Saturday, May 27, 2023
Buenos Aires, Argentina
The peso has tanked even more since I was here in November 2022. Just six months ago, it was about 300 ARS to 1 USD. Now it is close to 500 ARS to 1 USD.
The flight to Buenos Aires on Aerolineas Argentinas was the cheapest available at the time at around $1100 (versus more than $1500 on United, American, etc.), though three weeks before my trip, I checked prices and they dropped to $700. D’oh!
The flight itself was just OK, though there was a screaming infant the entire first half of the flight, which made for unrestful times early on. The food was interesting in that it was noticeably protein heavy and carb light.
After cooling my heels in the airport for a few hours since my flight got in at the insanely early hour of 3am, and I sailed through passport control, baggage claim and customs in record time (40 minutes). Dante picked me up promptly as usual, and had ARS for me so I could hit the ground running. It was still dark out when he picked me up, which I had never experienced before. There was a nip in the air, and winter was definitely coming.
There was a slight change in Airbnb plans. I was going to stay at the same place as last time, but another boarder bumped me off the schedule. I stayed in another unit managed by the same host, and it’s a much better unit, homier and better appointed, though I had to carefully use my one converter plug since the Airbnb did not have a multioutlet converter power strip. Oh the joys of traveling with multiple devices while WFA (working from anywhere)!
Since I had plenty of time to cool my heels (my fight got in at 3am – not a typo – and I checked in early at my Airbnb at 9am), I booked an Airbnb experience – “Argentine Asado Class in Scenic Palermo Terrace” from 11:30am to 2:30pm, since that would give me plenty of time before the 4pm class at Escuela Mundial de Tango.
The Asado in Palermo Terrace was just a few blocks away, so I walked the 20 minutes to the hotel. It felt good to get the bones and muscles moving again after sitting on such a long flight and the wait at the airport.
This happened to be the inaugural experience, and it did not disappoint. The food was ample and perfectly cooked by Mati, the chef and chief grill guy. Even though this experience was targeted toward tourists, most attendees were from Argentina, except me, and I am not exactly a stranger to Asados. LOL. So I would say we had more experience with Asados than the average tourist to Buenos Aires.
Our appetizers were cheese and salami and we chatted happily away as the fire got started and proceeded to get hot over the next 45 minutes.
I got a much deeper understanding about all the care that goes into barbequeing the meat, Argentine style, beginning from the wood and charcoal and all the patience it takes to get the heat to the right temperature, and then all the cleaning of the grill, etc. Mati also introduced the several different types/cuts of meat: Costilla (short ribs), vacio (flank), intestine, kidney, morcilla. And he cooked them too, carefully watching the grill so it wouldn’t get too hot or too cold so the meat cooked to absolute perfection. The company and conversations were delightful, as I found everyone to be very friendly and welcoming.
Even though I am sober now, I did partake in Fernet and Coke, which I’ve never had before. Fernet is very popular in San Francisco, especially among the bartender/chef crowd, so I have tried it straight and I liked it. (Of course back in the day when I was an alcoholic, there was nary a libation that I didn’t like!) Here in Buenos Aires, Fernet is typically mixed with Coca-Cola (the real stuff made with real sugar, which we cannot easily get in the US), which is the way I had it, on the rocks. It was tasty, and sweet as expected. Also served were two different malbecs and Heineken beer. Since this was an asado, I also had to try the malbecs with the meats. It was an interesting experience, as I was very, very careful about drinking just the tiniest bit of wine to get the flavors with the meats, which was very different from how I used to drink. Overall, I was proud of myself for not going overboard like I did during my alcoholic days.
It occurred to me that Pablo (RIP) would have immensely enjoyed this experience since there was ample delicious food and excellent company (mostly ladies, LOL).
I felt the guests enjoyed trying out their English with me, as I struggled to understand the bits and pieces of Spanish I knew. I think they thought it was remarkable that I enjoyed the intestines and kidney, but I don’t think I ever met an offal that I didn’t like. Mati certainly knew what he was doing because offal is the kind of thing where if it’s cooked wrong, it could taste terrible.
We chatted, ate and drank our way until past the official end time, but we never felt rushed. I left a little after 3pm since I wanted to go to the lesson at Escuela Mundial de Tango, as Alejandro was teaching a class on Pugliese, which I took the last time I was here (so skipping it was not the end of the world).
I also seriously thought about going out to the veggie market to get supplies for the next several days, since tomorrow is Sunday and a lot of places are closed. But while the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak, and fatigue started to seep in, so I just went back to the apartment, showered, and took a nap (after writing, of course).
La Verduleria Practica with lesson beforehand by Jorge Frias and Mariana Dragone. Cost was ARS 1000 (about USD 2) for the lesson, and was a bargain. The place was the ground floor garage conversion space with nice hardwood floor at La Maleva, Mariana Dragone’s tango house in Abasto. The topic of the class was variations of the Ocho / Parada with a focus on the different types of dynamics that can be applied. It was a good class, and changing roles was encouraged, but not demanded of those who did not want to change roles, like me. The skill level was very good, and the subject was challenging, but most people eventually got it.
The lesson was taught mostly in Spanish, which was fine by me as it forced me to pay attention and sort of blow out some of the cobwebs in my brain since my Spanish is so rusty. I did take notes, and Maestra commented positively on that.
We began the class with warm-up exercises that focused on balance and body mobility, especially in our feet, legs, and hips, though our arms and spines were also covered.
As an aside, As I grow older, and everything is getting stiffer, I can appreciate these mobility exercises more. I am doing the Miranda Esmonde-White Essentrics series on Mobility (Season 11) and it’s excellent. Some of the reviews actually say life-changing!
The lesson focused on different variations of the ocho parada pasada, and included ones where the Leader went around the follower, with a focus on understanding the different dynamics, including the rebound sensation.
The practica was fun, though there weren’t a super amount of people on this night since it is the off season.
Sunday, May 28, 2023
Buenos Aires, Argentina
There’s not much to do on Sundays in Buenos Aires except the San Telmo Antiques Fair, which I hear has become less about antiques and more about food (there is a divine underground food court on the main drag as well as other food shops and outdoor barbeque places up along the street). Or the Mataderos Fair, which is a bit way out and I was not in the mood for traveling on a bus for so long.
First thing in the morning I went to Coto, getting there when it first opened as I didn’t want to have to wait in line to check out. I bought a ton of food (a dozen eggs, crackers, walnuts, 4 red bell peppers, 1 purple cabbage, a slab of vacio, 6 empanadas, salami, 3 yogurts, two boxes of pea soup, one AV cord and one HDMI cord) to last me the next several days, and paid a whopping ARS 12,000, about USD 24.
I booked an Airbnb experience, “The Hidden Treasures Of Tigre”, which was awesome. Even though I had been to Tigre before, this was the first time I went when it was really bustling, so the weekends are definitely the best days to go. My host had excellent knowledge of the area, and since it was the low season, I was his only client, so it was a private tour, which made for a more relaxing, more in-depth connection and conversation.
