Walking Tip no 2. Check Your Embrace

Here's the second tip in the series '6 Walking Tips for Argentine Tango':

The way you embrace your partner in tango determines what is possible in your dance, in terms of the movements you can make and the level of enjoyment, shared musical expression and connection you can have. (The following points about the embrace are focused on standing and moving in a straight line. Pivoting will be covered another time.)

Close embrace:

• Communicate through the chest. Sounds obvious, but sometimes the implications are missed. Firstly, in order to communicate effectively through the chest you must have good posture and balance (see tip no. 1). Secondly, if you're communicating mainly through the chest, you can relax those arms. It's worth noting, however, that when the leader is walking backward, there can be more connection from the back of the follower with the 'hugging arm' of the leader. Why this is will be discussed more in a later tip. If you're not totally comfortable in a close embrace, try aiming for the kind of firm, positive pressure that you would have from a comfortable hug with a friend. You should both be able to breath very easily while in close embrace.
• Keep the arms relaxed, relative to the chest contact. Avoid putting weight on your partner with your arms, pulling them down, or pushing them to the side. This often happens either when your arm is in an uncomfortable position, or is being kept tense. To help with that, try first making contact with your chests, then softly placing the arms in a comfortable position. Any firmness you'd like to have or feel in the arms should be of a gently supporting quality, rather than tense or rigid. In connection with this, if as a leader you find your partner drifts off to your right side, try keeping your right elbow by your side, during the dance. 
• Experiment with arm position. The best arm position will depend on who you're dancing with, the angle your chests make in the embrace (V or square), and what movement you're making. So don't be afraid to experiment. For instance if a follower is dancing with a much taller leader, putting the closed side arm around the side of the leader's back may be more comfortable than trying to put it over the top of or on the leader's shoulder. The key considerations are whether you are comfortable and whether your arm position helps or hinders you to feel your partner's movement and to move yourself.

Open embrace:

• Communicate through the congruent contact of your arms, hands and backs, if you prefer to dance by feel, without relying on visual cues. When you are moving in a straight line the position and shape of your arms should be constant, relative to your chest. (It works slightly differently when pivoting, where it generally helps to allow one or sometimes both arms to more fully relax to allow the pivot to take place easily. But that's a topic for another time)
• Connect with your arms as you would with your chest. When you enter the embrace try to make the quality of contact like it is when you are in close embrace, i.e. your hands, arms and backs are hugging each other. When standing still the 'hug' is a light one, but when moving the quality of contact can change according to various factors. Imagining that your arms are extensions of your chest, so that when your chest moves they do to, will help all the points of physical contact you have in the embrace to move in a congruent way, with minimal strain or confusion.
• Find a comfortable arm and hand position. It's going to be hard to have a quality of contact you could liken to a nice hug, if you're not comfortable. Much of this comes down to posture, but specifically where you put your arms and how you hold hands makes a big difference too, just like in close embrace. One position that generally works quite well is to have the forearms parallel and in contact on the closed side of the embrace, with equal contact pressure along the whole forearm (followers imagine holding an orange under your armpit), and on the open side to have the hands just far enough out that the elbows can rest comfortably facing down and about in line with the front of the chest. As for how the hands make contact, try having the wrists fairly straight and creating a little cushion of air between your touching palms, wrapping your fingers gently around your partner's hand.

In both open and close embraces, allow time to get comfortable, breath and relax. This will help setup an enjoyable dance.

Tomorrow's tip: 'Check the Moment of Movement'

Walking Tip no 1. Check your posture and balance every time you enter the embrace

Here's the first tip in the series '6 Walking Tips for Argentine Tango':

Good posture and balance helps you to relax, gives you strength, and makes it easier to connect with your partner and enjoy the dance.

