As many of you know, this week we had our third weekly Technique and Milonga sessions – and as always they were loads of fun!
On Wednesdays we kick off at 7:30pm with our Technique class. This hour has been designed for you all to engage in a variety of fun and useful yet short activities; covering every element of SPEED – Stepping, Posture, Embrace, Emotion and Dissociation. (If you don’t know what some of these are, don’t panic – you don’t need to! It’s really a lot less scary than it seems and you will pick it up without even thinking about it!)
Our activities focus primarily on the independent dancer as opposed to partner work as in our other classes. We feel that this improves personal technique, balance and style; however we do have some partner interaction during the class – but it is kept to a minimum. This doesn’t mean that the class isn’t still entertaining and social though. The class is taught as one big happy group with a light hearted, interactive atmosphere so it’s plenty of fun! 🙂
Towards the second half of the class we went through giros on Wednesday (a step where the follower box steps around their partner, using pivoting and dissociation) although we practiced with a static object rather than a partner so that we could really concentrate on individuals – positioning, style, etc without factoring somebody else in. The idea is that once you have practiced perfecting yourself, you will have a much stronger foundation, making partner work easier for both you and your partners.
Second to last is: adornos (or adornments in English). This week the leaders went through emosques whilst the followers practiced different ways in which to rub legs – their own and their partners 😉 We use the mirrors throughout most of the class so that everybody can see themselves – sometimes you can do something for years thinking you’re doing it right, then if you catch a glimpse of yourself, you can realise that you look nothing like you thought! This irons out any bad habits before they fully develop, saving yourself from problems in the future.
Our final activity focuses on musicality; a crucial element of all dancing, including tango. Two contrasting pieces of tango music are played, one after the other and the floor is free for you to do whatever you like, from your newly acquired adornments, to the running man – as long as it goes to the music we’re not fussed! Everybody does this at the same time so that everyone is concentrated on their own moves and the music. So… dance like no one’s watching!
Our other Wednesday class leads straight on from the technique class (although you can of course just go to one session). Milonga is a faster version of tango (find out more). The steps are mostly simpler than traditional tango steps, but at least double the tempo. The class structure is similar to our Monday and Thursday classes, we have a warm up, then revise what we did the week before, to either refresh your memory or help you to catch up if you missed the previous week. Then Nathalie and Bruno demonstrate each step, teaching it part by part allowing you to practice in partners to music between demonstrations. Milonga is a fast paced, cheeky tango, leaving everyone in fits of laughter after most dances! It’s a very high-spirited class and students leave feeling like they’ve had a workout as well as an enjoyable time at the end of the hour!
To find out more about our Wednesday classes see our class timetable. Each class is £10.
