Dancing Symmetrically

Today’s Tango Topic is one that has been sitting in the Topics periphery for quite some time. It’s always been one of those topics that once we got through the monster cabal of Tango Topics vocabulary videos, that there would be space and time to dive into what is seemingly a very useless and innocuous topic. A topic that seemingly has nothing to do with the way that you current engage the dance from a vocabulary stand point, or a musical stand point, or from a conceptualization standpoint, or even from a fun position…yes we actually mentioned the word ‘fun‘. We never talk about the level of enjoyment in these things or so it would seem. This is one of those times when the fun-ness factor is rife with what we’re going to suggest today! The actual fact is that today’s topic has everything to do with what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. And while the construct may sound simple, and really dry, and you’ll wonder why on earth you’d do it…doing it on the other hand, not to mention its benefits are far ranging and exceptionally eye opening on multiple levels in ways you can’t even begin to imagine. And the reason it is such an amazing topic has everything to do with a simple thing that has happened to you as a dancer.

The deeper and deeper you have gotten into Argentine Tango, the more that you come to accept certain things as true, the accepted canon of Argentine Tango. This ‘canon’ is the basis for how you understand the Follower’s Molinete, the Lead’s Giro, the Argentine Cross, the Ocho Cortado, Traveling Ochos, etc., that we tend to think of as ‘Default’ Tango. The things we do all the time – such as the Five Common Social Figures of Tango (See:Five Common Social Figures). Over time we stop listening to other voices or other ideas of how to engage the dance, or how to do X, Y, or Z. There is only X. Most of us become myopic. We only listen to one voice of how things are done: Our own. This becomes the bedrock of our dance, and our dancing experience. We do the same things over and over again, in exactly the same way, with little or no variation. And because no one is giving us any feedback, and/or that we’re not asking for any feedback; nor do we generally know how to do either (See: Giving & Receiving Feedback); nor are we encouraged or inclined to explore beyond that, even and/or until a new dancer that looks interesting shows up that is doing something ‘different‘; nor are we studying privately (for New York Dancers: you should be!). And we settle into a ‘nice’ routine of our staple partners, who again do the same things, the same way, with little or no variation. The same experiences time and time again. Mind you there’s nothing wrong with sameness. However what’s occurred, whether you realize it or not is that your skills have atrophied considerably, and most of that is due to how you see the dance, how you access the dance, and who you dance with regularly. This is what has happened to you.

Today’s Topic deals with a way to break away from that state and open up a vista that on the surface seems like it’s just X, when in actual fact, it’s the whole alphabet of Argentine Tango! So without further adieu, Tango Topics presents Dancing Symmetrically.

What is ‘Dancing Symmetrically’ ? There are 3 levels to this idea of Dancing Symmetrically. On the first level it is seemingly all about just turning in one direction more often than another. Nope. We use the example of the Follower’s Molinete/Lead’s Giro structure as the sample piece in that your immediate thinking is that “Oh we’re just turning to the other side in the other direction. I’ve done that. Whatever!“. And that would be a mistake. This concept has far reaching ideas attached to it. More so than just turning in the other direction or starting Traveling Ochos on the Closed Side of the Embrace instead of the Open Side. On the first level it’s about changing directions of how you initiate and dance things. So level 1 is all about the direction things are done in.

Level two, and this is where things start to bend your conceptions of what you accept as ‘true‘, Dancing Symmetrically changes the common vocabulary of an Argentine Cross and then…Mirrors it! (see video above for an example) There are in fact 256 Types of Argentine Crosses. The Mirror Cross, as it is known, is not only an option of the Cross it’s also a necessary access point to Dancing Symmetrically! How about the the Ocho Cortado ? And if we’re being specific here, and we are, the Linear Ocho Cortado (See: Ocho Cortado) is another access point of the idea of Dancing Symmetrically. So instead of engaging the Ocho Cortado to the Closed side of the embrace, we engage it (as shown) to the Open Side of the Embrace! We showed you this in our video on the Ocho Cortado Options video. These are just two examples of the next layer up of Dancing Symmetrically. On this layer, we are mirroring or reversing not only the vocabulary’s direction but also which sides it can be done on and to. As well as Inverting it, and then Inverting Mirroring it! Level 2 is all about direction AND sides or more appropriately to do something Normally, then to Mirror it, then to Invert it, then to Invert-Mirror it.

And now we add the 3rd and final level! Reversing the Embrace! Wait! What ? Ummmm WHYYYY??? We’ll get to the why we do this in the sections below. But the end result is that Reversing the Embrace breaks our habits and preconceived notions, and more importantly our assumptions that X is supposed to happen. So that we actually Lead AND Follow what was led! This is Dancing Symmetrically.

Why Do You Need This Stuff ? Several reasons. First and foremost, your foundation! Honestly this shouldn’t come as a surprise to you, and if you’re studying with anyone, you’ll notice that they continually take you ‘back’ to 4 simple things: Forward Steps, Side Steps, Back Steps, and your embrace. Because these four things are the foundation of the dance. Embedded in those four things are a host of other things that you are more than likely lacking on or have forgotten about. So it’s not rocket science what we’re on about here. It’s simple foundational stuff. Which, the deeper you go, you realize isn’t so simple and is in fact far more complex than you thought or you understood. The simpler things appear, the more difficult they are in certain situations, this is one of them. Secondly, this is about understanding your vocabulary and not just from a Leading perspective, but also how it’s received by the Follower, thereby the Follower’s perspective. How it’s understood and why things happen or progress as they do. The issue here is assumptions, and lots of them. We want to eradicate those assumptions and make absolutely clear why things happen. And the only way to do that is remove the assumptions completely. Still another reason why this stuff is important has everything to do with something that we vehemently and passionately believe in: Facility! Facility in this case means the ability to do X, Y, or Z. This stuff affects your underlying facility to execute whatever you want to dance in whatever way or to whatever style or genre of music from a Leading OR Following perspective. It effects: Every. Single. Part of the dance! Everything. Facility also means the ability execute what you desire and WHEN you desire it. Tango vocabulary (Ochos, Crosses, Sacadas, Volcadas, etc) is great, but if you can’t execute that stuff in time to the music, it kinda falls flat. So…ummm yeah, FACILITY! Want one more ? Variations! Let’s roll back the article a bit. Remember we reminded you that you dance the same things over and over and over again ? Dancing Symmetrically opens up loads of options and opportunities for you that more than likely didn’t see. For example: Playing with a Mirror Cross opens up the possibility of leading the Follower to forward step to the Open Side of the Embrace, which only happens … ummm … NEVER! Gosh, have you thought of what do after that ? Well, here’s an opportunity to do precisely that. Discover the possibilities! And that’s all based on taking that one extra step and resolving differently. There are LOADS more of these things. All of your preconceived notions of what you think the dance is about all changes. And change, whether you believe it or not, is a very good thing. So yeah, you need this stuff.

Where Can You Find More Information ? Oddly enough you’re in the right place for that. Not to sound like a sales pitch, BUT…. (smile) there are very few places on the web or youtube that show you options and opportunities with regards to Tango vocabulary to expand beyond your Tango horizons. Tango Topics possess a library of over 400+ videos at this point on nearly every imaginable primary topic. So ? Go subscribe, not register, subscribe. The reality is that while a registered user has access to a whole host of free stuff. All the toys of this site are stuck behind a paywall! And the only way around that paywall is to … subscribe. If we may suggest an option: Gold Madness! Click the link and find out more and then start your Tango Exploration today.