• Weight in the middle of your feet while you take the embrace. Positioning your weight in this way will allow you to relax more while standing, feel more grounded, and better able to invite a movement to your partner, or respond to an invitation. Try to feel your weight spread evenly across the bridge of your feet. As an exercise to find this point you can move your weight back to the heels then forward to the balls (while keeping the whole foot on the floor) and then around the outside of your feet, coming to rest in the very centre.
• Soften your knees. By having a slight bend in your legs you will be more stable, and better able to give a solid and smooth sense of connection to your partner. It doesn't need to be much, just a couple of degrees makes a huge difference to having your legs locked straight. With this slight bend in your legs, feel how your hips have gotten a little closer to the ground, making your balance stronger.
• Spine straight and vertical (including your neck). This will mean your chest is slightly forward. Note you are not thrusting your chest out, you are simple making your spine straight and vertical, by using your postural muscles in your trunk and across your upper back. If you're not used to using those muscles, they may ache a little at first. This it normal. Visualize a line between your bellybutton and your solar-plexus and try to lengthen it. Now imagine there is a string attached to the crown of your head, pulling you gently upward, elongating and straightening your spine. Take relaxed breaths while you feel your spine lengthening in this way. If you can, use a mirror to check how straight and vertical your back is, then walk while keeping your back in that position. There is a natural curvature to the spine, and the idea is to not eliminate it, but rather to find a strong and stable upright posture.
• Relax your shoulders and set them back and down. This is actually also the strongest position for them to be in, and will help you stay relaxed and dance for longer. When you have tension in your shoulders your partner can feel it (and anyone watching can probably also see it).
• Floating head. Position your head so that it is balanced perfectly above your shoulders. You should feel a sense of lightness at this position. Keeping your head balanced in this way, and not letting it tilt forward, will also help your shoulders to stay relaxed and avoid neck ache from long dancing sessions.
• Elbows facing down and in front of your body, as you get ready to enter the embrace. This helps to maintain connection with your partner and keep your shoulder-blades in a comfortable and strong position, i.e. down, not sticking out.

Tomorrow's tip: 'Check Your Embrace'.

6 Walking Tips for Argentine Tango

They say that if you can walk you can tango, and it's true. However, in tango, there's a little more to walking than the uninitiated might think. In Argentine tango the idea is not to walk alone, but together.

Just as learning to walk on your own two legs took a fair bit of practice at first, so does learning to walk while staying connected to someone else. 

I've prepared some tips to help that walking feel and look beautiful, which you can apply either in your practice sessions or in social dancing. They are based on my personal learning and my teaching approach with my own tango students. There are 6 main points, complete with suggested exercises and games:

1. Check your posture and balance every time you enter the embrace.
2. Check your embrace.
3. Check the moment of movement.
4. Travel through water.
5. Use your momentum.
6. Enjoy.

There's a fair bit of detail, so I'll spread the points across separate blog posts over the next 6 days. But, if you're in the early stages of your tango journey, please don't feel overwhelmed. Walking down the street on your own now is generally a simple activity - even though it takes everyone a little while to learn. The detail here is given in the hope that it will help you get to the point where walking (and dancing) with your partner in tango comes just as effortlessly, a little sooner. I'd love to hear what you make of the following ideas, and of course any thoughts for improvement you may have.

(click on 'newer post' below to start reading the first tip)

Learn argentine tango in Southampton, January 2012

Hello and happy new year!

I hope everyone was able to enjoy some time with friends and family over the break.

Here's what's happening at Tango Lingua in January 2012:

For improvers/intermediates, Core Skills 2 - This challenging and fun course is designed to broaden out the tango vocabulary, while consolidating good posture and balance. Over 6 weeks we will develop the concept of the 'free leg' and introduce barridas, leg wraps, boleos, secadas and ganchos. We also explore some more decorations. (Don't know what all those things are? Don't worry, all will be made clear on the course!)

Each new movement, technique or step is introduced first in the form of exercises and games. Moving then towards using the step in the dance in a variety of ways, with the music and in the line of dance. The idea is to give you the knowledge and confidence to start enjoying each new step in your social tango dancing.
This 6 week course is held on Wednesday evenings, 8:00pm-9:30pm, starting on 11th January. No need to bring a partner. Read more and book here.

On Wednesday 4th January there will an improvers class, for anyone who has done a beginner course and want a slightly more challenging lesson. No need to book this one, just turn up.

For beginners (or those who want to refresh the basic techniques), Beginner course - this course is designed to start building a solid foundation from which to continue your discovery of Argentine tango, while introducing the basic techniques of walking together with the music, with turns and weight changes. Classes are friendly and relaxed. No need to bring a partner.

This 6 week course is held on Monday evenings, 8:00pm-9:30pm, starting on 9th January. Read more and book here.

All tango classes and courses are held at the usual venue, Povey's Dance Centre in Southampton.

Practice - remember whether you're doing classes or not, you can always come down on a Monday or Wednesday 8-11pm and use the hall for practice. E.g. if you're doing the Core Skills 2 tango course, you can also come along on Mondays any time from 8-11pm and practice what you've been learning. Regular practice is absolutely essential if you want to consolidate your learning and get (and give) the most enjoyment from your tango dancing.


Regards,
Joe

Happy Christmas! Last 2 tango classes of the year, and continuing your learning in 2012

Hello!

I hope you are well, and starting to enjoy Christmas time, without being caught up with the various (often shopping related) stresses that can come with it.

