Level 3 May - Jul 2019

Good habits for tango dancers
  • 'Steel vs spaghetti': Your standing leg is like steel - dynamic, strong and grounded, your free leg is like spaghetti: light and loose without tension.
  • Your free leg hip is stable yet loose and lower than your base leg hip (this removes tension from your free leg)
  • 'Collection' - Thigh or ankle (as you prefer) connection as you walk
  • Push off the floor as you walk - to make your walk more dynamic. 
  • Never lock your knees: You standing leg knee is softly flexed (not locked) - this gives you better contact with the floor.
  • Always find your axis - 'it's your beauty and your power'
  • Walk in the line of your hips - Imagine your hips are at the centre of 2 crossing lines: one going forward / back and the other - left /right. The first line is the guide for forward and back steps, the second line guides side steps. 
Tango Music - for practicing 
Check out Sophia's Spotify lists:
Tango (Trad) Best for practicing musicality - walking to single, double and half time.
Tango (Neo) contemporary songs (good for practicing technique)

Link to 250 songs
The following link will download a collection of 250 of the most popular songs (tango, vals and milonga) played in milongas around the world! Focus for now only on the tangos. Also focus on instrumental songs as opposed to vocals as these are easier to find the beat. Di Sarli is one of the better orchestras to start with: 250 songs download
This link goes to a zip file (little less than a 1 GB file). 

Here's a link to help you better understand tango music for dancing. 


LESSON REVIEWS
Here's what we've covered so far...

The theme for this term is Americana and other combinations

Week 7: Starting July 8
Reviewed, refined and integrated all moves covered this term.
No new moves introduced.
Increasing focus on navigation.

Week 6: Starting July 1
Introduced:
Ocho Cortado from Salida  / Forward Step rebound combination (Only in Redfern and Glebe - see Week 5 video).

Reviewed:
  • Giro to Right entered from Cross System step to Closed Side of Embrace (Week 5)
  • Ocho Cortado from Parallel Cross (Week 4)
  • Giro to Right - entered from Follower's Forward Cross Step to Leader's Right (Week 4)
Next week (Week 6) we'll focus more on Americana combinations covered in Weeks 1 - 3,
 i.e. Americanas from:
  • Parallel Cross - resolved with Cross System Cross  
  • Giro to Right
  • Sandwich
Week 5: Starting June 24
Introduced Giro to Right entered from Cross System step to Closed Side of Embrace. An alternative entry to Giro to Right (than Parallel Cross):

Week 4: Starting June 17
Introduced: 
1. Ocho Cortado from Parallel Cross


Here's another way to enter Ocho Cortado (not shown in class). Entry is always from Forward Cross Step to Leader's Right. This version is from Salida  / Forward Step rebound combination:


2. Giro to Right - entered from Follower's Forward Cross Step to Leader's Right (as Leader steps back):


This is the same entry as:
  • Ocho Cortado (Week 4)
  • Americana from Parallel Cross (Week 1)
  • Retrace Back Step - Side Step to Leader's Left (Week 1)
Week 3: Starting June 10
1. Introduced Americana from Sandwich:

2. Reviewed Weeks 1 and 2 moves.
3. Improvised with all these moves.

Week 2 Starting June 3
Introduced Americana from Giro to Right.
 Entry to Americana is from the 2nd Cross Forward Step of Giro:

Reviewed Week 1 moves.
Here's the video for the other move covered in Week 1 - Forward Cross - Retrace - Side Step. 

Here's a new video for Americana from Parallel Cross with anticlockwise turn to Cross System Cross:


Week 1 Starting May 27
Introduced Americana from Parallel Cross - resolved with Cross System Cross: