Tag Archives: technique

Spinal Movement and walking.

We have been looking on this theme alignment, posture and balance in the last few posts and today we will take all that work and put it into our walking exploration.

Our body is so cleverly structured! And through dance and other movement practices we get to explore it and create a more clear map of it. Going through my personal practice I started questioning some of the most common cues we hear about posture and walking not just in Tango but in every day life.

Building on posture and walking

One thing I have come to realize is that the model of “one size fits all” instruction, actually fits no one in the end.
We are all unique makes of the same “grand plan” so we are not the same.

We might all have a head, a torso, a pelvis and a spine but all of these are somehow slightly different in each of us. And so it takes some time and effort to understand how you are different from me while following a similar high-level design.

So, I invite you here, just for now, to leave all the things that all ready know to the side and try something different.
This doesn’t mean that all you know is wrong, only that we need the space and the liberty to try something new.

As you will see in our video we are starting by taking a look at Skelli. Yes, yes the skeleton has a name..! haha

So Skelli is a very good imitation of a human skeleton, of that “grand plan” so he will be our map for this video. Remember last week by the way that we were talking about comfort? Well today you have another map as a safety net, to explore in depth posture and walking, that will be the image of Skelli in our video.

A few things to notice

  • Nothing in the body is a straight line and also nothing is set on a 90 degree angle
  • We are made of curves and irregular shapes
  • Everything is somehow related and dissociation is voluntary
  • Especially side reach and rotation are coupled, meaning they always happen together
  • It is a good idea to allow rotation to show up in your side reaches and vice versa for a healthy spine and more efficient movement
  • We have more flection that extension in the spine. That is actually true for all joints.
  • Posture is not arbitrarily good or bad. So it is better to reframe that as helpful or unhelpful or healthy or unhealthy
  • Following the muscle fibres as we move, that are also curving, is less stressful and has more flow compared to following straight pathways of movement
  • Sitting to standing has a lot to teach us about walking
  • Walking is automatic, therefore trying to understand how it works is surely not an easy task.
  • At the end of the day, the more chaotic your walk the better. We have movement along all three axes when we walk so it is bound to be a complete chaos!

Questions to help you in your explorations

If you tried the exercises in the video, then maybe you are already asking some of the questions below. On the other hand if you are still unsure and haven’t gotten to it, maybe you should ask the questions below.. 😉

Do I need to use so much muscle to simply keep my body up? Why squeeze the shoulder blades together if it is opposing the curve of my thoracic spine? Or why pull my tummy in if it is opposing the lumbar curve of my spine? How come good posture seems to be working against the body structure? And what would it mean to follow the body structure? If my hips and shoulders are not square while walking then what are they doing? And how does that affect my connection with my partner when dancing?

Now I know that these might be putting a big question mark to many things that hold a certain importance for you. So to avoid any frustration, think of it as something you can try just for now. It doesn’t have to replace anything you do.

Personally, when I want to try something new, I say to myself “Give it go just for now, just once!”

So what do you say… are you gonna give it a go?

😉

Chrisa

Partner or Individual practice

Individual or partner practice has been a debate we have been into for a some time now… It usually goes like this; since Tango is a partner dance, you can’t really practice individually but only with a partner.

Why are we having this argument?

I am not really sure why this is a debate to be honest, to me it is obvious that you need both.
Of course you need to practice with a partner but that doesn’t mean that individual work is not equally important. It is almost like saying that a tennis professional never practices alone, or that soccer player doesn’t work out or do drills alone but only in a team setting…g

Instead though of using examples outside of Tango I will use today’s (Wednesday May 6/20) practice to elaborate on the matter

Relationship Vs Individual dancer

So here is a link to the live practice this week:

One of the questions that came up from the chat was whether or not we change weight in order to change from parallel to cross system. And this is the question that sparked this very post, so again many thanks to sender! 😉

Ok! So the easy answer is, that on the dance floor one of you, you or your partner, will have to shift the weight if you want to change system, either partner will do the trick.
So cross and parallel are systems that describe our relationship with the other, it is not something that characterizes your movement but that characterizes the relationship.
In an individual practice, such as this, you can’t practice the relationship, because you need a partner for that. But you CAN practice the movement of your body within that relationship and you CAN find ways to improve how you move while in that relationship; which is what we do in our classes and practices.

You taking action in understanding your movement, your role and stance in that relationship, further informs your understanding of it and changes the dynamics and the relationship itself.

Both practicing with and without a partner are therefore equally important and effect one another immensely

If you are looking for more in depth videos and practices join us by subscribing.

If you are looking for more individual practice videos click here: https://bautanz.com/argentine-tango-technique/tango-technique-workout/

😉

Chrisa

Why practice now?

So do you WANT to practice?
I am not being sarcastic or playing any tricks nor have I prepared a crazy Tango bootcamp practice routine… I am really asking.

Everyone says you HAVE to practice…
We even have the appropriate cliches for it: “Practice makes perfect” 
Not to mention the set mastery time frames: 10,000 hours to mastery 

Nobody has stoped to ask: Why aim for perfection? Why aim for mastery? What is the purpose in aiming and practising for those things?
Especially now in this world that almost everything seems to have been put on pause!

There are so many resources now online, everyone is doing a class, a practice even a virtual milonga; and that is amazing!
I have been doing this for a few years now; you can find so many practice videos here: https://bautanz.com/2020/02/23/argentine-tango-practice/
You can even do a course: https://bautanz.com/intelligent-tango-programs-and-courses/
But things have changed…

I feel a shift, a very strong shift in what we call practice in what we mean by practice.

Practice has almost lost its meaning… but it can get a different meaning, different substance and presence in our lives.

Before we were practicing to enjoy our dances more, to be more free and creative on the dance floor… to be more confident in the milongas.
To dance more. To become better dancers.

Not much point in all of this is there? 
And this is sad and strange…
So I think that our practices now, can truly help us BE
Be more patient , more present, more grounded, more focused, more calm, more ready
Can help us keep moving and keep growing despite the haul
Become aware of what the human body is about… what it can do! Fascinating!

We can’t dance with others. But we can dance with ourselves.
And that will make us that much better when the time comes to go back out there and really HUG!

I suggesting you practice to be more YOU. Spend this time practicing and really enjoy moving. Use this time to throw away the stress and the insecurity by establishing a strong body awareness. Now that every little thing in our lives has changed, we can take a few moments every day, to find peace in what has been here with us for million of years and that is a body through motion.

You don’t need to practice. You need to invest!
Invest in yourself!

Join us on Saturday for a practice on Balance. We will be LIVE on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/652610942205175/
Or on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuFlahLQPTMONLqjNV_qkjw

Practice your Tango not to just get better at it, not to forget, but to refocus, to energize your spirit, mind and bod

😉
Chrisa

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