After my Tigre experience, the host helped me to get on the correct colectivo (bus!, around ARS 55, versus a Subte trip at ARS 74) and I managed to get off at the correct stop nearest my apartment. I was very proud of that accomplishment!
I passed by a veggie market and was thrilled it was open on Sunday, so I picked up 5 tomatoes, 5 cucumbers, and a bunch of small bananas, which came to ARS 1,100, about USD 2.
I rested, ate and showered before my next Airbnb experience: “Authentic Tango Experience With A Dancer” hosted by Manuel Vicente.
Wow, what can I say, the Airbnb tango experience with Manuel Vicente was beyond excellent. It was truly outstanding! Both the lesson and the milonga! The lesson focused on connection, musicality, and walking together, and was unlike any other lesson I have taken, though the connection part reminded me of how Los Dinzel taught it. We switched roles throughout the entire class, with everyone leading and following, which Manuel says would give dancers a deeper understanding of how to dance. And it speaks for itself that the other attendees, who had never taken a tango lesson in their lives, were out on the milonga dance floor that evening and had a great time, too!
After Manuel’s top-notch lesson, he took us to a very nice milonga, El Milongon at Salon Marabu (Maipu 365), which has an excellent wood floor and is in a safe neighborhood where I could easily get a taxi afterward. He arranged it so that we had the best table right next to the dance floor, and since he danced with all of us, showing us off to the rest of the folks at the milonga, it was subsequently easier to get dances from the locals. There were two performances that night, both were great and one was done by Javier Rodriguez and a follower whose name escapes me.
Manuel’s firm instance / lesson for me personally was that I should get comfortable with inviting leaders to dance and not be so passive and just wait to be invited. He said everyone was there to dance, and it’s important for Followers to understand what Leaders go through when they invite. He asked, What is the worst thing that could happen? (My answer was that of course I would die of embarrassment!) He wanted me to invite one of his buddies, a very high level dancer, probably a professional (and a buddy of Javier’s and his partner, since they were all sitting at the same table and took photos together at the end of the night), who was sitting nearby. I couldn’t muster up the courage, and thought Manuel was completely out of his mind to even suggest it! That didn’t stop one of the other attendees though, and she made it clear to that dancer that we should dance together. We eventually managed to catch each others’ eyes after that, and got onto the dance floor. I had a great time and he thought I was pretty good (decent enough to make the effort, LOL). He was a good sport, and it was the gentle swift kick in the pants that I needed, so thank you, Manuel and the other attendee!
I cannot say enough good things about this experience. If I could give it 10 stars, I would! I has such a nice time at this event that I booked another instance for the rest of the time I am here!
Monday, May 29, 2023
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Luciana Valle Intensivo C – Day 1
Looking back at my old notes posted to this blog, I was surprised that though I had done Intensivo C before in May/June 2011, my handwritten notes were never transcribed or posted: “Notes to follow later” is what I wrote. I attribute that to all the dreadful noise and drama that was going on in the background of my life, which made me deflated, angry and utterly exhausted. Thank goodness that is all in the past and will never happen again. And what a massive blessing it was to shortly thereafter get a job that would revive my career and get me out of San Francisco and end that financially and emotionally darkest time in my life.
But now onto the main event…
MORNING SESSION
We began with a review of some of the concepts learned from past Intensivos/LV workshops.
Reminder: When doing the spiral, the weight is between the metatarsal and the heel. If you are too far forward, you will fall or be too much on your partner. Move from the middle of one foot to the middle of the other foot. Shoulders are on top of the hip bones (not on the butt). In regular life posture, everything is against the wall (feet, butt, shoulders). In tango, the heels and butt are on the wall, but the shoulders are a little forward on top of the hip bones. Do not leave the wall completely, otherwise you will fall.
The usual organization of the class is Maestra gives some instruction, then we drill the concept for 2 songs with each assistant, and she gives some feedback in between the two songs based on what she saw as we drilled.
We were to do 2 dances, paying attention to where our weight is when we step and to push off the floor.
The Leader moves his center (axis) first. Both dancers should dance with their whole foot on the floor.
Foundational work:
Heels on the floor!
The free leg and standing leg: if the free leg is bent, it is not available. Do not abandon the torso. Ground and grow. Have no flex in the standing leg. The knee of the standing leg is soft, not stiff and not bent. The knee bend is a consequence of the size of the step.
In doing side steps, when doing a small side step, there is a short bend in the knee. In regular steps, there is a bigger bend. In large steps, there is an even bigger bend, and a giant step has a giant bent in the knee. This relationship is natural and we do it easily on the side steps, but we don’t do it correctly on the forward and back steps. Leader should come up naturally and bring the side step in naturally.
Follwer: in walking back, go with the heel first, even if it feels like your legs are stiff. Do not go with the toes, otherwise you will clunk down when you step back.
We danced two dances just doing steps (small, medium large), front, back and side, doing huge steps followed by tiny steps. We were to focus on managing the axis from the middle of the foot to the middle of the foot.
Leader: it is super important that the foot of the standing leg is the most powerful part of the step. Do not kill it with your knees. It’s inside the foot where the middle of the axis starts, and the sole of the foot is on the floor.
Follower: Feel the heel and whole of the free leg and do not kill the step with the knee.
Leader: Always keep your right hand in front of your sternum. The open side of the embrace should be at the shoulder level of the shorter dancer. In close embrace, the Leader flattens the angle of his open side arm, but the Follower maintains the same angle of her right arm.
We were to play with connection with adding the Q-Q-S rhythm with big and small side steps, do not bend much. The Follower gives feedback as a mirror of what she gets. As the Leader is more powerful, she needs to feed back more. So there is one push for the Q-Q-S, like throwing (skimming) a stone on a lake. The Follower needs to feed back and connect. She should anchor with her standing leg, be good with her connection, and exhale during the Q-Q-S. We were to drill the Q-Q-S with doing small, medium, and large steps walking.
Review: Relationship of the top of the Leader and the hips of the Follower. Also the concept of rotating v traveling the partner. The Leader pivots the Follower by fixing his bottom and rotating his top. His legs and hips are fixed, but his torso moves inside of the embrace. There is torsion inside the Leader’s spine in the embrace, which goes into the Follower’s hips. The Follower’s top is fixed, but her hips move. If she moves the top with the Leader, she will move more like a block. The Followers intention is toward the Leader, and answers the Leader’s torsion with her hips. The Leader and Follower should always be moving together and do not disconnect the Leader’s top with his bottom. Step, push floor, do torsion. When the Follower’s free leg is in front, it’s a front cross. If the free leg is the back leg, it’s a back cross.
Follower: Now is when the standing leg is powerful and the free leg is available. She’s rising because the knee is unflexing. As the Leader collects, he pivots the Follower and she does NOT have flex in her standing leg. Her braline is toward the Leader, and the pivot is from the standing leg to braline. The Follower actively does the pivot. Her hips are loose and easy. Her feet are together at the end of the pivot.
Exercise: We can do this exercise of doing ochos with our toes up so we don’t lean. In the ocho, the sensation is like a pepper grinder, and is a motion that never ends. The leg starts almost from the braline.
The Follower’s pivot is an active move.
