Tango basico Archives

It usually goes this way; a theme is chosen, with today’s theme being the cross, and then we start working on it or with it from various perspectives.

The cross where do we get stuck: a Tango perspective

Our intention overall is to understand what causes the trouble and specifically for the cross why we get stuck; why we’re unable to move past the cross itself.
So in this first video we put the 2 most important stickie points under the microscope; we found paths to avoid getting stuck; we identified the body mechanics supporting these paths and made sure to look for them in our walks and embellishments.

Sticky point 1: how the free leg crosses. Without even shifting the weight crossing might be an uncomfortable position, causing a feeling of imbalance. And so we start this practice with an embellishment.

Sticky point 2: shifting the weight. We either fall into it and we then get stuck or we try so hard to stay lifted that we don’t allow any other movement to happen but pressing into the floor or we try to keep everything square ignoring the fact that we are already in a twisted position. And so the second part of the video really tries to point out how the different parts of the body reorient towards the right or towards the left, through osculation for the legs to be released from the cross.
And aaaall this leads us to…

Taking it a bit further than just the cross…

We asked ourselves how does all this work on the cross can inform our body and our everyday movement and so in the next two videos we are looking to inform our walks. And then we are diving deeper into how the leg fits and moves inside the hip and how the hip moves around the leg

And a bit further…

If you think about it, there are so many spots in our body that we feel pain during Tango but also during our everyday life. Two of the most common ones is the hip joint and the lower back. Thankfully they are connected…haha… so by making our movement in the hip joint more efficient we can get rid of back pain and vice versa of course. And soooo happy feet give us happy dancers

And this is how I see practicing Tango; as an opportunity. An opportunity to create freedom in my dances but also to create healthier movement habits overall.

And so if you want to take things further yourselves, this work is based on the findings and the teachings of Frey Faust the founder of Axis syllabus (http://www.axissyllabus.org)

Enjoy,

Chrisa

P.S: You want more practices like this one? Well then, you can visit: https://bautanz.com/argentine-tango-technique/ and you can subscribe to get a new video every Wednesday! 😉

Musicality… What do we define as musicality..?

Is it recognizing the beat and the rhythm and responding to it? Or is it our response to the melody? Is it connected to the style, the mood of the music? Can it have any relation to the steps we are choosing? Or does it have to do with our style and mood?

Maybe it is none or all of the above!

We will start with what we inherited

What we have inherited is a basic step. And that basic step is usually taught following a basic rhythm.

For example the followers do:

Side, back, back, cross, back, side, feet together

With the following rhythm:

Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow, slow, slow

What will do is not a challenge… I know the title makes it sounds like one: “The 15 ways to do a basic step” haha

But it really isn’t a challenge… It is more the result of asking: “What if…?”

What if I went slower or faster

Or made my steps bigger or smaller

What if I went lower or higher

Or I just kept everything at an equal…

Basically the video is a definitive list but more of an invitation to explore the boundaries and limitations and create more options on the dance floor

Musicality–15 ways to do the basic step

Here are a few things to look out for while going through this drill:

if you are familiar with the classic rhythm of the basic step, you will be tempted to skip to the juicy stuff… DON’T! Haha
Instead, go through it a couple of times, identifying the reason behind this basic tempo. It is not a matter of luck or coincidence that the basic step has THAT specific rhythm…
This is your chance to make sense of it, figure out why!
There are some options that due to technical difficulties..haha..might be unavailable to you. Most of the times when we attempt to go too fast or too slow, we get somehow stuck…
If that happens don’t get frustrated.
Instead, notice it and try to see why you are getting stuck; what is it that is getting you stuck
After you have identified the problem then you can ask yourself: What if…? What if you did those fast steps in X way instead of Y, for example.
Think outside the box. This is not a video with the top best ways to do the basic step. This is a video to explore the rhythm and the rhythmical options of the basic step and of Tango in general. So come up with your own stuff. Try things out. Explore different options.
Are they all going to be good? Of course not…haha…
But the fact that you asked the question, that you put your body through the process of figuring it out and that you reached to the conclusion that something didn’t work for the XYZ reason, is the most important part of this video.

So bottom line:

explore history
notice
think further

Enjoy,

Chrisa

More on musicality..? Check this out: Being musical–So much more than doing steps on the beat

Constructing Dance

BauTanz

Tag Archives: Tango basico

The cross – Tango Basics