The 'Basics' of Tango
Everyone thinks that they don’t need their BASICS, or that they don’t need to revisit their foundation. Wrong. You do. Constantly. Unless you teach, and even then you do – even more so, you must revisit your foundation to help you to fix the errors, and yes you have them, that have crept in that you are unaware of. On this site there are over 800 videos and articles (not including all the other stuff) on Tango Topics for you to watch and learn from. It’s not just the videos, but the articles that contain the most of what you need to know to elevate your dance. We’re not trying to sell you videos here, but instead to inform and engage you to educate yourself wherever possible.
Social Collection
“Collection”, this is an odd word in the Tango world. It has come to mean that we, as dancers, want to bring our feet ‘together’ in some fashion. Some people refer to this idea or concept as “closing” your feet. Meaning to close the gap that naturally exists between them...
Lead Technique 2019
Leading. Often the first thing we see when looking at Argentine Tango is the Tango Lead. It’s that sharp, clear, clean visual that strikes us almost immediately. We see the the visual of someone leading, and it’s this confusion, appreciation, amusement, bewilderment and just down right awe (in some cases)...
Engaging The Embrace
Leads you have a role and a job, several, and one of them is creating an embrace structure that is comfortable for the Follower while at the same time creates the iconic visual that is a Tango embrace, that allows for maximum effect with minimal input. Put another way, you...
Ocho Transitions: Milonguero Ochos into the Milonguero Turn
Ocho Transitions - Part 1. There are 8 types of Ochos, but only 2 of them are used routinely to lead into other things. The 2 types ? “Lazy” or Milonguero Style Ochos, and Traveling Ochos, what you folks think of as an ‘Ocho’. Traveling Ochos ? You know the...
Close Embrace Sacadas
When we’re first starting out with Tango, both roles see the idea of a sacada as cool, flashy, or impressive. And they are until you realize one simple, but immutable, fact: They’re illusions…of walking technique. The Sacada happens due to an intersection of the Follower's walk into the Lead's or...
Ocho Transitions: Traveling Ochos into The Follower’s Molinete
Why are we talking about ochos ? Because this particular variety of Ocho is so venerable that we use it for nearly every kind of transition there is. It is for this reason that today’s topic is not really about the Ocho itself, but about the Transition between one piece...
Giving (and Receiving) Feedback.
We would like to believe that we are perfect that everything that we do functions to what we believe is ‘right’ or ‘good’ or to our ideals of these things. They don’t have to be perfect, but things have to work. The problem with this line of reasoning is that...
The Americana Embrace
The Embrace is the hallmark of Argentine Tango. It’s what gives the dance its particular look and most certain it’s ‘feeling’ regardless of whether or not you’re watching the dance or in the dance. Most people, once they get over the hump of ‘close embrace’ (and you’re never really over...
The Argentine Soltada
What is an Argentine Soltada ? In simple terms it’s a tiny little turn, almost a spin, that has been borrowed from Salsa, and made functional in Argentine Tango. The almost-a-spin part is what the Follower does, and the lead kinda stands there leading the-almost-a-spin part. I say ‘almost’ because...
Preparing for Buenos Aires – DIASS Edition
Buenos Aires for a lot of people, is their trip to Mecca. It is mythological. It is magical. It is the next logical step in their evolution. In their mind they have seen the videos of dancing at Salon Canning, or Villa Malcolm (pron: Vee-Jah Mal-cum), or the crowded floor...