Bon Bon Theory: Leader moves his torso small, but the Follower’s hips move big, amplifying the energy.
Follower: do not step flat, but curve them in your step and in your body. Follower: always have a nice line – think in circles/curves.
We reviewed the difference between rotating the Follower and traveling the Follower. The Leader moves his whole torso if he wants the Follower to step around him. We will work on this a lot this week. The Leader walks around the Follower as she is the center of the circle.
Pivots v. Spiral
The posture of our feet is that the toes point to 11:05 whereas heels are together.
The standing foot adjusts as the torso starts to rotate. This is natural and important for planeos.
AFTERNOON SESSION
Going deeper in moving the top to bottom when partner is walking around us, where the Leader is the circle, and the Follower is the center, as in planeos.
We began with a spiraling exercise, with the weight on the right foot, spiraling from the top down with our standing feet in a V. We also tried this on the other side. The foot adjusts naturally as a consequence, and only pivots at the end. This concept is applied during the footwork of the back boleo, and the footwork of the front boleo.
Follower moves from the top to bottom and her free foot accompanies the motion of the top. We do this in planeos, boleos, and Leader sacadas, and shows how the spiral goes from the top to the bottom.
The Leader does his spiral from top to bottom and leads Follower to pivot, back cross step, side, to front cross step to collect in front of the Leader. Follower: Do a good pivot before the back cross step to get around the Leader. Leader walks around the Follower. Her foot adjusts. Her top follows the Leader, and the spiral starts as she does a top to bottom motion. The Follower’s free leg needs to be free and completely relaxed.
Whoever is the center does the spiral top to bottom, as the other dancer steps around.
We are working with the mechanics of the motion of the spiral top to bottom. In all circular situations in tango, there is a structure underneath, of the center and circle, like a compass.
(1) Leader center, Follower circle
(2) Follower center, Leader circle
(3) Both are center (shared axis)
(4) Both are circle
The main two situations are (1) and (2).
We were to do these two things:
Leader leads Follower forward ochos two times, Leader stops Follower, Leader walks around the Follower as she keeps her top with the Leader, Follower’s bottom comes around when it has to. On the close side, the leader walks backward. On the open side, Leader walks forward.
Some Mistakes:
Leader maintains his hand in front of his sternum even when he walks around the Follower. If he does not do this, the Follower will be behind the Leader. The Leader’s right hand in front of his sternum is THE LAW.
Leader maintains the radius as he walks around the Follower.
Follower should think spiral, and not lean into the Leader’s space.
We were to do the same exercise, only starting from back ochos. If we are doing it on the open side, the Leader walks forward. If doing it on the close side, the Leader walks backward. In either case, the Leader should walk with energy.
The Follower needs to know how to move inside the embrace and relax the joints so she can spiral inside her spine. Follower: relax the shoulder joint so the Leader can easily walk around you and she can move inside the embrace. Follower should engage the arms to the back, like wings. The Follower’s embrace is soft, present, and with a lot of space and a lot of flexibility.
The tone of the embrace is important to understand, and the Leader is in control of the tone.
In the pause, if the Leader’s embrace is tighter than usual with too much tone, she will move in a block. If he makes the embrace looser, she will move in a spiral. If he makes the embrace regular, that’s how we dance tango normally.
Remember: In tango, there is always a center, and always a circle. There is always a standing leg, and always a free leg.
We were to combine these elements of planeos and turns: turn steps (back, open front), ochos, Leader walking around the Follower, Leader pivoting Follower, Leader sending Follower around to turn.
In the Follower planeo on the back ocho, be sure to let the spiral deepen in the body at the upper body braline to Leader; don’t go right away to the pivot. The Leader has to lead the pivot at the end to change the direction after the Follower planeo.
The Follower’s responsibility is to do good turn footwork, strong and powerful.
We were to work on:
· Back ocho
· Back planeo
· Back ocho to start the turn
· Forward ocho
· Forward planeo
· Forward ocho to start the turn
When the Leader is the center, he needs to put part of his weight on his heels. If he’s on his toes, she will go farther away from him, which will pull him in even more forward. The Leader’s heel works as an anchor.
The Follower also needs to not be fixed. She needs to have weight in her hips – the center of her body. In the Follower’s turn, she should think back and make powerful steps without much effort.
END OF DAY 1
And it’s a good thing, as while my brain felt OK, my body (legs and hips) were really exhausted and it certainly showed in the last 20 minutes of class. Basically, they were saying they were done!
The dance sneaker regalos distribution during lunch went off without a hitch, and I was relieved that everyone who wanted a pair got one, even those with the smallest feet to the largest. I was truly humbled by how thankful everyone was. The stars must have been in alignment, with the price too shockingly great to pass up, the order error sending me a small size that I didn’t order but which came in handy, and Aerolineas not charging me for my overweight luggage. It’s amazing how the stars can line up like that! I read later on that night how prices are set to rise again here, which totally sucks, and I can see why everyone needs to be super careful with how they spend their pesos.
I had planned to go to El Motivo that night, and even took a day off from my day job to do it. But while the spirit was willing, the flesh was week. So after I ate an early dinner (vacio, eggs, and tomato) and showered, I started transcribing my notes, got tired and took a nap that ended up lasting much longer than expected. It was just way too comfy in my bed, and my legs and feet were really tired and sore from the day, and after a weekend of doing a lot of walking, standing and dancing. Totally my bad! But at least finished up and was able to get my notes down on virtual paper.
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Luciana Valle Intensivo C – Day 2
During our warm-up dances, we were to pay attention to where your axis should be. The shoulders should be on top of the hips, not the butt. There should be one standing leg and one free leg. Ground and grow in order to step.
Next, we worked on Intention, whereby the Leader moves his axis inside his foot, which will initiate the Follower’s free leg motion, then propel depending on size of the step. Follower should grow and move the leg in the direction depending on how much energy the Leader gives her.
In our walk, we should be stable and solid.
In propelling, the foot provides the power, not the knee, so you will use your knee less. Using the knee gives you less power, not more. The flex in the knee happens as you are moving, not to go up and down.
Follower: Check that the free leg is available and do not embellish.
We drilled these concepts by dancing with small, medium and large steps.
EMBRACE:
The intention/connection is opposite of the direction. The Follower’s top stays with the Leader, but the leg goes as she steps with the Leader.
Fingers are the connection, too. Palms and Fingers. The whole hand is there, but activate either the palms or fingers depending on if the Leader is coming toward or going away from the Follower. On the open side of the embrace (Follower’s Right Hand, Leader’s Left Hand), it is easy to understand and everyone gets it. It’s the close side of the embrace that is harder to understand when to push with your palms against the Leader or pull the back of his arm with her fingers. Followers need to understand when to push or pull with her left hand in walks and pivots.
Exercise:
Leader spreads his weight in both feet. Move the axis but don’t step, then go back to center. The Follower is on one leg. The leader moves inside of foot. The Follower answers with her free leg going, slightly moving her axis. The Follower stays with the embrace, but lets her leg go. The Leader changes the Follower’s weight to the Follower’s other leg to try the other side. Follower should use her palms. Leader’s embrace needs to remain exactly the same. If he moves his right hand out, he will move her axis out instead (do not try this, you will get confused). This is used for off-axis moves, which is not the class subject right now.
