How to teach floor craft ?

[Cabbit]

The school i started in had a good thing going on in the beginning, with teaching just a few steps (walking forward, back, to the side, cunita, cross and ocho cortado). I think that was the extent of it for a good while, while people got comfortable with the idea of the ronda, lanes and center and the actually moving forward part. They failed in conveying any sense of technique, creativity and musicality to go with those steps, but that is a different set of problems. Still, it could have been a decent base.

People understand it in practice. How to enter a ronda and how to move in it too. Its the 'rules dont apply to me' mentality that makes some rondas dangerously unpredictable.

 

[JournalInTime]

To be honest, this is a chicken-and-egg problem.

In a total vacuum, yes. "How do you move your feet without your core? How do you move your core without your feet?" One necessitates the other.

In the context of circulation at the milonga, no. People circulate poorly because they lack the tools to adapt to changing floor conditions. The basis of those tools is inventiveness: "What can I do in this situation?" Dancers taught rigorous sets of steps based primarily on walking at first fail here, because (1) they default to walking when a real ronda all too frequently stops moving, and (2) they focus on their feet at the expense of their displacements, resulting in getting in the way and kicking people.

One interesting thing I noticed during La nuit blanche – an event where the whole city turns into an all-night party, and dance studios are a big part of that, throwing open their doors for free lessons and a place to dance – was that dancers who had never touched tango and just showed up to move around to tango music were no less musical and no more annoying than the beginners who were asked to show up en masse to fill the floor. Sure, their movements were bizarre, but they weren't trying to walk through crowded spaces or show off footwork as they rammed and kicked other people. It was the tango students doing that.

 

[Brummbaer]

There's really no reason not to teach beginners turns from Day One. "Leaders, stand in place and turn in circles, like you did as a little kid. Now followers, do whatever steps you need to do to stay in front of the leader."

That's how I remember learning giros. That came after forward and backward ochos. The next progression, after getting the follower to stay in front of the leader, was using the ocho steps in a giro.

Its the 'rules dont apply to me' mentality that makes some rondas dangerously unpredictable.

As in so much of life! The rules are for the little people. Even worse is the 'expert' with another set of rules which they think every else should adopt.

 

[Cabbit]

Also, i looked into the tea leaves of the future, and the floorcraft of the future looks interesting. May you live in interesting times type of interesting.

Depending on the country, it will be a mix of people overeager to dance, show off the moves they practiced with the barre, and a good number of people who only took private or online classes for awhile.

 

[Greybeard]

And is there a cross-style understanding of floor craft?

I think everyone agrees that floor craft means don't mess with other dancer's fun/dance. The rules are a little different between AT and smooth or standard. Latin, swing, rhythm, and line dances are spot dances (they don't move) so some things I'll say don't really apply to them.

Common to all dancing is don't run into other people. If the dance moves, use the same counter clockwise line of dance. Don't impede the LOD. Look before you enter the floor. Make sure you have room for whatever move you want to make.

Milongas tend to be crowded, so floor craft includes staying in your lane and keeping up with (but not on top of) the couple ahead of you. No passing.

Ballroom tends to have more room. There are no lanes, and if you want to do a stall move (stop progressing for a while) move to the center of the floor. Passing is allowed.

If you're doing a spot dance while others are doing a moving dance, stay in the center so the dancers who want to progress can do so.

 

[LadyLeader]

Navigation can be taught and it can be learned during dancing no question about it! For me navigation is a skill about how to apply the stuff you already have on an ever-changing pista.

Years around 2006 I gave some beginner workshops with different themes each. We always presented the figures in pairs with the names Advancing and Waiting figures. When we talked about steps the walk forward was the Advancing figure and sidesteps on spot were the Waiting figures.

This gave us numerous opportunities to repeat the message!
WOW! your waiting figure is perfect! Now you are advancing really beautifully!

When they came back from the coffee break we asked them to choose a spot marked on the floor.
x.....x.....x.....x. . . .
...z.....z.....z.....z.. . . .
When the music started I walked in front of the lines so they could follow me using the advancing figure for the day. Later on I stopped and they should start using the waiting figure. During this exercise, they tried to keep the formation also. It was tough training but it was also fun and we shouted and laughed a lot!

We did not talk about navigation but only how to use the figures to adapt to different situations on the pista. Respect for others was included in the use of waiting figures and in the effort to keep the formation.

