Milan for Followers

A good spot for Followers to plan their next Tango vacation is: Milano. “Milan” in Northern Italy. It is a center for Fashion & Design, it’s also home to Italy’s national Stock Exchange, and it’s also home to high-end restaurants and shops. And it’s also home to Leonardo da Vinci’s very famous mural, “The Last Supper”. So it’s got nice shops. Great history. Lovely food and shopping. But that’s probably not why you’ve landed here on this page. You’re here because of the title, ‘Milan for Followers’. What on Earth does that mean ? It means that if you are a Follower that has danced for a good length of time, and you have done the festival scene, the workshop to workshop cycle, explored the Marathon scene, and even the Encuentro scene, you’ve probably been to Buenos Aires by now and you’re wondering what’s next ? Milan is your next destination.

Why ?

Several reasons.

1.) The men dress nicely for Milongas. No. It’s true. They actually dress up for Milongas. And as has said before in Vol 3. (Truism 1096), nothing screams ‘come hither’ more to a woman than a man in a tailored suit! And in this case, usually the shoes are handmade as well.

2.) Then there’s the fact that they smell nice.

3.) They actually know how to dance musically, within the line of dance. This is floorcraft, within the construct of the music. Which usually results in dancing the shit out of a Milonga. And then there’s…

4.) They are usually exceptionally personable and know how to treat a lady (usually). And last but not least…

5.) The food is f#cking divine!

So if #’s 1 thru 4 don’t do it for you at the very least you’ll have some amazing food that’ll blow your mind!

To be clear:  Before you start planning your next Tango vacation for Milan, there are a few things you sort of need to do first and foremost. 1.) You need to work on your foundation. Make it clean. Make it clear. Make it consistent. We have some tools here on Tango Topics to help you with that in our Follower Technique series. So what does “Clean” and “Clear” mean ? It means that you want to work on your walk, and the stability of that walk, you should be able to walk independently of your L/lead in a pair of heels. So if you can walk without wobbling, without wavering, without needing to hold on to anyone, or anything (no balance bars!), then you’re onto something. If you can make it look elegant while you’re at it so much the better. This is a facet to “Clean”. If you haven’t analyzed your walk, and how you’re extending your legs forward, side, and back, and how you do that is the most efficient, the most economical, in all seven foundational moves, then you may want to do that. The reason is that when you travel to distant lands, and you’re the same dancer without modifying anything about yourself, you’re going to be presented with the same types of dancers that you always attract. However, upping your foundational clarity tends to change who’s watching you and why! This is good advice whether you’re going to Milan or Buenos Aires or anywhere else in the world for Tango. Work on your foundation, always. It will do a world of good for you.

Which also brings up another point: Private Lessons. If you can afford a weekly private lesson with a teacher that can identify your foundation issues, and get you to reconceptualize them, visualize them, detail them, and then start to embody them, then you’re on to something. And so that we’re clear, working with a Teacher that walks you around the room for an hour, or dances you around the room, isn’t going to change anything. It will give you false impressions that you’re actually improving instead of doing exercises, as well as repetitions, and detailing what your walk wants to be using visual aids, video playback, close up views, explanations of how and what to do and why. This is what your private lessons on foundation should be. Start with the Back Step first and foremost because it’s the most common step for you. Again this stuff is relevant whether or not you’re traveling to Milan or Buenos Aires. 😉

Next, working on your stability, as well as your embrace, they sort of go hand in hand. And they’re kind of important. Working on your stability while walking independent of your L/lead will force you not to use the Embrace as a way to stabilize yourself using your arms, or hands in your Forward Steps, your Side Steps, your Back Steps, or your Follower’s Molinete or the Milonguero Turn, or your crosses, and most especially your Traveling Ochos. Thereby the embrace is free to be what it needs to be, an embrace construct that you can mold and use to your purposes! 🙂

Two Caveats: There are TWO caveats that you need to be aware of before you set off for Milan.

The first is an item we have detailed here on Tango Topics, and that’s the ‘Italian Solution’ to an embrace quandary that happens for every Lead in the world, that the Italians have solved (to a degree), and as a Follower, you should be prepared for it to happen almost immediately. If you’re not certain what the Italian Solution is, go follow the link above and you will have to register as a free user to see it, but you’ll get the general gist of it. The problem is clearly spelled out for anyone visiting the site, but you really do need to register (it’s free) to see the full solution and what it is and why it exists.

Secondly, to a lesser degree but still present, be prepared for a bit of attitude, bravado, and show off behavior now and again, but it’s all in an effort to show you off, not necessarily themselves per se. Which is to say that more than a few lessons on Adornments & Embellishments wouldn’t kill you (which is really an expression of your foundation in time to the music), and that means you really do have to know your music. At the same time while the bravado exists, there’s a reason for it, they expect and want you to show YOU off. They will create space for you do just that. But at the same time, they’ll expect you Take The Space, not wait for the space to make those things happen.

Taking the Space“, in this case, means that you’re going to be a bit more proactive than you usually would, you’re going to be bit more hyper-aware, and if you’re led into say a Molinete or a Traveling Ocho, or an Argentine Cross AND you’re listening to the music, and you hear something in the music that fits with that particular piece of vocabulary that you’re currently in, then you accentuate that vocabulary by engaging an Adornment within the time that you have and not being apologetic about it. Be powerful. Be strong. Own your steps. Never say “Sorry”. Ever. Never apologize for what you’re been led to do. If you’re being honest and you Followed what you felt happening, then you have nothing to apologize for.  That’s “Taking the Space” and that’s why it’s crucial to practice your potential Adornments relentlessly when you’re sitting, standing, waiting for something else to happen, standing and talking to someone, not just on the dance floor but off the dance floor. It is an imperative that you start to play with those ideas sooner rather than later in heels.

These are the two Caveats to dancing in Milan. [ls_content_block id=”12273″ para=”yes”]

The Tango Topics Opinion: Let’s get something straight no one is bashing your skills as a Follower. No one. At the same time, you do need to up your game. This is a whole different class of L/lead that you’re getting in Milan, Florence, and Torino. They’re more musical, playful, and engaging. They’re also a bit more demanding, and expectational than your run of the mill L/lead then you’re used to experiencing. They’re also a bit more temperamental and mercurial. Then there’s the whole clothing thing. These are MEN we’re talking about here. So here’s a good piece of advice, look at the women around in Milan and Northern Italy. They dress for success. Trust us, we know, this is not exactly empowering women with this stuff. From one perspective you’re playing into the old paradigm of pleasing a man with what you’re wearing. You’re enticing him to want you simply because of what you’ve got on your body. You can use this stuff to your advantage, not as a negative. Men are visual creatures. Remember that. It will go a long way to getting you what you want, getting you the dance. So give them a little visual. However while it may get you the dance that you want, it will not keep the dance that you want. For that to happen, that’s why we suggested working on your foundation! See ? These things go hand in hand.

In the end, spend more than two weeks there, about a month but be warned once you go down this pathway, you will not want to come back home. At all. These men are insanely good, insanely musical, and they do know how to pursue a woman. You’ve been warned. 😉 YMMV.

MORE REMINDERS

The Neurology of Leading – Part 1

There’s a component to Leading that you cannot even begin to assess or even address that happens because we’re in the line of dance. All of us have spent time in practice sessions, or in working with somebody one on one, or doing solo practice work, or class time, or solo practice time, or solo class time with your teacher. All of that is warm up to getting you to what happens in the line of dance. This is what I refer to as the neurology of leading.

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Getting To Buenos Aires

You’ve been dancing for a while, and you keep seeing these posts about Buenos Aires. Your dream has slowly developed to go to Buenos Aires, to experience for yourself what all the fuss is about. First there’s the dancing, you’ve heard it’s the best. There’s the shoes! OMG the shoes. Then there are friends that have been and rave about teacher X or Milonga Y. You’ve see the videos of performances at Salon Canning (but didn’t know it was Salon Canning), the pictures from Milongas, and thought to yourself that it didn’t look all that challenging than your local milonga there are just more people. You’ve heard that Spanish isn’t necessarily a requirement because there’s a lot of foreigners that speak English, and a good portion of the teachers speak it too. So you if you went, you wouldn’t really need to learn Spanish. 

