Practice, Practice, Practice

[Mario7]

Hello, I've just completed my fifth month of Tango study. I am interested in the milonguero style of A.T..ie: close-embrace, connection, musicality, a few simple moves; ocho cortado, giro, turns from ochos or at the cross, sacada, pauses, walking in all it's forms, side steps, check-step.
I am actively seeking a practice partner(s) to practice with frequently during each week. I am super interested in perfecting the walk..being able to go from inside to outside and parallel to crossed and back with no difficulty..this is my dream. I figure that once I can do this, I will be able to add anything else in time.
My question is mostly for the followers..will they be satisfied working on the basic walk? Will it get boring fast for them? (for me, never)..how can I make a practice session interesting (no humor, please)?
Do you have any suggestions for structuring or negotiating a practice session / program??
Any ideas along these lines, (or other lines that I haven't thought of), will be very helpful..thks

[MaggieB]

I think it depends on where the lady is coming from, I know very experienced dance teachers that would do it all day long... although I know some of their students that HATE that they would do it all day long... so its a catch 22.

Perhaps if you find a lady that is at the same level of tango as yourself to practice with, or even does not know as much, she will be more willing to work on the walk for a longer length of time than a more experienced dancer.

I have seen far too many times where a new lead is trying to progress to "catch up" with a particular lady who is already experienced... that never seems to work out.


Hello, I've just completed my fifth month of Tango study.
My question is mostly for the followers..will they be satisfied working on the basic walk? Will it get boring fast for them? (for me, never)..how can I make a practice session interesting (no humor, please)?
Do you have any suggestions for structuring or negotiating a practice session / program??
Any ideas along these lines, (or other lines that I haven't thought of), will be very helpful..thks

[ognat]

Mario - I am a lead, not a follow. But, I got started by working with a practice partner who was happy to work with me after I had been dancing only a month. She was far more experienced than I. The deal is - what do you offer her? Talk about it with a prospective partner and you work to become her practice partner also - a real two way street. Follows need to learn to wait, to listen to the lead, and to listen to the music - among other things. I started almost immediately with walking and back ocho's. She wanted me to lead puentes, to wait, and then step out in time with the music. She wanted me to lead slows and quicks while walking. She wanted me to lead overturned back ochos (back ocho to back cross - similar to back volcada). I didn't have these in my vocabulary, but worked hard to add them and to dance them musically so that I could also lead the things that she was trying to learn to listen for.

Bottom line - if you can learn to accommodate her needs, she will do the same for you. If all she gets is an hour of bad dancing and no learning opportunities for herself, well.... good luck.

ognat

[Heather2007]

.....My question is mostly for the followers..will they be satisfied working on the basic walk? Will it get boring fast for them? (for me, never)..how can I make a practice session interesting (no humor, please)?
Do you have any suggestions for structuring or negotiating a practice session / program??
Any ideas along these lines, (or other lines that I haven't thought of), will be very helpful..thks

Mario? Oh Mario, Mario, Mario. If I lived anywhere near you and even though I am quite advanced in my dancing I would practice with you all day, every day and twice on Sundays. See my red highlight? Take it as red then that one day you will be a fine and wonderful dancer.

The best place to find someone who will practice with you is in the class as well as in the post-class practica. And never, ever be afraid to ask a more experienced follower to dance/practice with you too.

Structuring it would be no problem - have a look at past posts and read the advices given by others to Beginner Leaders especially Angel Hi as well as those written by followers (Peaches etc.) and what it is they require from a leader.

Good luck

[Mario7]

Many thanks Heather, for the VERY encouraging advice. I actually do have a very advanced dancer coming to town and she wrote that she really likes to practice with a leader who is 'serious'.. at first, I felt insecure but your words really are timely,, mil gracias!

Detlef and Melina used to be my favorite walkers....now, it's this couple;

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UFZN4Y6V3L8&feature=user

[Almagro]

Hi Mario,
I agree. Gustavo Benzecry Saba & Maria Olivera are absolutely exquisite!

Al

[Angel HI]

Hello, I've just completed my fifth month of Tango study. I am interested in the milonguero style of A.T..ie: close-embrace, connection, musicality, a few simple moves; ocho cortado, giro, turns from ochos or at the cross, sacada, pauses, walking in all it's forms, side steps, check-step.

