Lead or follow? As you will know, there’s sometimes more of one gender than another in group lessons and milongas. Rather than an issue, it is, in fact, a great opportunity for men and women to try the other role. What happened back in the days?
The idea in this class was to explore creative ways to go forward in the line of dance. With beginners, we started with a 360 degree pivot from the cross. In the intermediate class, we looked at a synchronised lapiz adornment, then a pivot to the right and last a very nice sequence using a change of front.
Tango was born on the other side of the globe, over a century ago. Why is it still relevant to us now, when the bourrée Auvergnate and other folklore dances around the world are dying a slow death...
A gentleman or lady wanting to learn tango in Buenos Aires during the Golden Age (1935-55) would have had a very different experience from ours. No dropping by a dance studio on the way back home for a cheeky tango class!
The first generation of tango players, called the "Guardia Vieja" (the Old Guard), were recent immigrants. By mixing their own culture and heritage, they participated in creating tango, a new music genre blending European, African and salon music.
In this class, we worked on what we call the grounding technique, where the leader uses a soft pressure to transmit information to the follower and we applied it to the cross. We first led a wide cross which transformed into a planeo, then applied the same concept to a lateral cross with the right leg and finished with a pivot on two feet which leads to a cross.
In this class, we focused on a step called the quebrada, where the leader goes down with his knees together. It is a very elegant posture which creates opportunities for a wide range of versions. In the intermediate class, we saw a lovely adornment for the follower, a boleo and a version of the quebrada from a change of front.
We’ve just got our hand on some of the latest milonga-inspired Driving Test questions. Have a look; it's quite surprising
To celebrate the birth of the great tango poet Enrique Cadícamo on July 15, 1900, here's a tanda with one of his beautiful compositions - Tres esquinas. By the way, you might have noticed we liked D'Agostino a looooot! :-)
Boleos are high energy steps which come from a change of direction. In this class, we started with a simple boleo combination for the beginners. We then looked at a high back boleo which can be used in milongas as it is led within the embrace and we closed the class with a forward boleo.
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