The Golden Nugget is a Tango Topics construct, and is quite possibly the one tango pattern that you will ever need to know to dance tango. Put another way it’s a piece of Tango vocabulary (a pattern) that works in all 3 dances, is highly extensible (meaning it can be modified endlessly), extremely adornable (meaning you can adorn it), and is insanely musical!
What is a Golden Nugget Extension ? The title is a both a double-entendre as well as a deliberate explanation of what it is. First, it’s taking the Golden Nugget and adding an expansion pack to it. Things you probably hadn’t thought of when playing with The Golden Nugget. Secondly, it’s adding extensions to everything, everywhere!
What is ‘Social’ Milonga ? Social Milonga is a Milonga of ease, of least resistance, of effortlessness. It’s what we would dance at the Milonga when Milonga music is played but for a social environment not a performance! Which translates to smaller (very small) movements, and steps. This isn’t about turns, ganchos, volcadas, sacadas, colgadas, death drops, …. no, none of that. Simple, clean, small movement.
What is "THUD!" ? In the simplest way we know how to describe this stuff, "THUD" is an uncontrolled, unsightly, and ungainly foot heavy and overly weighted placement of the dancers foot, which results in a sound that resembles a rumbling of the floorboards under your feet when you jump up and down: THUD! It occurs because the dancer in question has generated a heavy step, an impacted step, that they don’t realize that they’re doing it.
What is Tango Articulation ? It is a state where by the movement of one’s body parts, specifically the extremities of feet, legs, arms, and hands, create sharp and detailed lines that accentuate the form of the body in relationship to the pleasing and iconic shape of the couple in the embrace. The idea of ‘Articulation’ could mean, but is not limited to, pointing the toes, pointing the foot, generating a horizontal line with the arm around and across the back of your partner, raising of the head and pulling the head backwards towards the spinal column, the elbows, elongating the spinal column….all of these can be ‘articulated’. Articulation is an accentuation of the form to detail the lines or shape of the dancers at all points along a movement, and in long form, the dance. To be aware of that movement and to create clean, clear, sharp lines of those shapes. So in essence the original English dictionary definition of this word isn’t that far off.
Why Should You Signup ? The simplest reason is that you won’t find this stuff anywhere else. It’s a different kind of tango education. It will help you to understand what you want, how to do it, and why you want to do things with Intention in mind. It will show you how to listen to the music, and how to create different types of vocabulary, as well as how to engage in the milonga environment. This site is all about showing you a better pathway towards a type of tango that reinforces the ideas of Social Tango thru Intention Based Dancing.
