(Important Notation: If you haven’t seen the Article/Video on “DIASS”, look at that first, otherwise this stuff isn’t going to make a whole lot of sense to you!)
Quite possibly you’ve been at a Milonga and the available space continues to decrease to the point that it feels cloistered, because of that you feel like you can’t do anything at all. What’s worse, whether you know it or not, due to this experience (from a leading perspective) you start to repeat the same things over and over again, and (from a following perspective) you feel like a record stuck on repeat. Not only is your vocabulary limited at this juncture, but your embrace becomes compressive, restrictive, and wholly uninviting.
There are a few reasons for this experience to occur, not the least of which is the Fear Of Hitting Someone or Something! And if you’re thinking of this stuff solely from a Leading perspective, think again. Fear happens for both roles, the more cloistered things become, the more disjointed and compressive the dance ‘devolves’ into. It is for this reason that we need to learn how to Dance In A Small Space (DIASS). Honestly, there are very few classes, workshops, and/or tutorials on this stuff. Which has to do with the fact that it’s because the topic is so wide and so incredibly vast that it almost seems like you shouldn’t bother in the first place. Nothing could be further from the truth! Factually speaking, very few teachers talk about this stuff for a few more reasons, because the topic takes into consideration Close Embrace, Close Embrace vocabulary, Navigation, Floorcraft, Musical Interpretation, and the Neurology of Leading, as well as the Experience of Following (which are not the same things by any stretch of the imagination). Tango Topics has already produced a video on this nebulous topic called, “Dancing In A Small Space”. Today’s Tango Topic video is an addendum to Dancing In A Small Space. That said, let’s dive right into Dancing In A Small Space (DIASS) – The Addendum Edition!
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First a reminder of What is “Dancing In A Small Space” (or ‘DIASS’ as Tango Topics refers to this idea) ! There are two parts to the answer to this question:
First, in it’s simplest form, it’s all about the vocabulary and engaging Five pieces of Tango vocabulary. The Five Pieces ?
1.) The 5 of the 6 Ways of Walking.
2.) Milonguero Ochos (sometimes referred to as ‘Lazy’ Ochos)
3.) Milonguero Turns (not the Follower’s Molinete).
4.) Back and Forward Crosses (not the Argentine variety, there’s no space!).
And 5.) Linear (and Circular) Ocho Cortados.
This is all done in Close Embrace. 🙂 You’re welcome.
Note that there are no Sacadas, Colgadas, Volcadas, Ganchos, Boloeos, or Death Drops and/or Drags. None. However, there are a whole bunch more pieces of Tango vocabulary that almost never get talked about, or thought of here, that can also be applied, such as Calesitas, Paradas (Step Over), Pasadas (Drags & Sweeps), ’Patter’ (sometimes referred to as ‘Pitter-Patter’), The Incrementals (see Golden Nugget Extensions), just to name a few.
Secondly, there’s the actual ‘Dancing’ part of the statement which is more about movement more than anything else. Said movement is done in a very confined space, no bigger than one-meter square if that. The people that practice this way of dancing, while they may not be conscious of it, there is a sincere desire to not to take up space, mostly because there isn’t any space to begin with. This is moving in a milonga environment really, where the distance between couples, on all sides, is no more than about the length of one hand (about 17 centimeters). So from the perspective of the Small Space Dancer, there is precious little space to ‘do’ anything at all due to the conditions of the Ronda, so as a result of this confinement, the dancing part is really about the minimal. Everything is done either around the lead, or the space that the couple currently occupies and does not extend beyond that space. Quite factually, depending on which city we’re in when dancing this way (Buenos Aires comes to mind), one would take up no more space than the space that one’s feet occupy at that moment in time, and no more than that, but without moving from that spot!
About The Video. This video comes in at 12m:01s in 8 sections in HD 1920×1060 resolution. Lead and Follower is combined and commingled, in both videos. This is NOT a technique video. For the technique on each of these topics, please see their respective areas linked in the text below.
Section 1 – Introduction – 00:00:26
Section 2 – Cross Body Incrementals – 00:00:37
Section 3 – Closed Sided Turn – 00:01:51
Section 4 – Close Side Turn Trick – 00:01:36
Section 5 – Media Luna – 00:01:47
Section 6 – Follower Reminder for DIASS – 00:00:37
Section 7 – Example of 4 Ideas – 00:01:48
Section 8 – The Wrap Up/Example – 00:02:55