I am super interested in perfecting the walk..

Welcome to the DF. I had to chuckle at your post. The above paragraph names almost everything but the kitchen sink, followed by,...I just want to perfect the walk. :p

Seriously, the rest of your post sounds as though you are on the right track. Feel free to post or PM; I'll be happy to help in any way that I can. Alors, ...I can not partner you...sorry. :cheers:

[Mario7]

Wow, I lucked out! I have found a really fine dancer, practice partner, thru my advertising. We met for the first time, last nite, at a milonga (one of two ea. wk. at restaurants, here). There is such a lack of male dancers here (San Miguel de Allende, Mex.), that various good follows have dropped out of the scene because many women and only a couple of men would show up at each dance. Anyway, she is one of them and has been dancing a lot of salsa instead.
We danced a few Milongas and a couple of Valses....no problems there, it's the slow tango where I have my minefield. It seems like she will want to practice figures and I will want to practice walking...no problem, if we do this to music, it should also help our musicallity. As I posted earlier, I figure that if I can go from one type walk (parallel to crossed, side middle side) to another with sureness and ease, I will be able
to master the slow tango, eventually...adding other moves as they develop over time.:D:D:D:D
I'm figuring that I will give half the practice session to her wants and the other half to walking and changing lanes and types of walks... hmmm, what do you think, the walking first, to warm up?? thanks for reading, I just had to share my enthusiasm!

[Angel HI]

I am so excited to read that you are in SMdA!!!

I have taught there many times...every year for the past 6 years (except for the past 1). I absolutely love it there; had an opportunity to, and seriously considered, relocating there until life took me to the Gulf Coast. But, recently, the idea was brought up again. I'd be extremely interested in talking with you more here and by PM.

[Heather2007]

[quote=Mario7;534624]Wow, I lucked out! I have found a really fine dancer, practice partner, thru my advertising.[quote]

Aaaahhh - I can feel the enthusiam pouring forth from your post(s). Huge warm glow. And well done for finding yourself a practice-mate.
You could start your practice with walking. A nice way is to hold the other dancer's hand, that is both of you standing abreast of each other an arm length away hold hands (nice if there is a large mirror in front of you too). Think "Stalking Cat" as you walk - she: "S*xy Hot Chick Stalking Cat" as you walk. Start very slowly. Your free hand hold out slightly and gracefully as if to keep balance (balletesque). NEXT you could add an wee boleo at the ankle progressing to knee height - front and bank. NEXT a lapiz (ie. step on left, lapiz right, then step right, lapiz left). THEN ochoes, low and high. You see - it's all walking, walking, walking but incorporating decorations. Focus on balance. You as Lead can get into role by wearing one of those cool Trilby hat. (I used to sing jazz and play the saxophone and I dressed as a 1940s bloke (includint graces) EVERY time. It helped). AND then when you've exhausted all the different ways of walking from one end or the room to the next, you start the patterns. ALSO (if you happen to be training alone), try doing an impro WITHOUT the music. Deathly silence always focusses the mind inwards. Meditation in Movement. I did it in a jazz-ballet workshop once with a fellow dancer. Truly amazing/sensuous. Let us know your progress and feel free to PM me anytime :p

[newbie]

hmmm, what do you think, the walking first, to warm up??

Figures first. Walking is more difficult, use the figures as a warm-up.

[Mario7]

