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Argentine Tango School

Tag: philosophy

Argentine Tango follower technique 1

Argentine Tango follower’s technique 1: Posture and change of weight

Argentine Tango follower’s technique 1: Posture and change of weight

  • Legs and feet together, your weight distributed equally between them.
  • Bring your weight to one of your feet. Your vertical axis should displace in the direction of the foot that gets your weight.
  • Inside edge of your free of weight leg’s shoe in contact with the floor (“inside edge position”).
  • Your supporting leg’s foot resting comfortably on the floor, conducting the weight of your body through it to the floor.
  • Knees close to each other. Your knees maintaining a constant relation to your axis, which passes through the center of your body, from the top of your head to the center of the base of your body in regard to your weight distribution on one foot or between both feet.
  • Hips leveled, both ilium of your hip bone at the same plane parallel to the floor, aligned to your transversal plane.
  • Torso aligned with a vertical axis, resting on your head, which rest on your legs.
  • Neck and head aligned with the same vertical axis line.
  • Your head resting on your neck, which consequently rests on your torso, torso on your hips and hips on your legs and feet. Alignment of all your body parts to your central axis becomes essential.
  • Eyes looking forward. Sight aligned with the floor, looking to the horizontal line.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to learn to dance Tango, you can:

 
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Forward backward pendulum. Argentine Tango classes at Escuela de Tango de Buenos Aires.

Argentine Tango dance technique 2: Forward and backward pendulum motion

In the case of dancing Tango, we are required to develop a way of walking.

As with our posture, our human walk is also unique.

As with our posture, our human walk is also unique. In the case of dancing Tango, we are required to develop a way of walking which, remaining natural, serves the purpose of walking in the intimate company of our partner, embraced by each other, among other couples, creating a silent poetic dialogue with our bodies and in connection with the cadence of Argentine Tango music. This kind of music was devised to serve such a purpose, and always guides us on how to move in such situations.

Technical details and exercise:

  • After shifting your weight to one foot, move the leg that is free of weight forward and backward like a pendulum, maintaining light contact with the floor, using the “inside edge position” when passing through the “collect position” when both feet are together.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to learn to dance Tango, you can:

Posture video class. Argentine Tango at Escuela de Tango de Buenos Aires.

Argentine Tango dance technique 1: Posture

We, humans, are unique among all known species. Our upright posture manifests extraordinary qualities.

From the perspective of a milonguero, good posture is not merely instrumental.

By the way we stand up and present ourselves, we tell our own story, who we are, what we strive for, our dreams, our ideals, our thoughts and emotions. Through working on our posture we work not only on our body but on our entire persona. Therefore, from the perspective of a milonguero, good posture is not merely instrumental, achieved and developed only for the purpose of dancing well, but, in addition to our dance, the way we exist, presented to ourselves and everybody. What we can see in our posture (whether it’s the same or different from what everyone else sees) informs about us and shows what we can improve about ourselves.

Technical details and exercises:

  • Legs and feet together, your weight distributed equally between them.
  • Bring your weight to one of your feet. Your vertical axis should displace in the direction of the foot that gets your weight.
  • Inside edge of your free of weight leg’s shoe in contact with the floor (“inside edge position”).
  • Your supporting leg’s foot resting comfortably on the floor, conducting the weight of your body through it to the floor.
  • Knees close to each other. Your knees maintaining a constant relation to your axis, which passes through the center of your body, from the top of your head to the center of the base of your body in regard to your weight distribution on one foot or between both feet.
  • Hips leveled, both ilium of your hip bone at the same plane parallel to the floor, aligned to your transversal plane.
  • Torso aligned with a vertical axis, resting on your head, which rest on your legs.
  • Neck and head aligned with the same vertical axis line.
  • Your head resting on your neck, which consequently rests on your torso, torso on your hips and hips on your legs and feet. Alignment of all your body parts to your central axis becomes essential.
  • Eyes looking forward. Sight aligned with the floor, looking to the horizontal line.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to learn to dance Tango, you can:

Héctor Varela. Argentine music at Escuela de Tango de Buenos Aires.

“Fueron tres años” by Héctor Varela y su Orquesta Típica with Argentino Ledesma in vocals, 1956.

Héctor Varela. Argentine music at Escuela de Tango de Buenos Aires.Héctor Varela

Bandoneonist, leader, arranger and composer
(January 29, 1914 – January 30, 1987)

Lead bandoneon and arranger of the Juan D’Arienzo Orchestra for ten years, he identified himself with the trends of a genuine traditional origin. As a major attraction, his orchestra boasted the precision of a difficult technical performance in the middle of a very personal hasty rhythmic beat.

And that is, exactly, what Varela strove for during his tango career: to play with his orchestra for dancers.

He was a musician criticized by the innovative players but loved by the fans of dancing and popular tango. I think that his best artistic stage was in the early 50s. Later, like his teacher D’Arienzo, his orchestra declined into a commercial vein, due to the impressive boom of his record sales. Continue reading at www.todotango.com…

Listen and buy:



We have lots more music and history: