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The Waiter Hand

Another one that you’re going to see a lot of is the Lead who places his palm upward, flat, and outwards, sometimes fingers outstretched as if they were a waiter serving drinks at an upscale bar. The elbow is dropped, and the hand is well below shoulder level.

Is this desirable form for a Lead ? It depends on your point of view really. There are some who view this as very comfortable for both roles. There are a greater number of people that view it as the execution of poor lead technique. Why ? For the simple reason that it violates the iconic look of Tango. There is some validity to this last statement as it does violate the ‘prow of the ship’ rule. That the Lead wants to generate (or at least look like) they’re generating a strong masculine presence with their embrace. ‘Look like’ being the operative words. 

To be fair, the hand position itself is quite comfortable for the Follower, for a time. There’s no stress or strain on the wrist. And quite honestly, it’s easy. However, there is stress on the back of the Follower’s right shoulder, and the muscles that surround it. It’s an odd place to hold one’s arm and hand. Almost regal to a point. However, if the Follower is much smaller than the Lead in question (height wise) then there is even more stress on the Follower’s wrist, and it’s not all the comfortable. 

Usually this hand position goes part and parcel with the forearm being outstretched. 

MORE REMINDERS

Lead Bashing

February 11, 2017 No Comments

Bashing ? Meaning that you’re throwin’ some shade, picking on, pointing out the errors of, giving some shit, pointing fingers at, trash talking, talk down, blaming and shaming, and the euphemistic UK’ism “taking the piss”. While that last one is more about making fun of someone, that’s not actually what this idea is all about. It’s about disparaging someone, or in this case, from a Tango perspective, the L/lead’s abilities (the person, and the action).

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Lethargy (Moving Too Slow)

February 10, 2017 No Comments

Lethargy is moving too slow for the intended lead’s request (‘lead’ is the action, and not the person). What this really boils down to is the reaction time of the dancer that is a.) a lag from the time at which a request was sent to the time it was received. and b.) way in which it is done (the real speed issue). Note what’s missing from this definition, the roles of the dance! There is no blame in this definition. None what so ever. However, that is seemingly about to change. It’s not, but your perception of it will until you get to the end.

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Head Tilt

November 30, 2016 No Comments

The tilt or position of one’s head (for lead or follow) is far more important than you might imagine. First and foremost, where the head points the body tends to follow. There’s a reason for this, your equilibrium, contrary to popular belief your balance is not generated in the center of your belly. This ‘myth’ is better known and often repeated as to indicate your ‘core’ muscles. This is a lie.

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Where’s The Fun ?

February 12, 2017 No Comments

Believe it or not, the ‘fun’ part is everywhere. You are focused on just the outcome of the dancing part. The immediate hit that you get from dancing. But what if you found out that you’re only scratching the surface with Tango. What if you discovered that you’re missing a very important aspect that not only can change the dance from what it is today for you but for it to go far deeper than you ever imagined. What if you found out that the drive to be better is not only a requirement, but it’s the gateway to dancing with better and better partners that you only dream of dancing with but can do because you changed your perspective a bit ?

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The Same People

January 26, 2017 No Comments

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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More Classes

March 11, 2017 No Comments

At some point along the curve of your tango life, continuing to take classes seems like a really stupid idea. You’ve learned everything you need to know to get around the floor. Practice isn’t really that important any longer. And going to Milongas is really the important part, so who needs to practice ?

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Hoy Milonga

February 13, 2017 No Comments

The app shows you exactly what milonga is happening on that day, where the milonga is at, and when, what bus lines are closest to that milonga, and how to get there. It also shows you contact information as well to call them for table reservations. It’s kept upto date, and is a free download for iOS and/or Android. There is also a companion website which shows you the same basic information as the app just laid out in a better format.

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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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