Already the year is almost over and there's only 2 lessons left before 2012!

Monday 19th 8-9:30pm (with dancing afterwards until 11pm), and Tuesday 20th, 6:15-7:30pm.

Both lessons will be for everyone who already has a grasp of the basics. In fact, since they are the last lessons of the year they will be a chance to try some more adventurous and playful movements in tango, with the emphasis on having fun. I hope you can make it! For those who have missed a few (or more) lessons, don't worry, you can still come to this class even if you're feeling rusty.

As usual, the classes will be at Povey's Dance Centre, 159 Shirley Road, Southampton.

Also, Tuesday evening, from 9:30pm we'll be heading to TLC's on Archers Road, for Tracie's xmas tango party. Please join us!

Continuing your learning in 2012

Next year, from 4th January, there will be an improvers/intermediate class on Wednesdays, 8-9:30pm. This class will be for everyone who has done a beginners course and feels happy about walking with the music and doing crosses and ochos. In these sessions you will develop skill in using the more challenging movements in tango, such as secadas, ganchos, boleos, barridas, enrosques and shared axis movements, as well as the more advanced use of dynamics. You will also deepen your understanding of the basics.

So, that's every Wednesday 8-9:30pm, with dancing afterwards. Cost is £8 per lesson (or £30 for a set of 4 sessions). I look forward to seeing you there! So I have an idea of numbers, if you'd like to come to these please let me know, thank you!

New beginner courses in 2012

The next beginner course will start on Monday, January 9th. As usual, 8-9:30pm with dancing afterwards. But it's now 6 weeks long.

This is the link for anyone who wants to book that, or to send it on to a friend:
http://www.tangolingua.com/beginner-tango-course

If you know anyone around the Cheltenham area, or for some reason happen to be moving there, a new beginner course is in the works there too (alongside the advanced workshops I already run in Cheltenham).

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I want to thank everyone who has taken lessons over the last year and been a part of Tango Lingua. It's been a great year, both a privilege and a lot of fun for me. I'm looking forward very much to seeing everyone develop their tango over the next 12 months. Remember, sometimes tango feels like heaven, sometimes (hopefully not too often) like hell, but persevere and the dance always has more riches to give, more depths of connection, flow and musicality to offer.

I'd like to share a few thoughts on patience and kindness in relation to tango. As in the rest of life, these two qualities make a huge difference to a fulfilling experience of tango. For the fanatics and diehards, it can be easy to lose touch with the fun side of tango, which is, after-all, a dance. When this happens, patience and kindness to your partner as well as yourself, is often lost with it.

In a myopic focus on 'getting things right', stress and frustration takes over and the fun is gone. But, compounding the misfortune, this kind of stress is less likely to put us in the state of mind where we perform at our best. From my experience, what works much more effectively at helping us perform at our best is being able to accept one particular thing. Namely that learning to dance together seamlessly and in harmony with the music is a process; one which includes, in fact benefits from, 'mistakes' and sticking points.

How does that acceptance of this learning process manifest in the moment of dancing and practicing? Through a calm willingness to try again and be open to change, while keeping a respectful and playful frame of mind, in fitting with the dance, towards your partner and yourself. I think the combination of playfulness and respect results in a particular sort of kindness. This sort is more of an outlook than a set of favors, which is clear when contrasted with the condescending 'oh look how kind I am to dance with you' variety of 'kindness' (which might easily be arrogance). The outlook variety tends to replace judgements about fault or indebtedness, which restrict the ability to keep listening, with more questions.

Of course, the sort of kindness you have, affects the kind of patience you have. If you're just doing someone a favor, then 'patience' is like tolerance, putting up with a bother (and vice-versa, if you think someone is just doing you a favor then you'll more easily grow impatient with yourself and undermine your own confidence). But if you have the kindness that flows from a respectful and playful outlook, then patience can be enjoyed, because you are engaged in the subtle and rewarding, shared process of learning.

I continue to be reminded of the importance of patience and kindness in my own dance, especially whenever I forget it! Just recently at the Tango Feast festival in Torquay, Osvaldo and Graciela were a particular inspiration in that regard. Besides the example they set themselves, just about every workshop they taught they made a point of reminding everyone to have fun with the dancing and trying a technique.

The importance of patience and kindness also applies to the social tango dancers and dabblers who may be experiencing frustration that their progress is slow, or boredom because they are not learning the kind of stuff they see on Strictly. Remember that while tango offers plenty of thrills, the best ones require a bit of digging, and the less frequently you practice, then by necessity, the longer that digging is going to take. If you moderate your expectations in accordance with your commitment, you will be able to enjoy the dance more. So be patient and stay kind to yourself, without judging, and especially not against those who might dance much more frequently.

