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Low Heels

This isn’t rocket science. It’s pure fact. Lower heels for the Follower aren’t exactly the sexiest things in the world. All the attention is on the High Heel and the shape of the foot, calf, and thigh that the high heel generates as a result. The Low heel ? Not so much with that. It’s like the poor cousin, ne’er do-well that comes close but not quite. Uuuugh.

However, there are some things you should realize about the Low Heel.

1.) While the High Heel gets all the attention, it’s not the healthiest thing you could do to your body. It puts undue strain on the nerves of the foot, it creates pressure for the bones for long periods of time that the foot was not designed for. The Low Heel does NOT do this. Because it’s low, the shape of the shoe and the shape of the foot, the impact of stress and pressures on the foot is far less, so therefore it stands to reason that the foot can handle the strains and pressures longer in lower heels.

2.) While the High Heel comes in all sorts of colors, shapes, sizes, and styles…the Low Heel does as well! Just because they’re low doesn’t mean that they don’t sell! They do. Quite frequently.

3.) A good low heel usually has good, if not better padding than the higher heel. This statement is subjective. The reality is that the shoes are made exactly the same way. The only difference is height of the heel and as a result the shape of the arch support. Other than that, the shoes are identical.

4.) You can learn to dance in Low Heels the same way that you dance in High Heels. Actually, truth be told, you can create a more desirable learning environment for yourself by starting out in Low Heels and then when you feel ready you can start your High Heel training. What the Low Heel does is create a stepping stone for the Follower to start their heel work so that they can make a slow, but steady transition into the Higher Heels.

5.) High Heels, Low Heels, the price is usually the same for the shoe. Don’t expect because they’re lower heels that you should pay less for the shoe. The workmanship is the same. The materials are the same. Why would you believe that you should pay less for them ?

6.) While it may sound like the Lower Heel are like training wheels, they’re not. The same work is required in High Heels as it is in Lower Heels or Flats for that matter. The techniques are exactly the same. The only difference is the balancing point, and of course your equilibrium, and learning to manage the same stuff in ever-increasing heights. So just because the heels are low to the ground does not mean that instantly everything is easier. No. It’s the same amount of work. Just a different perception of height!

7.) Believe it or not there are quite a few of the Older Milongueras that danced exclusively in lower heels because they knew they were more comfortable. Not. That’s a fallacy. The reality is that the High Heel in Tango is a recent invention. The Low Heel was the staple of Argentine Tango for DECADES! 😉

8.) The stem of the Lower Heel is usually bigger, and that tends to make the shoe slightly more heavy. However that doesn’t need to be the case. The shoe can be made with a slightly less heavy stem and still be ‘low’.

9.) The fallacy that only old ladies wear these things is just that…a fallacy.

10.) At the end of the day, it’s a shoe to put on your foot, and if it makes you comfortable and you can dance, then there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t hate just because it’s a lower heel. Don’t judge because it’s a lower heel.

MORE REMINDERS

Watching The Feet

Put simply – If you can see your partner’s feet while dancing with them…there’s a problem. The problem ? Well actually there are several that you’re completely unaware of, below are just a few of them….

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The Same People

You have local friends that you have acquired through the dance. They met you at a very specific point in your tango development. You’ve danced with them over and over again. You almost never say ‘no’ to them because they’re fun to dance with or they’re nice people. Over time you settle into a nice, almost comfortable routine of your dancing friends, where you’ll go to the practica or milonga,

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Alternative

There is another option as it’s referred to in the Tango world, Alternative Tango. Sometimes Alternative Tango is known by it’s other names “Neo” Tango or “Nuevo” Tango (which is a misnomer, as this was name that Astor Piazzolla gave to his musical genre that changed Tango music forever). Frequently “open embrace” is lumped in there as well due to the fact that a good portion of the vocabulary of Alternative Tango seemingly comes via an opening of the embrace.

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The ‘Classy’ Move

Truth be told, the beginner dancer that does this will make themselves, and their dancing partner look absolutely fabulous regardless of how the dance went. What is it ? It’s The ‘Classy’ Move.

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Magical Improvement

“She’s not magically going to improve just because you ‘show’ her what she’s supposed to do at that moment.” To make this non gender specific, because this axiom applies to both genders, and both roles. As well as teachers and students. Some teachers know this truth, some teachers learn it the hard way. Clarity: The – “supposed to do” part above. This idea frequently occurs where you have a male Lead that has an expectation of X being followed properly, where X is Traveling Ochos, Volcada, Milonguero Turn, etc. And when it doesn’t they stop their dancing and then show the Follower what was intended. And here’s the magical part, they keep showing them, hoping that it will change the Follower’s behavior and frequently it doesn’t.

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Follower’s Left Arm

You’re going to see this, and quite honestly, from a whole swath of Followers from your run of the mill local social dancer to professional doing this. Is this desirable ? No. Why ? Several reasons. Two of the more common reasons:

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Good Lead ?

There are many things to look for in a ‘Good’ Lead. Like for instance, the ability to keep time within the beat structure meaning that they’re placing their Follower’s on beat and not necessarily themselves. Still another is their posture which is reflected in the Follower’s posture as well. Still one more is the ‘cleanliness’ by which they execute a particular piece of vocabulary. That said ‘execution’ is done sharply, with snap and polish, and shows off their Follower, and in doing so, themselves. 😉 Those are some good signs of what qualifies as a ‘good’ lead (the action, not the person).

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Sweating

Tango can be, and usually is, a sweaty business for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is the fact that in many places there are noise ordinances that prevent Milonga organizers from opening the windows. Or the venue where the Milonga is held, their air conditioning units are not up to the task, and are easily overwhelmed by more than 50 people in a room for sustained usage.

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Physiological Contact

There is one aspect of The ‘Connection‘ Fallacy that comes up a lot and that’s the idea that there is some mystical/spiritual/magical way in which we communicate in the dance. That communication is stated as how our ‘connection’ is to someone and them to us and how well we ‘connected’ with each other. Rubbish! Not to piss in someone’s Cheerios but that’s just magical thinking.

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Couples

Couples, as a pair, develop their own shorthand for communicating with each other. They remark on events in their time together as ‘that time we did that thing when that thing happened, remember ?’. They invest their emotional time in each other as caring, loving (hopefully), partners that genuinely are invested in each other’s successes (hopefully). In one respect they are to each other intimates, while at the same time they see each other as support mechanisms, and so much more.

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You could watch Tango YouTube videos and thereby spend your time, trying to infer, and figure out how things may work in that particular situation. Bend your body this way or that, twist and force this position or that. Place your foot here or there and figure it out. This is known as Tango Twister.  Which can be a lot of fun, but more than likely it won’t help you, because you’re missing something: The explanation from an experienced teacher showing you how to properly excute this stuff from a Leading Perspective as well as from a Following Perspective!

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