Evolution of the embrace
Once upon a time, all Tango dancers in Singapore danced in an open embrace.
Fast-forward to present, close embrace dancing is the norm rather than the exception during a typical milonga.
Speaking for myself, I can clearly remember the first time a girl (she was already an experienced dancer at that time) came very close to me, and this was within the first two months – no formal classes and before my first workshop – of my Tango journey, I was literally petrified! Come on, what was I supposed to do? There was simply no space to move. 🙂
Mathematics
Had a private class with Javier and Andrea last night.
One of the many points highlighted was that of being “too precise” and, in particular, too synchronised. That is, both couples land with the same timing. This, to them, is too mathematical/clinical and lacks spice. How to rectify this? Play with alternate timing, and free the legs. As to exactly how this can be achieved, well, it’s a trade secret… 🙂
The “Hsueh-tze Effect”
We had just completed an exciting week of intensive workshops with Hsueh-tze Lee from Boston, comprising of two weekends (3 x 1.5-hr classes for each day, on both Saturdays and Sundays) and two classes during the week nights. It was certainly somewhat physically demanding, as evidenced by the slightly tired faces when comparing photos taken at the end of the first weekend with that of the second weekend. 🙂
However, by all accounts – some typical comments can be seen here – all the hard work was worth it! During the workshops, there was a level of excitement and buzz which I have not seen in our community for quite a long while. In fact, it was amazing to witness people getting enthusiastic about the exercises and material Hsueh-tze was sharing with us; everyone was simply too eager to get back to the dance floor as soon as possible even though a break had been scheduled.
How much learning?
Recently there has been a debate on the Tango-L Discussion List on the appropriate amount of “class learning” necessary for followers. The expressed opinions range from zero, i.e. followers should learn everything on the dance floor, or to needing just as much class time as men, and every shade in-between, e.g. learn a lot in a short amount of time in a group class and then take strictly private classes after that.