Next, we did the same, but the Leader moves his center back, so the Follower’s leg goes forward. She uses her fingers here.
There is a vacuum sensation, and she should use the joints of the hips.
Next, we did it on the other side. The Follower stays, then lets her leg go. It is a tiny move.
We drilled this concept by dancing, doing intention and taking the steps too, with the Follower using her left hand embrace only, while the Leader’s right arm is available but his hand is down and not holding her back. This is so she can get a better understanding and practice using her fingers and palms on the close side of the embrace. On the open side, both dancers are connected (Follower’s right hand, Leader’s left hand).
It will be impossible for the Leader to step on the Follower if she maintains a good connection in her top as he moves his axis properly.
Next, we revisited the Leader rotating his top to pivot the Follower versus traveling the partner.
Rotating around Leader’s own spine will pivot the Follower. The Leader fixes his hips in place and the rotation is around his own spine.
Traveling the Follower is derived by the Leader’s top going from facing 9am to 3pm.
There is a top to bottom motion in his whole body/spine when traveling the Follower.
The Follower does opposite spirals to the Leader:
· In the Pivot, she goes from bottom to top (while leader stays fixed and just moves his top).
· In the Travel, she goes from bottom to top as she steps around the Leader (while Leader does his top to bottom motion.
In both these instances, the Leader is the center of the circle, so his motion is from top to bottom. In both these instances, the Follower is the circle, so her motion is from down to up. The only time she does a top to bottom motion is when she is the center of the circle, such as when she is doing the planeo or boleo.
Ocho Review:
Follower: use the pivot, bottom to top motion.
Combine it with a step.
Pivot and collect at the same time.
Make circular steps.
The Follower’s jobs:
(1) Undo the flex of the knee to raise up
(2) Pivot at the same time
(3) Feet collect at the end of the ocho.
The Follower’s action of pivoting is her own action.
In doing the back ocho, Follower should not absorb the rotation in the Leader’s spine. The Follower’s left hand needs to press against the Leader’s right shoulder and send that information to her hips. Keep the braline to the Leader, so she feels it in her top, but answers with her standing leg (in back ochos).
In doing the forward ocho, it’s the opposite push/pull of her arms/hands, so it’s important to have disassociation and to make room inside the embrace. The Follower should be active and aware of what is needed depending on what the Leader is doing: (1) moving toward the Follower, or (2) moving away from the Follower.
Leader: Close side torsion, as he needs to feel he is moving inside the embrace.
We were to drill these concepts with doing ochos in the line of dance or side to side (180 degrees).
Next, we went on to review the Top to Bottom motion for Followers in the context of PLANEOS.
We reviewed the Follower’s Pivot and Spiral whereby the Leader and Follower take side steps (Follower to her right; Leader to his left), and then Leader walks around the Follower. The Follower’s top goes first, which brings around her bottom. This is basically the Planeo review.
Follower’s exercise: Side step to Planeo. Follower does an adjustment to her foot/leg going from open step to front cross step, while keeping torso with Leader and spiraling around so her hips follow/come around when they need to. The Follower has time to adjust her standing foot at the beginning of the Leader’s walk around her.
The Leader’s walk is forward on the open side, and backward on the close side for the Planeo lead.
The Follower’s top brings around the bottom every time the Leader walks around the Follower. The Follower spirals as the Leader walks around her as she is the center. The Follower needs to adjust her standing foot to maintain the relationship. If the Leader moves/rotates his top, he will rotate the Follower’s hips and kill the planeo. In this exercise, the Leader does not rotate his embrace. He maintains it as fixed so she can feel her planeo and unwind it when it is a natural consequence of the motion.
AGAIN: The Follower needs to adjust her foot from open to forward cross to make being in Planeo posture easier to be connected to the Leader. The Follower has time to make this adjustment.
AFTERNOON SESSION
Corrections:
Pivot is down to up
Spiral is top to bottom
Leader should walk toward the Follower’s spiral, not away from the spiral, so the Follower does more torsion. He can also do it on the other leg, but she will eventually spiral the other way and will have to eventually unwind. Leader: Do not go toward the Follower. Just walk around the Follower’s axis.
Next, we combined everything:
Leader walks around the Follower, then he stops her, then he becomes the center of the circle by leading the Follower to walk around him. Said in another way, this is doing basic turns, into the planeo, and changing who is the center of the circle and who is walking around in a circle.
In the Follower’s ocho, once the pivot is over, she should keep growing and oppose the motion, moving inside her axis.
Mistakes: When the Leader does a change of direction in the turn, and Follower does a side step instead of a pivot. This happens if she is flat and not maintaining her braline to the Leader. The Leader needs to be clear that he is pivoting her and not traveling her.
Pivots:
There are three pivots for the Follower
(1) When she faces sideways
(2) When the leg is out
(3) When the leg is forward
As the Leader walks around the Follower, she moves from top to bottom.
The Leader can play with the hips of the Follower to decide where her leg is in the planeo (back or forward), as he changes his embrace. So here we are combining the spiral and pivot at the same time.
Returning to the Leader’s top to bottom motion in the Follower’s back ocho. The Leader sends the Follower around him doing a top to bottom motion as the Follower steps around him in a turn. Follower should have nice, defined steps around the Leader. The Leader is not stepping with the Follower, he is staying put and sending the Follower to do back, open, forward steps in a half turn.
Going from pivot to torsion.
Follower needs to make a good pivot. To get the Follower to come around, the Leader needs to turn his torso in the space, deepening the torsion. His top brings his bottom.
In our drilling we practiced: Leader going to the left with his weight on the left; Going to the right with the weight on the right.
Follower needs to do really good back, open, and front steps around the Leader. As the Leader does a right foot forward to stop next to the Follower’s right foot as her left foot steps back in a counter clockwise turn.
Timing is everything. If the Leader steps too early, they will move in a line instead of a circle. If the Leader moves too late, it is a sacada. Be very clear when going to the other side. The Follower has to go first, and then the Leader goes.
END OF DAY 2
I had a whole hour before my day job began, so I stopped by the local smaller grocery store to pick up 6 containers of yogurt for ARS 900 (USD 2). Then I went back to my apartment to shower and make dinner (vacio, eggs, cucumber, red bell pepper) before opening my laptop to get to work. Earlier in the day during lunch I popped into the local variety store and picked up a few converter plugs. Even though I brought one with me, it was not enough for my multiple laptops and multiple phones. So I bought four different ones, paying a total of ARS 2000 (USD 4) for all 4 converters.
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Luciana Valle Intensivo C – Day 3
As usual, we began with warm-up dances to drill the concepts that we worked on the last two days.
After that, we began with a review of Pivots and Spirals.
In all of the below, there is always the structure underneath of the circle and the center, like a compass.
· Planeos
· Turns
· Sacadas
· Circlular Boleos
· Circular Ganchos
· Changes of Direction
In planeos, the Leader walks around the Follower
In turns, the Follower walks around the Leader
Today, we worked on Circular Contra Boleos.
The Boleo is a cut move that interrupts and changes the direction of the prior move.
In the planeo, the Follower has a top to bottom motion. Instead of walking around slowly, the Leader takes a powerful 90 degree step around the Follower to lead the contra boleo. The Follower is doing the same top to bottom spiral. The last thing that moves is her free leg. The Follower needs to have a very relaxed free leg and do a good spiral. The Leader leads the Follower in the ocho so her hips are farther in relation to her top. The Follower’s torso is toward the Leader, but her hips are away from him.
These boleos are “Contra” because the Leader moves opposite to the Follower’s hips. The Follower is the center, while the Leader is the circle.
Exercise: The Leader walks around the Follower, pivoting the Follower. The Leader steps in a circular 90 degrees step AROUND the Follower.
Leader: Do not be rough, do not use your biceps. To lead the boleo properly, the Leader has to have power in his step around the Follower. Step in a curve around the Follower. The toes are free of weight and the heels are on the floor. The Leader pivots as he leaves when he steps. The Leader’s job is to go in powerfully in a nice, circular 90 degree step around the Follower. This step doesn’t need to be big and he should not go down.
Follower: Be active with your embrace in the fingers and palms. The Follower’s pivot is an ongoing motion that never ends; do not move in a block. Have disassociation so you can feel the Leader come around. The Follower follows the Leader’s hips moving, not his torso. The more disassociation she has, the bigger the arc of the boleo. It’s a nicer motion if she has a nice pivot.
Follower common mistake: If the Follower walks back with her toes, she will cut the boleo with her knee. She should walk back with her heels so that she doesn’t cut the move with her knee. The Follower’s legs hang from her braline. Also, do not do the knee on purpose. If the Follower does two boleos alike, she is lying because the Leader never leads the boleo the same way.
When doing contra boleos in close embrace, it’s actually easier.
Follower: Think up. Have natural flex in the knee of the standing leg; do not go down. The movement is from the top to bottom (to tip of toes).
Leader: Do not mix up linear and circular boleos. Do not do a linear boleo from the pivot (where he would step linearly to the side instead of circularly around in 90 degrees). In a circular boleo, the leader steps around the Follower. In a linear boleo, the Leader steps linearly, to the side.
The Follower tends to start the boleo too soon. So she doesn’t know if it’s a circular or linear boleo. The Follower should wait and let the Leader complete his step to feel the elasticity in her body.
Boleos are the easiest thing to fake in the world because the Follower can feel/tell when he will step around. In class, the Follower should move according to what is led.
Follower: The motion is later than when you expect. It’s not when he starts to step; it’s when he arrives on his powerful step around the Follower.
Leader should feel the boleo more in the Follower’s torso, as she answers from her top and the leg comes around as a consequence.
The Follower needs to keep the braline toward the Leader, and pivots at the end so she does a circular boleo instead of a linear boleo mistakenly or out of habit.
Being an advanced dancer means being more sensitive, so be sensitive and follow the Leader’s true lead.
AFTERNOON SESSION
In the first part of the day we did back boleos.
New concept:
Follower continues the motion inside her body by grounding and growing, making the pivot juicy so she does not kill the move, and then keep reconnecting with the Leader. Every time the Follower has more torsion toward the Leader, her free leg goes the opposite way.
We did an exercise to explore this relationship between the spiral and the free leg by putting our weight on our right foot, then go toward the right. The legs hang from the braline. As the torso rotates, the leg goes out in the opposite direction. The top moves, the bottom comes around. The free leg comes around to wrap against the standing leg. We also tried this on the other leg and other side.
This is the movement of the front boleo. Instead of happening slowly and progressively, it will happen fast as the Leader steps powerfully around the Follower.
Next, we moved on to doing Front Contra Boleos. The Follower should do good traveling forward ochos. She should always reconnect with her partner. The Leader pivots the Follower maximally, so her top moves 90 degrees, but her hips move farther away, 180 degrees, then the Leader steps around (after he takes a step to do a weight change) to lead the Follower’s Front Contra Boleo.
Follower: Do not force it and do not be in a block. The boleo is a spiral, not a pivot, so it is a contra boleo. The contra is a return. The Leader makes the Follower go, and then come back the other way.
“With” boleos are on the “go”. We are not doing these.
Follower: Always grow, do not sink when starting the rotation.
When doing ochos, we are in a circular situation. When both dancers go in opposite circles, they are drawing a line. When they go in the same direction in a circle, they draw a circle.
Next, we were to combine boleos with planeos:
In the Follower planeo, let her hips pass, then lead a front boleo. The Follower is always the center of the circle here. The difference between the planeo and boleo is the dynamics of the Leader’s step around the Follower. The Leader walks 90 degrees around the Follower to lead the back boleo. The Follower has top to bottom motion.
Leader can walk Follower to the cross, pivot her, then lead a forward boleo. He can also do lead a boleo from a turn, so she does her back, open, front steps, to a big pivot, to a forward boleo.
If you are still struggling with boleos, stay with doing them one at a time. Do not do “boxing boleos”. In doing sequential boleos, maximum of 2 in a row, the Leader can step 90 degrees one way, and then 90 degrees the other way.
It’s a bad Follower habit to finish with a pivot.
Leader: Do not cheat and end it with a parada.
The Leader maintains the distance when he steps around the Follower and pivots her.
Follower: Do not anticpate. If the Leader askes for more pivot, the standing leg needs to pivot more. Do not raise the free leg in anticipation. Do not disconnect in the top from the Leader. Pivot more. The Leader should feel more spiral in the body, not just the leg reaction.
Follower Back Boleo:
To make the lead more challenging, the Leader walks around the Follower in 90 degrees with ether a front cross step or back cross step, not an open step (as we have been doing and which many have mastered). The Leader doing his 90 degree step with an open step is the easiest. The front cross step is a little harder. The back cross step requires a lot of Leader disassociation.
END OF DAY 3
This was a great class, as usual. I didn’t feel as physically tired as I did on Monday and Tuesday. Mentally, I’ve been feeling fine. Maybe it’s my limited feeding window and a slight skew more toward protein and overall ditching the sugar, and spanking down the white flour and garbage oils. Physically, I’ve also changed. Even one of the other students noticed! I’m not such a chunky monkey any more (he said there was noticeably less of me, LOL), and I feel my dancing is stronger and balanced. Go figure! Thank you, IF, Terra Fit and Miranda Esmonde-White!
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Luciana Valle Intensivo C – Day 4
We began with warm-up dances drilling what we learned Monday to Wednesday, with some reminders:
Leaders: The boleo setup is not a photo op. Do not pose. Just do your regular circular step around the Follower. You need to travel. Pay attention to the push of your standing leg, as that is key. Take the step powerfully. Do not put anything more/additional into the embrace (it’s stressful to the Follower’s body). Leader’s torso should be as relaxed as possible.
We can do combos, where the Leader can do all boleos either on the open step, the front cross step, or the back cross step, on both sides, and on her forward ocho or back ocho.
HEELS
Leaders and Followers: Pay attention to your heels. Use your heels! The toes should have no weight. Do not be too forward. Be on your heels. To be powerful, step with your weight in the heels! In stepping, the weight needs to fall in the middle of the foot. Do not lose the power of the heels.
The Follower Boleo is one of the ways the top to bottom motion is expressed in the body. The motion travels from the top to the bottom of the axis.
New Subject: Sacadas
Sacadas are probably the step/pattern where you can appreciate the structure of the dance in the best way. The laws of the pivot and spiral, center and circle. As a reminder from yesterday, when we walk in the same direction of the turn, it is circular. If we walk in the opposite direction of the turn, it is linear.
There are two directions of the turn/circular situations. The center of the circle is the reference point. So it’s the direction the circle is taking around the center, which makes it a left turn or right turn. Turns are from the point of view of the center, so the left turn is counterclockwise, and the right turn is clockwise.
In the ocho, the Follower is doing a left turn while Leader is doing a right turn. Since they are taking opposite directions, they are drawing lines.
Today, we will be dancing such that both dancers are going in the same direction in the circle.
The turn is the mother of all circular situations. The center and circle situations are: changes of direction; ganchos; sacadas; boleos.
(1) In the turn, the Leader is the center and the Follower is the circle.
(2) In the planeo, the Follower is the center and the Leader is the circle.
(3) When dancers go around each other, both the Leader and Follower are the circle.
(4) In shared-axis turns, both the Leader and Follower are the center.
We mostly do (1) with the Leader the center and the Follower the circle.
Leader leads Follower to the cross; pivots her to do a right foot front cross step to the close side of the embrace. Leader does sacada with his left foot to her trailing left foot.
In Sacadas, the Leader goes to the spot the Follower leaves by taking the space. He first sends the Follower with his top, then he adjusts his standing foot, and then takes with his free leg to the space the Follower is leaving. The Leader does an open step after his adjustment while the Follower does her front cross step.
In Sacadas, both dancers are walking in the same direction. The Leader is taking the Follower’s room/space (he is walking around her), so he shouldn’t send the Follower toward or too near himself; he should send the Follower slightly more out and away in her front cross step so that he has room and she is the correct position for him to do the sacada comfortably. The Follower’s footwork is still in a curve around the Leader. The Leader’s hips should face the Follower.
There are three parts to the Leader’s lead:
(1) Leader’s top opens
(2) Leader’s bottom comes around as a consequence so hips face Follower (thus, he has a slight foot adjustment/small pivot)
(3) Leader takes a sacada step, which is an open step to take the trailing foot of Follower.
Then he transfers weight so that he is in front of her.
The Leader moves his top first, then his bottom comes around as a consequence with his standing foot pivoting a little, and then he moves his free leg to do the sacada. The Leader’s pivot is at the end as a consequence of his bottom coming around to meet his top.
We tried this doing the left turn and right turn. The right turn is when the Leader is the center and the Follower is going to the right around the Leader. The left turn is when the Leader is the center and the Follower is going to the left around the Leader.
The Follower needs to step circularly around the Leader.
After the Leader steps in his sacada, the Follower should spiral to face the Leader. The pivot is at the end as a consequence of her hips coming around to meet her top.
Leader: Move the standing leg (pivoting) first, and then move the sacada leg. You have more time than you think. The Leader’s pivot is at the end as a consequence of his bottom coming around to meet his top. The Leader’s pivot to the right in his standing leg is from noon to 1pm. Leader should move his top, then his bottom, then move the leg down in projection when doing his sacada. He should keep his pelvis back, like sitting. So for him it is top, bottom, leg, travel.
The Follower’s trailing leg is completely free. After the Leader does the take, he travels to the spot the Follower has left.
The Leader’s weight transfer is at the same time of the Follower’s weight transfer.
At the moment of the Sacada, the Leader’s hips need to face the Follower, so his is a perfect open step. The Leader’s foot adjustment is a consequence to the spiral in his top.
We tried our initial step on the other side, with the Follower’s left foot front cross step to the open side of the embrace and the Leader’s right leg Sacada of her trailing right foot.
Then we went back to the initial side, continuing after facing each other, the Leader sends the Follower to do a side step of her left foot clockwise around the Leader; the Leader does a forward sacada with his right foot to the Follower’s trailing right foot.
The Leader walks to where the Follower was. Each step is separate.
The Follower is the power/engine in the step since she is going around the Leader.
The Follower should take circular steps around the Leader, even on her side step, so all steps are a nice curve around the Leader. The Follower should always do circular ochos, and in Sacadas more than ever have a lot of rotation in the body to keep the top with the Leader.
The Follower’s turn has a tendency to pull her in, so always think center center center, and if she needs to adjust back up to axis, do it at the point of the pivot. Don’t lean forward on the front cross step, since it’s circular around the Leader and her top starts with the Leader and the rest of her bottom comes around in the spiral (he could also do a planeo).
The Follower can check to maintain the axis in place at her pivots; the Leader should check every time he collects, to think up and center.
The Leader leads the Follower to pivot on her forward ocho, then to travel around the Leader. Leader does a left leg sacada of Follower’s trailing left foot on her right foot forward step. Then he takes her spot. After he moves her. Circle is a right turn (clockwise).
Leader’s work:
Top rotates
Bottom comes around (standing leg is focus)
Free leg extends
He transfers weight and travels to step into the space
Follower’s work:
Actively pivot
Make circular steps around the Leader
Think up, not down, when making your steps.
Your answer is top to bottom. Top is with Leader, bottom comes around as a consequence.
Leader and Follower: Leader decides which of the Follower’s pivot angle is convenient, so the Follower’s step should be curved to that place, but it doesn’t need to be near the Leader as he needs room to walk in. So the Leader is moving the center of the circle as he sends the Follower slightly out. Leader needs to be sure his hips face the Follower before he steps in. The Leader’s standing leg faces the Follower.
We were to try this on the other side (Leader right leg sacada on Follower’s trailing right leg).
In sacadas, we do not move together. She goes, then the Leader enters the space she vacated.
The Follower’s free leg collection is a consequence of the undo of the flex of the standing leg to come back to neutral.
We were to try to do a sacada into a planeo.
In tango, the only wrong step is the one that hurts your partner or is not comfortable for your partner.
Sacadas are the windows into the tango matrix.
The concept of the actor and receptor were introduced.
Actor: the person doing the Sacada.
Receptor: the person receiving the Sacada.
Our work involved playing with that idea, changing the relationship of who is the actor and who is the receptor, when doing two sacadas in a row, always starting with our initial sacada step where the Leader is the actor and Follower is receptor as he does a forward open step sacada of her the trailing left foot of her right foot front cross step around the Leader to the close side of the embrace.
After our first sacada, the Leader pivots away, then steps front cross around the Follower a little away, and leads the Follower to step into his trailing foot (Follower’s left foot sacada to the Leader’s trailing left foot as he steps right foot front cross around and a little away from the Follower). In the Follower sacada, she should get the vacuum sensation from the Leader’s lead of her forward step. He needs to step slightly farther away to create a little distance to have the vacuum sensation as he leads the Follower to do her forward step into the Leader in her sacada on her open step.
