Every week, you’ll find on our blog class notes and a summary video from our Wednesday and Sunday tango group classes.

These video and notes are meant to help our students remember what they’ve done in class.

Dimension: Speed - Theme: Asynchronicity I

Asynchronicity is a great tool to add a deeper musical reading to your dancing as one partner stays on the melody and the other marks the beat for example. A more complex use of asynchronicity is to have one partner move to the voice. In this class, we put the spotlight first onto followers and then onto leaders. We started with simple ocho variations, before moving onto a square with leader's traspie which is ideal on Pugliese and exploring a mind-teasing step using snake walk. Very salon.

Summary video



 

Beginners & improvers: Forward ocho from static position

Top tips

  • Leaders: To lead this step, make sure you dissociate for each pivot of the follower. To create a stronger connection, as you dissociate, you can also try to slightly push your axis backwards.
  • Followers: Step around your partner and not away from him. To help the connection and your pivots, you can slightly turn your foot towards your partner as you step forward.

 

Beginners & improvers: Little back and forth step with adornments

Top tips

  • Leaders: Try and lead this step using only your dissociation, without moving your feet. This is more elegant and creates a stronger contrast between you (not moving much) and your partner (moving on the half beat).
  • Followers: This is a double rebound on the half beat so make sure your transfer of weight and of axis is light so that you can be reactive. This is a quick, playful step which works very well on rhythmical high-pitched tangos like D’arienzo’s “Hotel Victoria” for example.

 

Intermediates / Advanced: Square and square with traspie

Top tips

  • Leaders: Lead your partner to pivot first before pivoting yourself. If you do the traspie on your own, make sure you lift your partner and change your weight without moving your axis too much so that the follower doesn’t get the impression she should change her weight too. If you want your partner to come with you, then move your axis strongly in the traspie to make her change her weight with you.
  • Followers: Try and pay attention to what your partner is leading: he might lead you to do the traspie with him or not, so don’t anticipate the move.

 

Intermediates / Advanced: In and out of snake walk

Top tips

  • Leaders: This is a bit of a mind-teaser. When stepping in snake walk, you are in cross system, which means that you need to have your foot change “rail” so that you don’t step on your partner’s foot. When you back cross and come back to parallel system, your foot needs to come back to its “rail” and you need to have it step directly forward.
  • Followers: This is a very complicated step for the leader, so work on your walking technique: extend your leg straight from the hip, push yourself from the front leg and transfer your weight on your back leg after him.

 

Homework

  • Leader: You can practise the traspie step and the in and out of snake walk step on your own as they both require dexterity.
  • Follower: In the square, you can practise adornments: a mix of pique and cuatro.

 

See you soon on the dancefloor,

Nati y Bruno