I've gotten luckier, as a really good dancer came to town and since I am a friend of a friend, agreed to practice with me..This is an email that I sent to another Tango dancer friend, today.
...I had the most fantastic experience today...my first private practice session .
Patricia is a VERY good dancer and she basicly gave me a private class...
We did Apilado, which there isn't much of around here...I can do it in Milonga but not in slow Tango..... well, ugh I never knew so many things could be going wrong all at the same time....unbelievable!!! and here I was so down on my dancing a few days ago that I was saying to myself that I won't go out dancing when I get back to phila. ..thats how bad it's been....well, the first half hour with Patricia was awefull...I was thinking of just quitting Tango for good...really desperate and pissed and feeling that all was futile...
then, little by little things started to get better ...first and foremost was my posture...my head was leaning forward throwing my axis/balance off.. She is tall yet I was still sort of concaving my chest like I was going to scoop her up in my arms....bad posture..no wonder I was having such problems with the balance..anyway, she coached me again and again on my posture until I started to stop forgetting...and then the balance started to improve..we went to open embrace and practiced walking again..it started to be a solid walk...then we went back to apilado..she explained that the whole reason for this embrace was 'communication' to have all the information passed from one to the other, about where we are going next. This made it make sense to me..I started feeling our connection as a communication and finally as a lead.
Well, a particularly nice piece of music was playing and we began to walk again....now, I started to really lead for the first time..one, two, three steps, some weight changes and another series of walking steps..Suddenly, it all connected. There was a perfect union and
for the first time I felt that I was leading powerfully the Slow Tango..for a moment I felt like;
"We could do anything and anything was now possible!"..I took a few more steps and the music ended...it was perfect...8 perfect steps! I was elated, dumbfounded, happy. I felt a
wave of emotion pass thru my body and exit out the top of my head..I was starting to cry.
Somehow, I always knew that it would be like this when it finally happened...I looked back across the floor..like I was looking back at myself only ten minutes earlier...was it possible to make such a giant leap in so short a time/space?!!! I did it, it happened! I was ecstatic and couldn't even speak...but I was happy.
Now, I also know that when someone describes the close embrace as 'seductive', they are missing the height to which the embrace is capable...it is MUCH more..it is a connection with the whole universe.

[dchester]

I've gotten luckier, as a really good dancer came to town and since I am a friend of a friend, agreed to practice with me..This is an email that I sent to another Tango dancer friend, today.
...I had the most fantastic experience today...my first private practice session .
Patricia is a VERY good dancer and she basicly gave me a private class...
We did Apilado, which there isn't much of around here...I can do it in Milonga but not in slow Tango..... well, ugh I never knew so many things could be going wrong all at the same time....unbelievable!!! and here I was so down on my dancing a few days ago that I was saying to myself that I won't go out dancing when I get back to phila. ..thats how bad it's been....well, the first half hour with Patricia was awefull...I was thinking of just quitting Tango for good...really desperate and pissed and feeling that all was futile...
then, little by little things started to get better ...first and foremost was my posture...my head was leaning forward throwing my axis/balance off.. She is tall yet I was still sort of concaving my chest like I was going to scoop her up in my arms....bad posture..no wonder I was having such problems with the balance..anyway, she coached me again and again on my posture until I started to stop forgetting...and then the balance started to improve..we went to open embrace and practiced walking again..it started to be a solid walk...then we went back to apilado..she explained that the whole reason for this embrace was 'communication' to have all the information passed from one to the other, about where we are going next. This made it make sense to me..I started feeling our connection as a communication and finally as a lead.
Well, a particularly nice piece of music was playing and we began to walk again....now, I started to really lead for the first time..one, two, three steps, some weight changes and another series of walking steps..Suddenly, it all connected. There was a perfect union and
for the first time I felt that I was leading powerfully the Slow Tango..for a moment I felt like;
"We could do anything and anything was now possible!"..I took a few more steps and the music ended...it was perfect...8 perfect steps! I was elated, dumbfounded, happy. I felt a
wave of emotion pass thru my body and exit out the top of my head..I was starting to cry.
Somehow, I always knew that it would be like this when it finally happened...I looked back across the floor..like I was looking back at myself only ten minutes earlier...was it possible to make such a giant leap in so short a time/space?!!! I did it, it happened! I was ecstatic and couldn't even speak...but I was happy.
Now, I also know that when someone describes the close embrace as 'seductive', they are missing the height to which the embrace is capable...it is MUCH more..it is a connection with the whole universe.
Mario, it sounds like you're now hooked to tango, like an addict on crack.

:mrgreen:

[Steve Pastor]

"then we went back to apilado..she explained that the whole reason for this embrace was 'communication' to have all the information passed from one to the other, about where we are going next."

"Now, I also know that when someone describes the close embrace as 'seductive', they are missing the height to which the embrace is capable...it is MUCH more.."

This sounds vaugely familiar!

[Peaches]

To play The Devil's Advocate...

It's also amazing to feel the connection between you and your partner when there is no physical connection. Just dancing based on visual lead and follow. And then to go from that to close embrace...incredible.