If doing two Sacadas in a row, the first sacada is on her front cross step with his open step, and the second sacada (the Follower sacada) is her open step to the trailing foot of his front cross step.
The Leader maintains the direction, but changes the relationship of the actors/receptors, starting with Leader being actor and Follower being receptor, and on the second sacada, the Follower being the actor and the Leader being the receptor.
AFTERNOON SESSION
Corrections:
The Followers have an active role. Connecting is her responsibility in her palms when the Leader walks forward into her, and in the fingers when the Leader walks away from her
The sacada has two parts to it:
(1) The take – Leader’s free leg extending out to one of the legs of the follower
(2) The transfer of weight.
We were to review the Leader Sacada to Follower Sacada on both sides.
The Follower adjusts foot that is a consequence of the circular step before she does her sacada.
Do not do it fast like a chain. Otherwise you will feel like you are falling. You have more time than you think in tango.
The Follower’s connection in palms and fingers are crucial in Sacadas, and is her responsibility. The Follower’s left hand/connection needs to slide as the Leader comes closer or farther. She should not be disconnected in her embrace. Do not fall in your forward step, and use the whole foot to step. The heel and metatarsal pushes in the same amount. Ground, grow and then go.
Leader: the Sacada foot goes exactly where the Follower left. He has soft contact with her. There are two Leader pivots: (1) right before the take, as his hips come around to follow his top; (2) at the Sacada after his foot lands, as he takes the Follower’s space.
The Sacada is to the free, trailing foot, not in between the two feet. Be clear in going for the free foot/leg.
In both these sacadas, the turn is to the right.
Next, we tried doing these Sacadas on the other side.
We could do:
· Same direction, no change in actor or receptor (2 Leader Sacadas in a row where Leader is actor/Follower receptor)
· Same direction, change in actor and receptor (1 Leader Sacada followed by 1 Follower Sacada, where Leader is actor/Follower receptor, then Follower is actor/Leader receptor)
· Different direction, no change in actor or receptor (2 Leader Sacadas in a row where Leader is actor/Follower receptor)
· Different direction, change in actor and receptor (1 Leader Sacada followed by 1 Follower Sacada, where Leader is actor/Follower receptor, then Follower is actor/Leader receptor)
Follower’s Technique:
When the Leader leads the turn and after the Leader Sacada, her answer is a spiral. Do not rush, otherwise you will kill the Leader’s timing. Quality of step should not change. The standing leg has to do the rotation. Do good pivots.
There are four options after our usual first sacada, which is at the Follower’s open step. The Leader was to try leading the four different options to each direction to understand that there are many Sacada possibilities. This was challenging for the Leaders to lead. The Followers were to do their good pivot, spiral, turns technique.
Finally, we were to do all the combinations of everything we learned so far: Leader Sacadas, Follower Sacadas, Planeos, Boleos, Changes of Direction.
So far we only did everything in parallel feet, and Leaders led the Sacadas using only open steps or front cross steps for acting or receiving. We haven’t done back cross steps or starting with cross system footwork, though those are both possibilities.
This was a very challenging class, especially for the Leaders.
END OF DAY 4
Dinner was the usual (no, I don’t get tired of eating the same thing every day).
I decided to try something new to expand my functionality: laundry! In the building’s communal laundry room! I brought my own laundry detergent and put a few teaspoons in the machine as I didn’t want it to oversud. I even managed to turn the machine on and get it to fill. But when I checked on it an hour later, it had somehow gotten stuck so I was faced with a tub full of cloudy water and clothes. Aarrgh! After I pushed a few buttons, I got it to agitate again, so I was relieved and just went back to my apartment and about my business. 40 minutes later I went back, expecting a spun dry load of laundry. But aaarrgh! Somehow it had stopped again in the middle of the cycle. After a few more tries pushing various buttons, I got it to drain and finally spin, which was a relief, even though I had to babysit it to make sure it spun. When it finished the cycle, the lid lock wouldn’t disengage. Aaargh!! I unplugged the machine and replugged it in, which seemed to reset it and enabled me to retrieve my clothes formerly held hostage. I was so relieved! I got my spun laundry, which smelled of bleach even though I didn’t use any (must have been residual in the machine), went back to my apartment and hung everything to dry since tomorrow is supposed to be dry and in the 70s. What a production! I am glad I got it done and thankful that I will only be doing one load of laundry on this trip. I don’t know if it was an issue with the machine or if I just didn’t know how to use it properly. I could have always just used the services of a local laundry, but in the past I found they use too hot water and too hot dryers for my technical sportswear (which should be washed in cold and gently dried).
Friday, June 2, 2023
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Luciana Valle Intensivo C – Day 5
We began as usual with warm-up dances to review what we learned in the last four days.
Maestra also did a demo of all the sacadas we worked on yesterday, where the Leader does an open step to the trailing foot of the Follower’s front cross step, going to the right and to the left, and doing it in parallel feet and then cross system feet. She also demonstrated the Leader’s front cross step sacadas to the Follower’s front cross step, and then to the other side. Then she combined the sacadas with planeos and boleos. There are many possible options for combining.
Reminder: When the Leader is the sacada receptor, he needs to step slightly out (away). The Leader should maintain the same tone in the embrace as he normally would.
Follower: the Follower’s sacada is a good opportunity to practice your forward walk technique. The quality of the embrace is important, using the fingers; feeling is the first reaction to the intention. Forward and circularity of the spiral, connect in the embrace (palms/fingers).
We were to do different options of the actor/receptor of the sacada, the direction of the circle, and parallel versus cross system feet, and adding boleos and planeos.
Next, we worked on Overturned Ochos
Whether the Leader gets a pivot or overpivot depends on how he torques either with rotation or over rotation. The Leader stops his own torsion in his spine, which controls the Follower’s hips. It is the Bon Bon Theory. The Leader moves tiny, but the Follower moves much more in her hips.
We reviewed the Leader rotating himself from the spine versus traveling his partner around him. The Leader’s spinal rotation leads the Follower to pivot (rotating around his spine, so he basically stays facing 12 o’clock, but as he torques his upper body around his spine, one arm gets shorter while the other one gets longer, as if he were sawing a tree in front of him with a piece of string—my words on what I saw, not Maestra’s in how she describes it), versus traveling his partner (leading her to step around him in a turn by turning the front of his body for example from 9am to 3pm).
Follower: Have no flex/do not bend your standing leg. Otherwise you will be heavier and slower in your pivot. The free leg is always free. Ground and grow. Keep braline to the Leader. When he pivots her, she answers with her hips/bottom.
We drilled Leader’s leading different types of Follower back crosses (back ochos): (1) with a small pivot so she moves a bit away from the Leader, (2) with a 180 degree pivot so Follower ochos linearly in front of Leader and there is no going forward away from him or back toward him, (3) with a 270 degree pivot so the Follower does an overturned back ocho back toward Leader. Notice how in each different ocho, the Leader’s torso rotation is different and so is his energy, deepening the torsion and adding greater energy to lead the Follower to do a bigger pivot. The Bon Bon Theory still applies: the bigger the bon bon, the bigger the energy in the Follower’s hips.