Finally for those who can't make either of the last two lessons, this Monday or Tuesday, have a great Xmas break and I look forward to seeing you soon in the new year.

Warm regards,
Joe

ps. If any of you have some inspiring personal stories to tell relating to tango, I'd love to hear them. (They don't necessarily have to be related to Tango Lingua courses or classes.) Just email me if you'd like to share.

Important tango updates, including Christmas performance!

Hello!

First of all congratulations to everyone who graduated this week from the beginner course, well done! I'm really looking forward to continuing to see you progress over the coming weeks and months, starting next Tuesday with a visit to TLCs mini milonga.

The next beginner course starts on 7th Nov. For details, testimonials, and booking see: www.tangolingua.com/beginner-tango-course
No need to bring a partner, but by all means invite your friends! (If you bring 3 along with you, you get a free private lesson).

If you've previously completed a beginner course and would like to leave some feedback, I'd really appreciate that. Please use either of these links. It only takes a minute, thanks!

Google places: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=15166592016778738632&hl=en

Yelp: http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/tango-lingua-southampton

Or other review site of your choice.

Christmas performance! A few students have said they'd like to work on a routine, so I thought how about preparing something for Christmas? Here's the idea: We'll meet once a week for about an hour over the next month and a half and develop a choreography together, which uses the movements you've already learnt and a few new ones. Around mid Dec we'll meet up and perform what we've created. I'll film it and you can invite your friends to watch if you like. It will be a fun collaboration where everyone contributes. (no pressure to be perfect!)

It's open to anyone who has completed the beginner course. If you want to be a part of this (or have any questions) please let me know asap - and when you'd be available for practice. I need to know this week.

Your introductory tango guide: I've prepared a little guide for new and existing students, which aims to explain what this wonderful dance is and how it works. In it you will also find some practical tips for your individual and partner practice. 
Download it here (it's free) :  http://www.tangolingua.com/downloads

Continuing your learning: Learning Tango can be compared to learning a musical instrument or another language - you can communicate, express yourself and have fun with it early on, but to really get to grips with it requires plenty of practice (and a bit of patience). So, where to after the beginner course? 

Thus far I've been running further classes from 9:30-10:30pm on a Monday, but I know this is a little late for a lot of people. So I'm asking you, when would you like to take 'improver/intermediate' classes? Based on your answers I'll re-arrange the beginner course and my individual lessons to suite the majority of existing students, because it's important to me that you have the opportunity to progress and enjoy tango to the fullest.

If you're interested in continuing your learning of tango please reply with your availability for a weekly class:

Mon  6:30-8pm, 7-8:30pm, 7:30-9pm, 8-9:30pm
Tues 6:30-8pm, 7-8:30pm, 7:30-9pm, 8-9:30pm
Wed  6:30-8pm, 7-8:30pm, 7:30-9pm, 8-9:30pm
Thur  6:30-8pm, 7-8:30pm, 7:30-9pm, 8-9:30pm
Fri    6-7:30pm, 6:30-8pm

Simply copy and paste the above days and times and remove the ones you can't make. For instance, if the only times you can make are Monday from 7pm, Thursday from 7:30pm and early Friday evening then you'd have:

"Mon  7-8:30pm, 7:30-9pm, 8-9:30pm
Thur  7:30-9pm, 8-9:30pm
Fri    6-7:30pm"

So, for people who have already completed the beginner course, or who have been dancing regularly for a good few months please let me know when you'd like have a weekly class to take your tango forward. (Note, you wont need to come with a partner.)

Focus on practice: It's important to practice what you've learnt, besides just taking lessons, so I'll be reorganizing the evening which future classes for improvers will take place on, so that I'll be free to practice with people after the class, and people can just dance with each other, without another lesson going on.

Special introductory event: I'm running a 'tango taster' event with an evening Milonga on 12th November at the Art House café in Southampton. This is for complete beginners to have the chance to get a little flavour of what tango is about and have some fun. If you know someone who might like to do that, please pass the details on!  http://www.thearthousesouthampton.co.uk/whatson.htm It's £5 for the 2 hour workshop from 5-7pm, and a donation for the milonga from 7:30pm. The milonga is open to everyone!