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Tango Improvement

You say the words, “I want to get better”. You mouth them as you watch the latest performance tango video on youtube. While at the same time, the thought flashes in your mind that you should schedule a private or two with X. ‘X’ being the local variant that teaches what you ‘believe in’. This teacher is also the one that you have gone to before and from your perspective has ‘helped’ you.

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The Talking Cabeco/Mirada

If you’ve been dancing a little while, or for many years, at some point along the curve you’ve heard the word ‘Cabeceo’. Which roughly translates as a slight nod or nodding of the head (Cabeza) for the Lead to invite a Follower. The Follower’s side of that same invitation is referred to as a ‘Mirada’ (to look at, or ‘looked’). It’s an oddity that almost no one knows about the Follower’s side of the equation, that the Follower can ask for a tanda, employing the same methodology. It just has a slightly different name.

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Cake!

Should you eat before, or after a milonga, or not at all ? Some people say “before, so that you don’t get hungry during the milonga”. But then they complain that they can’t move as freely. Some people say “After! Because I’ll be ravenous”. But then these same people quite factually ‘grumble’ (meaning their stomachs are growling because they’re hungry) while they dance with you. Some people are in the ‘not’ at all category! They can seemingly contain their exertion and not require sustenance before, during, and after a milonga.

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Tango Frustration

Contrary to what you may have heard, the reality of Tango for some people is, as a Lead as well as a Follow, is not all happy and lovely. The fact is that some of those dancers go to the Milonga knowing that they are going to sit, a lot. And that sitting leads a winding path through a host of emotions that ultimately lands them on the door step of Tango Frustration.

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The Powerful Follower

What is a Powerful Follower ? A Follower that has first and foremost a.) the force of the Follower’s muscles (legs – quads & glutes specifically) engaging with acceleration, power, and strength….

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The Blame Game

The dance starts out on an even footing. It’s quite clear two steps later that one of you is clearly better than the other. Usually the Lead believes that they’re all that, and the Follower is just trying to survive the compressive embrace, let alone actually dance. In reality…well let’s just say that no one is perfect and leave it at that, shall we ?

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Fear of Milonga

The fact is that some folks have a justifiable fear of Milonga! No not the dance party, nor the music at the milonga, no…this fear refers to the abject fear that is expressed by some people when Milonga music is played because now they must dance ‘Milonga’ moves to milonga music. The reason ? Either it’s the speed at which it is seemingly danced, or the music that is perceived to be ‘fast’, movements/steps/patterns/figures that are associated and specific to Milonga. Some people just freak right out when it comes to milonga. Some people actually break out in a cold sweat at the very thought of it, Lead or Follow.

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Keep something in the back of your mind: What you’re seeing in a youtube video is a couple that is performing for the 15th row for a room full of people. They’re not social dancingWhereas this website is all about ‘Social Tango’  or how to make things function on a social dance floor. Social Dance floor ? Your local milonga! They are showing you flashy moves as a presentation, to show off! But not stopping and talking about how this works which is what you need to see. This website and all of it’s content show you the how and  why you’d want to put that piece of vocabulary there, or how to make things work. This website is all about those things and more!

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!

The goal of YouTube videos is to get you to study with those teachers in person. The goal of Tango Topics videos allows you to work at your own pace, in the comfort of your own space, so that you can play them over and over again to improve your understanding of the vocabulary or technique being described to therefore better your dancing experience. The goal of classes and workshops is to get you to come back over and over and over again, thereby spending more money with that teacher. This website and the videos under it are here to act as a resource for you to help you to improve your dance. Pay once and you’re done.

Eventually, one way or another you’re going to pay for this lesson, either here and now, or with them. TANSTAAFL! The difference between that lesson and this ? Is that you get to play this lesson over and over and over again. Further still, there are supporting materials (other videos) that help to explain the language and the underlying technique of how and why things work, so you can easily reference those things in the corresponding articles that go with the material, and or any language in the Tango Topics Dictionary. 

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