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Watching The Feet

(this thought is also discussed and seen in this video > Watching The Follower’s 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.

1.) We have this instinctive desire not to want to hit or hurt anyone, not to step on their toes, not to stub their toes or ours, for obvious reasons. And as a result we tend watch our feet and our partner’s feet so that we can avoid the dreaded ‘toe bashing’ that will invariably occur if we don’t keep an eye on things down there. Hence the desire to watch our partner’s feet.

2.) After a while watching our partner’s feet becomes second nature to us. While we will start the dance with our heads up, we’ll almost invariably droop our heads and then our shoulders so that we can focus on watching our feet.

3.) We have a fear of not stepping in the right places. We need to watch our partners feet and our own so that we can verify and validate that the step is in the right place at the right time. This is failure to develop proprioception. A very important skill that both roles must develop in order to dance well.

4.) We don’t realize it, but we’re actually breaking the visual vertical line of the couple each and every time we watch our partner’s feet.

and lastly…

5.) We will compromise our body position just so that we can watch our partner’s feet. We’ll turn our heads, and then our entire body, and further the Follower will move towards the Lead’s armpit (even more than they do already tsk, tsk, tsk) in order to watch the Lead’s feet. And the Lead will place them in the arm pit just so that they can watch the Follower’s feet.

Why does any of this stuff matter ? Honestly, several reasons –

a.) Visual: The visual vertical line of the couple is broken. We want to create a nice couple silhouette within the embrace construct. And each and every time we watch our partner’s feet we break that visual vertical couple’s silhouette.

b.) Position: The body position and placement of the couple creates an alignment issue that quite factually puts the Follower at a disadvantage that makes them feel as though they’re rushing to catch up.

c.) Vocabulary: At some point you’re going to want to do back sacadas, colgadas, volcadas, or any single axis turn just to name a few, and those movements require mastery over proprioception. 😉

d.) Navigational: While you’re watching your Partner’s feet, you’re not paying attention to what’s coming next, how much space you have to navigate, and the oncoming dancers.

Related Terms:

MORE REMINDERS

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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Learning Castellano

April 28, 2017 No Comments

Learning to speak and write in Spanish can be lots of fun. Doing so can really force you to understand that your own language is really wacky, that it is fully of colloquial phrases that when translated is a literal mess of confusion, and furthermore forces you to really start looking at your own culture and choices. However when it comes to Argentine Tango, and ultimately going to Buenos Aires, the question comes up … “Do you really need to learn to speak Spanish ?”

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La Viruta

March 3, 2017 No Comments

Let’s get the details out of the way. The sight lines are awful. It’s dark, pitch dark in certain parts of the room. It’s crowded, and hot even with the A.C on in the ‘summer’. The drinks are expensive. The tables are small, assuming you can find one or have reserved one (which is recommended). The ‘hot’ area, meaning a place to ‘get’ dances, in the room is in front of the bar at the back left side of the room, and the entrance fee is on par with everywhere else (see end). There’s a restaurant upstairs, and on Mondays and Tuesday nights there is Salsa there. The rest of the week, it’s all Tango baby. There are classes nearly every night of the week, for different levels.

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The Non-Gender Cabeceo

November 10, 2017 No Comments

What is a ’Non-Gender Cabeceo’ ? A Non-Gender Cabeceo works exactly the same way that a Gendered Cabeceo works. There’s nothing special or different about it. The practice is exactly the same regardless of Gender, or at least it should be. If same sex dancing, or role fluidity, is permitted at Milongas, Marathons, and Encuentros, then the same rules apply in a Gendered Cabeceo.

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Practice (part 1)

October 29, 2016 No Comments

For most people the idea of practice is about practicing the dancing part. Not about the actual "practicing" part. Practice really wants to take apart what one does, how one does it, while asking for feedback & input. Then asking questions, and then figuring out where things aren’t working and why, to smooth out the rough edges of something, and then continually refine, and refine, and refine it so that it becomes effortless.

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Practice (Part 8)

May 11, 2017 No Comments

The question of what to practice for most dancers is really simple. The belief is that you should practice ‘dancing’. And this is not always the case. To be fair, while Tango does require a neurological adjustment on multiple levels which can only be attained from actual dancing – this is called ‘the neurology of dancing’, this is a given. However, in order to get to that place where refinements can actually occur in one’s dance, one has to practice, and that practice is not, so that we’re clear, with a partner, it is individually or solo practice.

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Giving Up Tango

April 29, 2017 No Comments

There comes a point in your Tango life for one of several reasons where you find yourself in an odd place – the want to give up Tango. The most common reason is that you’re just not getting the same thing from the dance as you used to get from it. You go to Milongas. You find yourself sitting more, talking more, and dancing less.

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Saying ‘No’.

April 6, 2017 No Comments

So without further variance, below is a 10 step process in “How to say ‘No’, and not dance with Y!” 🙂

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Snobby People

November 18, 2016 No Comments

The fact is that there are snobby people everywhere. There are always going to be the ‘holier than thou’ among your local group, and really anywhere you travel. The fact is that you can’t get around them, you have to deal with them, and there is a way to do that. Ok, truthfully you could avoid them all night long if you wanted to but that doesn’t help you very much.

Read More »

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