Take care,
Joe

ps. If anyone is around Cheltenham on Sunday 30th Oct, I'm teaching a full day's workshop for people with at least 1 year tango experience. If you're interested in attending, see this page: http://www.tangolingua.com/workshops/cheltenham-oct

Thoughts on getting dances when visiting other tango scenes

You're traveling to some tango event, a special milonga or festival perhaps, and it's not your usual scene. You hope to have a lovely time with lots of beautiful dances, but you know either from friends or your own experience, the local scene is a little elitist or cliquey. What do you do?

The classic approach of cabeceo (combined with showing your stuff during a tanda with a friend to the locals), while excellent in many ways, can fall on its face sometimes – especially on a crowded or poorly lit floor, or where the locals seem to have little curiously about visiting dancers.

Here's what has worked for me. I'm inspired to write about it here because of the ongoing stories of friends who have trouble getting dances when traveling (despite being lovely dancers). Does it work 100% of the time? No, often enough I don't get to dance with who I most want to dance with, and this approach does require a certain amount of pro-activeness. But the approach is simple, and does make the difference between a disappointing night of watching and hoping, and actually getting some good dances and making new contacts with people you may enjoy more dances with in future.

It really is quite simple. When at the milonga and you've had a chance to look at who's dancing here's how it works:

1. Look around, see someone standing or sitting down you might like to dance with and talk too.
2. Casually walk over to them, smile and say hello. Choose to ignore any initially cool response and remain bright and friendly.
3. Make attempt to start conversation and built a rapport, e.g. “How's your evening going?”, “Is this your local milonga?”, “What do you think of the music this evening?”, “I noticed you dancing earlier, I like how you express the music” (if that's true). While you do this, remain relaxed and friendly. Do not initially invite them to dance, focus on building a rapport and enjoying the interaction.
4. If you find you're getting on well with them, and you feel like dancing ask: “I was wondering, would you like to dance with me?” or such like.

If at step 4 they decline, don't take it personally. Consider they may be tired and wanting a break, or waiting for a particular partner and don't want to miss a window of opportunity. They might also not be feeling very good about their dancing that evening. There could be many reasons which have little to do with you. So, then you can say “it was nice talking to you, maybe catch you later” and go repeat the above process with someone else. On the flip side, if you try to start a conversation in a relaxed and friendly way and you continue to get a cold response, you may decide that actually you'd prefer not to dance with that person anyway, at least when they're in that kind of mood.

But wait, isn't that a bit manipulative? Starting a conversation with the pretence of asking for a dance? Well, if you couldn't care less what the person is saying and you only want to get a dance then sure. But if you are interested in making a genuine connection which may turn into a lovely dance then it's a very natural and intelligent thing to do. Since you're at a milonga where many go to meet new people, what could be more natural than starting a conversation, and since you're at a milonga what could be more natural than inviting someone to dance who you've just had an enjoyable conversation with? You are simply helping to create an opportunity that wasn't there before.

What if you really would much prefer to dance rather than talk? Then perhaps – in situations where the usual approach (see top) isn't working well – consider the conversation as a natural prelude to the dance, which serves (in part) a similar purpose as the tanda with a friend which allows the locals to see how you move. Try to enjoy it for its own sake as well as for the dance opportunity it creates. This isn't about being anyone's best pal, it's simply about showing a respectful interest in another person's state of being, and other areas of their life should the conversation go that way.

Here's another way of looking at it: If the person you're talking to sees tango in large part as a socializing activity then there's a fair chance they'll welcome a friendly conversation - it's part of why they go to the milongas. On the other hand, if the person you're talking to is one of the more hardcore tango crowd, they may not actually have much of a social life, in which case meeting someone new and having a friendly conversation could be quite welcome to them while they're not dancing. It's a win-win scenario, surely?

Why does this approach work?

• If you have the communication and listening skills to strike up an enjoyable and relaxed conversation with someone, that's a good sign you'll be fun to dance with – even if you don't have stacks of tango experience.
• Some very crowded, busy or stressful living environments tend to thicken the ice around people. You might consider a city such an environment. This could mean it's more difficult to engage in positive eye-contact with people from some tango communities. Taking an extra step to break the ice with conversation can overcome that factor.
• In certain tango scenes a mindset can develop which emphasizes a pecking order of dancers and leads to people taking the dance and themselves rather seriously – to the detriment of their own evening as much an anyone else's. Starting a friendly conversation can sometimes interrupt that pattern of thought.

Maybe you have some more theories on why this approach works, or other effective strategies (beyond the obvious ones of dressing nicely, taking care of personal hygiene, and of course improving your technique)?

Please let me know how you find the above approach!

(ps. If you find it challenging to start conversations with people you don't already know, you may find some useful tips and insights here: www.healthylovingrelationships.com)