In the Follower’s overturned back ocho, the Leader needs more torsion and energy so the Follower pivots 270 degrees as she needs to cover the same distance in the same amount of time as the other options.
Follower: The connection is different in the overturned ocho because the Leader is changing direction, moving toward the Follwer, not away from her. Use your connection, changing from palms to fingers depending on which side he is leading the back ocho from and where you are in relation to him. The connection is the Follower’s responsibility. There is one connection for the step, and one connection for the pivot. Followers need to be aware of the connection. The embrace always changes, even in close embrace, to allow yourself to move in the ocho from the close side to the open side, so her left arm needs to slide. The right arm joint needs to be completely relaxed to be able to move inside the spine and she needs to come in on the close side of the embrace. She needs to go out when she goes to the open side.
In normal forward ochos, the Leader stands in the same place. In overturned Follower forward ochos, the Leader is going toward the Follower.
In doing overturned back ochos, the Leader steps back in the Follower’s overturned back ocho since it travels in the opposite direction. Follower uses fingers and then palms to do her pivot, so the Follower changes the support all the time. Overturned back ochos travel back. The Leader’s power for torsion comes from his standing leg.
We drilled overturned ochos, with the Leader accompanying the Follower, and the Follower working on doing good pivots, 270 degrees, and the Leader leading a strong pivot to change the direction. For the Follower to overturn, she needs to think UP, not DOWN. If the Follower goes down, she will kill her pivot.
The pivot and the step are the Follower’s work. The pivot is a powerful, pure, complete pivot, and then she steps. The Follower’s step is calm. Do not do the pivot and step together at the same time, otherwise you will fall.
Leader: Be mindful of the power of your turn and connection of the standing foot. Leader needs to have torque and power. He needs to wait until the Follower finishes her pivot before he takes the next step. He can use more power to make her pivot faster.
Follower: When she gets more power, she needs to answer with her hips, not the top, otherwise she will pull instead of push the Leader in error.
We drilled the Follower doing forward ochos toward the Leader, and overturned forward ochos away from the Leader.
A question was asked how Leaders can be powerful without being rough. He should put power in his torque by pushing with his standing leg and being decisive in his torsion inside of his embrace. He should not overstep the Follower.
Leader should send the Follower slightly far in her overturned back ocho. The Leader accompanies the Follower’s standing leg to go with her, to have coordination with the Follower’s step and his torsion with her hips.
In the Back Sacada, her footwork is made by her spiral, his torque. The Leader leads the Follower back sacada of her right foot to his right foot as he side steps with his left foot. Then we switched to back cross sacadas, where the Follower is the actor and the Leader the receptor.
Follower: No matter how much you pivot, she is off the place where she steps, so she makes an adjustment before she steps. It’s a top to bottom motion first, then she feels the invitation to step.
So for the Follower: it’s pivot, top, bottom, step.
Follower: Do not fall in the back step. Go with the body first, then step.
AFTERNOON SESSION
To continue our work from the morning, the Leader prepares the turn so that the Follower pivot sets up to be overturned. The Leader needs to prepare the Follower’s hips so that she is in an overturned position. The Leader cannot fall into his step when he is leading the Follower sacada.
Follower: Do not be forward in your pivot, otherwise you will be stuck on your toes. Think UP, adjust and GO. Follower should maintain the hips on top of the feet when she goes around in her turn around the Leader.
Leader: Needs to be not too far forward when he is inviting the Follower to step back in her back ocho. He also sends his center slightly back, so he creates a vacuum feeling. The Leader moves the Follower’s center away and far.
We were to try this on both sides. The Follower sacada to the open side. In Leading the Follower pivot, the Leader’s back moves his arms. The Leader needs to move his back correctly – if he does it right, then there is no need to “do extra”.
Change more steps. Window to the future.
When the Follower is the center and Leader is the circle, he can always set her up to do a back sacada, like when she is an planeo, by pivoting her and sending her around and into him.
We can combine overturned back sacadas with planeos whereby the Leader does a front cross to pivot her, to a Leader’s back sacada.
It was another very challenging day.
END OF DAY 5
After this exhausting day, I decided to do some shoe shopping. My first stop was NeoTango, where I ran into another Intensivo student. She had much more luck than I did, as I left empty-handed since the two shoes I was interested in took forever to get the information that they were sold out in my size, and a third shoe I was interested in was also out of stock.
I don’t know why I even bother with anywhere else than Tango Imagen, my next stop… Adrian was there, as usual, and I tried on 7 pairs, liked them, so bought them all, for USD 430 ($61.42 each pair, I think he gave me a slight discount). Like last time, I emailed the shop in advance to tell them I was coming and that I would be paying in USD. I also said I wouldn’t be buying as many pairs as I have in the past.
After shoe shopping, I had just enough time to go back to my apartment to shower before heading out again to that same Airbnb Tango Experience since I had such a good time on Sunday. The lesson was much the same. We went to El Beso afterward. I was dog tired though, had one dance with someone, found the floor very slippery for the shoes I brought. Maybe I was more tired than I thought and resultingly more unstable, because I felt like we bopped heads while dancing. So I didn’t think he was a great dancer, though seeing him dance with others, he looked pretty good. So maybe it was me! Funny how I never noticed how slick the floor was at El Beso, but maybe that’s because I only went for lessons in my dance sneakers and was never able to get a dance there in my tango shoes. LOL. Anyway, I was dog tired and hungry, and relieved when the empanadas came, so I snarffled them up. Then I sat for a while and got bored, so I left early, even before the performance. Thankfully, hailing a cab on Corrientes was easy and I got back to my apartment for some much-needed rest. Because I really, truly was exhausted.
Saturday, June 3, 2023
Buenos Aires, Argentina
I booked two Airbnb Experiences today, one for a 4-hour car tour, which was fine, mellow and easy going since I wanted to give my legs and feet a break, though sitting for hours in a car has its own set of physical challenges. The second was a cooking experience (empanadas and alfajores), which was really lovely.
After my experiences, I had a few hours to take a nap before heading out to La Verduleria, where Jorge Frias and Mariana Dragone were teaching, and where I invited my fellow class students to join me. Thankfully, a lot of us showed up! We had a great time learning from one of our class assistants, and also dancing with each other!
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Buenos Aires, Argentina
I booked another Airbnb Experience, Gaucho Day at a Farm in San Antonio de Areco. It was pricey at $165, and I had done a day at the Farm way back in 2007, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s been a long time since then, and this particular one was more sophisticated and organized. There was an option to ride a horse or be pulled in a carriage to tour the grounds. I chose the carriage option, since my first, last and only horse riding experience a few decades ago in California that stretched for hours on rocky terrain with a finnicky nag left me with sore ankles for weeks! So I didn’t want to risk that since I had another Intensivo week. The horses at this ranch seemed very tame and well trained, and the ground nicely soft and flat, and the ride only 20 minutes. After that, we had an absolute feast of an asado lunch, followed by various dance and horse demonstrations. It was a nice afternoon, though it does entail a 2.5-hour tour bus ride there (with a break at a gas station and gift shop) and a 2-hour ride back, just in time for me to start on my day job.
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