 

[TTanguero]

There's really no reason not to teach beginners turns from Day One. "Leaders, stand in place and turn in circles, like you did as a little kid. Now followers, do whatever steps you need to do to stay in front of the leader."

My first teacher started with the walk, and very much emphasised that. Upside: I got a halfway decent walk at a relatively early stage: Downside: I found myself trapped in milongas, with nothing to do but rebound turns when the ronda wasn't moving.

I then put this problem to a visiting teacher, Diego Bado, who taught me how to walk in a tight circle, then develop that into an embellished form of one forward step, 180-degree swivel, repeat. That was a revelation at the time. I now call Diego my tango engineer: every time he visits, I present him with my latest problem, and he comes up with a solution.

 

[LadyLeader]

I then put this problem to a visiting teacher, Diego Bado, who taught me how to walk in a tight circle, then develop that into an embellished form of one forward step, 180-degree swivel, repeat. That was a revelation at the time. I now call Diego my tango engineer: every time he visits, I present him with my latest problem, and he comes up with a solution.

[ Lucky you! It is fantastic to find a teacher who can solve problems. I checked his yt and BOOM there it was! video 1. I have been looking for leader hip usage theories and started to test some follower techniques last year and found exactly what he is talking about. Fantastic impact on my balance. Nice to get it confirmed. ] off topic . . . . . .

 

[WhiskeyPapa]

I remember vividly my first milonga. It was VERY crowded (terrible idea for a first milonga!)... “I had thought Tango is a dance... but it’s really Apocalypse Now!” was my reaction— I ran back to my teacher and said “Teach me to dance in one spot; teach me circular movements.”

Navigation is a huge issue in AT, and remains so for years. How can you teach it?
1)Gradually... the rules have to be explained along with the all important caveat that you have to navigate with people often not following the rules. It is such a relief to step into the line of dance and know that competent dancers are ahead and behind. A newbie in front of you IS a burden;
2) New dancers should start with uncrowded milongas with lots of space;
3) Navigating a crowded unpredictable space requires strong technique and a decent vocabulary because you are constantly adapting, maybe in minute ways. You simply don’t have the luxury of implementing that fantastic new combination in the practice space you had.
4) consequently, the prerequisite for good navigation is strong technical skills; the theory can be explained in an hour but the implementation takes years of practice;

 

[Rabbit]

You simply don’t have the luxury of implementing that fantastic new combination in the practice space you had.
4) consequently, the prerequisite for good navigation is strong technical skills; the theory can be explained in an hour but the implementation takes years of practice;

Well, that's because patterns that fit into very small spaces tend to be neglected in both teaching and practice.

 

[LadyLeader]

Well, that's because patterns that fit into very small spaces tend to be neglected in both teaching and practice.

I think of a good navigator as a person who can take whatever figure in their vocabulary and throw it into whatever space available. They modify the figure's form and size by variation of steplength and angles.

Usually the dancers have only the beginner level content at this skill level. For example, think of all the variations of forward ochos in size and direction you can produce. More recent steps are probably more rigid and of standard size.

 

[Rabbit]

I think of a good navigator as a person who can take whatever figure in their vocabulary and throw it into whatever space available. They modify the figure's form and size by variation of steplength and angles.

Usually the dancers have only the beginner level content at this skill level. For example, think of all the variations of forward ochos in size and direction you can produce. More recent steps are probably more rigid and of standard size.

It's easier to do it if you have the option of using a dance structure that doesn't change the couple's position on the floor by default, and just extend a step if you want to move.

 

[LadyLeader]

Yes I agree, that makes the steps instantly manageable!

 

[Cabbit]

In the i-wish-realm...

I would sign up for a course that teaches dancing tango in a table sized space. I tried it, and with a good leader, i never had a feeling of being bored or not having options to move. It would be fun and frustrating and educational. But mostly fun.

It is a skill that takes time to develop, but it is great if the leader can readjust to a new space or obstacle without tension showing in their body. Too often i dance with a beginner and then we suddenly stop or i just feel tension or irritation in their body and they apologize along the lines of - im sorry, i couldnt finish that sequence, no space, we were supposed to do xy... or they say - sorry, we are stopping, trafic ahead.

 

[LadyLeader]

A narrow corridor has given me good feedback when dancing with a partner or alone with arms in a similar form.

Walls form the guidelines at abrazo level and are therefore easily recognized. It goes quite fast to get new ideas about the modifications needed to the ordinary figures and how I can advance smoothly.