Marcelo Solis dancing Argentine Tango with Mimi in the San Francisco Bay Area

To dance well in Argentine Tango

Written by Marcelo Solis on June 16, 2022. Posted in Argentine Tango performances, Argentine Tango performances by Marcelo Solis, Articles about Argentine Tango, Bay Area Argentine Tango classes and events, Practice with your partner, What is Argentine Tango?. Leave a Comment

To dance well in Argentine Tango

To dance well, that is to say: to DANCE, we will have to organize our lives in that direction; I will not be able to dance well if my life develops away from that goal.

Indeed, if what I long for is, for example, to make money, then my life will be oriented in that direction, in the direction of abstractions (money is an abstraction), very far from my actual body.

Put any project on this scale and consider how far the primary goal of that project will be from performing a good dance.

No one is forced to dance well. Truths, life projects, and desires cannot be the same for everyone.

I am inclined to think this way: when I reach the end of my life, what would I like to see in the wake left by that life?

Imagine all the possible lives we could lead. Let’s try to think and feel them, weigh them, smell them, look at their colors, and measure the scope of their luminous skyscrapers of triumphs and black abysses of awful flavors.

Perhaps we all live in different worlds, with the things and people we surround ourselves with. A life could thus develop in the direction of a choice of one’s own world in which to inhabit.

I think that perhaps a good way of living would develop in the direction of becoming more and more capable of directing and selecting what goes into the process of our existence.

In particular, as far as I am concerned, I prefer what increases the power of my physiology, makes my body more versatile, adaptable, and happy, my mind more lucid, and my spirit lighter and dancing.

Here is the foundational question that is answered with living itself: How to live?

That would be dancing!

Should I ask myself “what for” and/or “for whom”?

We could also perhaps answer ourselves: “there are immediate, urgent things to resolve; we live at a precise moment in history which conditions us, that is, it enslaves us and forces us to do things that we would not do otherwise. Let us, then, postpone our plan, our life, until we have resolved the present and responded to all the obligations implicit in its calls”.

In particular, my truth concerning this is that we will eternally be bound by the present. We were born like this: OBLIGATED.

My opinion on this is the following: it is a matter of perspective; It depends a lot on where we look at life from and where we place ourselves –physically and spiritually– to look at it.

Let’s listen to the tango “Me quedé mirandola” by Anibal Troilo with Alberto Marino on vocals. (I ask you… Is there another version of this song that we can dance to?)

Sometimes people leave the dance; that is, they abandon the dancing project because they run into a barrier they don’t dare to cross. Although they always give themselves other excuses.

I have abandoned many of my previous lives to lighten up enough to be able to continue dancing.

And do not think that you will not find doubts about yourselves and the value of dancing!

There are many possible worlds, many parallel realities that cannot be accessed in any “objective” way, such as the achievements of science and technology.

Don’t you think you should dare?

But this is a matter of taste.

When I see someone who dances, who DANCES, I see someone free. His body is no longer “ergastulum“, as the Catholic Church used to say in the Middle Ages, meaning “prison of the spirit”, a spirit that must wait until death to be released.

When I see someone DANCING, I see his soul already free in life, no longer waiting, postponing, procrastinating life to perhaps one day meet that fundamental question not only unanswered but never asked.

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History of Argentine Tango

Tango is a culture

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Marcelo Solis dancing Argentine Tango with Mimi at Escuela de Tango de Buenos Aires virtual classes.

What is the best way to learn to dance Argentine Tango?

Written by Marcelo Solis on April 11, 2021. Posted in Advanced level, Argentine Tango video lessons, Articles about Argentine Tango, Bay Area Argentine Tango classes and events, Beginner level, Chair exercises, Follower's technique, Intermediate level, Practice by yourself, Practice with your partner, What is Argentine Tango?. Leave a Comment

What is the best way to learn to dance Argentine Tango?

Everything good about Tango dancing is the result of practice.

Regular exercise of walking, change of weight, pause, pivots, turns, “paradas” (stops), “calecitas” (merry-go-round), and embellishments create the foundation of your freedom while dancing.

You don’t need a partner to practice.

Many essential elements of Argentine Tango require being practiced alone.

Another aspect needing your attention is musicality:

The way to improve your musicality is to engage in active listening to Tango music, knowing what you are listening to.

Start learning Argentine Tango

The following tips apply either for individual practice as well as practicing with your partner:

1- Improve your walking:

You can always improve your walking.

Start your practice always by walking. You have four speeds for your walk: regular, fast, slow, and very slow.

Start with slow, taking 4 counts for each step.

Then practice regular speed, stepping on each downbeat.

For fast walking practice what is called “corrida”, walking to a quick-quick-slow rhythmic pattern, or down-up-down.

Tango challenges you to make your walk -and your entire life- a work of Art.

More walking exercises…

2- Change of weight:

Change of weight is a variation of walking.

It happens in the same place, without displacement.

Do at least one change of weight when you initiate your dance.

Do not make too many.

Here you can find some exercises to practice and improve your change of weight:

Make them with a calm attitude, and while dancing with your partner, this element should give a sense of calm to your partner.

More change of weight exercises…

3- Pauses:

Pauses are among the most important elements of Tango.

When you practice your elements, search for opportunities for pauses.

As examples:

You can make a pause when you do a salida to de side, also called “salida in 2”.

You can make a pause in position 3:

After change of direction:

4- Pivots:

To practice pivots, you can start with bar exercises.

If you do not have a bar, use a chair, preferably with a tall back, helping yourself placing your hands on the back of the chair to practice forward and backward ochos.

Then, challenge yourself to practice ochos without the help of the bar or chair.

Practice forward and backward ochos with displacements and without displacement.

5- Turns:

The best exercises to improve your turns are chair exercises:

and 1-2-3 exercises.

Practice all exercises in both directions of turning: clockwise and counterclockwise directions.

Practice chair exercises but without the chair.

Other elements used in turns are “rulo”:

and “enrosques”:

6- “Paradas” (stops):

Another very important skill to develop to dance Argentine Tango is the control of your inertia and the couple’s inertia.

A great way to work on this skill is to propose yourself to be able to stop at any movement from the 1 to 5 already listed.

A classical example of stops is the “sanguchito” or “mordida”:

7- “Calecita”:

This element requires that the follower aligns her axis on the top of one of her feet, allowing the leader to pivot her continuously on one direction.

See an example:

8- Embellishments:

A good foundation in your dance makes it beautiful.

Think about embellishments as a natural projection of your good technique, not as a kind of plug-ins movement.

If your walk is deficient, no matter what extra moves you add to your walk, it won’t look good.

Embellishments should arise seamlessly from the work you do on your dance.

“Cepillo” (brush):

“Rulos” (circles):

“Cross and go”:

9- Musicality:

The way to improve your musicality is by engaging in active listening to Argentine Tango music.

Every day we publish a song on our blog.

Subscribe to our blog to receive your daily song…

Keep in mind:

Practice regularly and consciously, taking care that the practice provides nice sensations of joy to you.

By doing so, you are making yourself generous in extending this joy to your partners and the other dancers that share with you the dance floors of the classes and milongas.

That’s not all:

Dancing shouldn’t be your biggest challenge.

It should rather be the time of amusement, of creativity and exploration of yourself, socializing, relaxing, and releasing stress in a calm and friendly atmosphere.

However, in other to be able to dance with such sensation of freedom and confidence, you will need to expose yourself to a challenge that is greater than dancing Tango, and that is the class and practice.