty about my dancing.
Initial response: “I don’t know it just doesn’t feel right. It feels very restrained, stiff. I don’t feel that I can express my self through the dance” Not very specific…

BUT words can lie, MOVEMENT never lies.

So, I started working on the most basic element of Tango, the walk. Only I slowed it down a lot and waited for the problem to be revealed to me.

Taraaaam!
Symptom #1: Off balance

Back I went, to balance exercises, trying to figure out WHY I am off balance.
Misalignment, that little DEVIL!
Always remember this: The fact that you are not falling, doesn’t mean you are properly balanced, aka aligned

So I went through the same exercises again, focusing on alignment, instead of focusing on trying, tensing, compensating in order to keep my balance. Found spots of tension, found ways to release them, and then tried again.

When I started feeling somewhat better I tried my walks again.
By that time– half an hour max…– my brain was fried! haha
The rest of the time in the studio, I stretched and wrote down the problems, the possible answers, some thoughts, concerns and questions.

I left the room happy, having a clearer vision of what I wanted to get out of this.
I wanted to be able to create movement without creating tension, feeling strong but also flexible, in control but also relaxed. The first thing I would work on the next day would be the smallest, most personal movement one can make in Tango, creating the posture.

Practice makes perfect only if you know what you are doing

So bottom line here my dear friends

  1. Be brutally honest with yourselves when responding to the question WHY you want to practice.
  2. Ask your teacher for suggestions on WHAT to practice on. Study HOW great performers practice– they must be doing something right after all
  3. If you haven’t gotten the Ultimate guide on Tango practice for leaders and followers download it, with your subscription, here
  4. Don’t go ALL or NOTHING. Start with a few minutes of practice, maximum 30mins and then gradually scale up– you can find great exercises in the guide and a path to follow in order to scale up your practice.
  5. Practice is NOT the goal, practice is a system for success. So get in there trying to figure out where the real problem is, in your movement. What have you been doing that is not working anymore and what is just right. How the smallest of changes effect your movement and what does that mean for the rest of your Tango.
  6. Don’t over intellectualize it. Remember words lie, movement will tell you the truth, if you are willing to hear it.
  7. Write me an email, with a detailed question of your troubles and I will be more than happy to assist you especially if it is something that will benefit many other people on the dance floor.
  8. Don’t forget to have fun!

-Chrisa
P.S: I know it can be scary being in a room on your own, not knowing where to start and what to do, feeling like a weirdo. But, remember when we were kids..? We would just dance, sing, act, play, just because we could. That is a child’s way of understanding the world. Instinct and trial-and-error . Give yourselves the chance, to become a child again in Tango, through Tango.

https://Photo credit: Shopping Diva via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND