May 28 - June 3 en Buenos Aires

Jueves, 28 Mayo 2009
Day Four - Luciana Valle Intensivo: Back sacadas. We began with reviewing what we learned yesterday, along with Luciana´s terminology for open versus side steps. Next, we built on the regular sacadas, linking them (Leader and Follower, open step and cross step), Then we worked on back sacadas for both Leader and Follower. For Follower´s technique, she has to really pivot A LOT, keeping her legs together with no flying leg out. She needs to keep her bra line to the Leader as much as possible, and yet be responsive in how her arms are held since there is changeability in the embrace for back sacadas. Her right arm needs to be connected to her muscles in the right side of her back because that is the arm where she will feel the Leader leading the pivot; if there is no connection to her back in this arm, her arms and upper body will absorb the lead and she will not pivot around enough. After the pivot, there is a small adjustment to get even more pivot. She sends her leg out first, and then her body follows (leg and body do not go out at the same time in one blocky piece). It was an exhausting day, especially for the leaders. But not too exhausting for shoe shopping... :o)

NeoTango (Sarmiento 1938). There was a shoe I wanted the last time I was here, but this time around they didn´t have my size in that particular model either. As usual, their shoes are quite lovely, though I have a better eye now to realize that some of their more delicate shoes may not offer enough coverage at the widest part of the foot to be solidly in the shoe, particularly during pivots.

Tango Leike (Sarmiento 1947) was still open, and was just across the street, so we made our way over. Though the shoes are all very pretty, there was nothing that screamed to me to take it home.

Next, we made our way over to the obelisk area, to Alanis (Diagonal Norte 936). The have expanded their line and now offer men shoes and sneaker models. They didn´t have as many width C (wide) shoes as they had last time. I tried a few pairs on, but didn´t buy any.

Darcos (Suipacha 259). They have more shoes with the quick release buckles. It seems like they are phasing out the regular buckles and switching to all quick release, which is a good thing (kind of makes you wonder why this wasn´t done years ago and by all manufacturers).

SAM (Suipacha 251). It was late, minutes away from closing, so we didn´t venture in but just admired from the window. I think this place is owned by the same people as Darcos, as they have a lot of similar models, even though their shoes are clearly marked SAM. So they also had a lot of shoes with the quick release buckles.

Since the shoe stores were all closed, it was time for dinner...

Lo De Las Chicas (1879 Guise). We love this place. The food, nearly home made and totally made with love, is super yummy, and it´s the same gal who always serves us. We walked out with a whopping 78 peso (US$21) bill, which is kind of hard to do from a take-out place, but we bought a shocking amount of food (mondongo, albondigas, pure de calabazas, cannelloni, milanesa, bocadillo de brocoli, tarta de champinones y polla, and a slice of porteno shepard´s pie).

Pampa Linda (Mansilla 3500 xGuise) is a fiambres, quesos, y vinos place that has a lovely rustic charm to it. Fortunately, they had the same brand of wine that they had last time which I found quite yummy (Finca Gabriel). Unfortunately, they did not have the malbec, so I had to be content with the Tempranillio Roble and Cabernet Sauvignon instead. The Tempranillio (2006) was just OK. I haven´t tried the Cabernet yet. Both bottles were 17.80 pesos (US$5) each.

Viernes, 29 Mayo 2009
Day Five - Luciana Valle Intensivo: Shared axis turns. We began the day reviewing yesterday´s sacada material. Next, we worked on shared axis turns, where Leader steps onto the spot of the Follower´s arriving weighted standing foot, instead of her trailing foot for sacadas. His circular momentum carries her around and they seemingly share the same spot, pivoting around, for her to step forward inside or outside to resolution (or if he controls her energy, to step back in resolution). For the Leader, the footwork is similar to the sacada, only instead of the trailing leg, he is stepping toward her forward, weighted, standing leg (NOT the leg she is leaving). We did these shared axis turns on the Leader´s open step, cross step, to the left and to the right, and on the Follower´s open step or cross step.

After class, we decided to go to Comme Il Faut (Arenales 1239). The shoes are, as usual, quite beautiful, with most of them 420 pesos (US$112), two special edition models at 520 pesos (US$139) each, and some sale models, quite plain in design and mostly in size 34 and 35 for 290 pesos (US$78). The showroom is as chic as it always is in a Sex And The City way, and the shop gals are dressed in all black a la Sephora. They had more shoes with the 7 cm (2.75 inch) stiletto heel, along with their usual 8 cm (3.1 inch) and 9 cm (3.5 inch) heel offerings.

Afterwards, my shopping buddies still wanted more, so we made our way back to the 200 block of Suipacha to hit Darcos et al.

El Palacio De Las Papas Fritas (Lavalle 735). Yes, you read it right. Dinner was at the palace of the french fries. Actually, the restaurant is famous for their papas souffle -- which are sliced puffed potatoes. I had often wondered how they could get the potatoes to puff, and I figured out that they must coat them in egg white before frying (hence the name souffle -- duh!!!), and likely use an extremely hot oil temperature (hotter than normal). I speculate that the science behind the papas puff is similar to that of popovers. Funny how much enlightenment can be found at the bottom of a glass of malbec.

Sabado, 30 Mayo 2009
Day Six - Luciana Valle Intensivo: Review. It was just a half day, and we spent it reviewing all that we did during the week: ochos, molinetes, boleos, planeos, sacadas, and shared axis turns. We really tried to focus on the concept of propelling from the standing leg and being very committed in our steps in our molinetes, not rushing, not anticipating, quality of movement, and working the pivots with the down to up energy starting with our feet and the spiral with the top to down energy starting with our torso. It was a great day, and it seemed we all improved from when we started.

The afternoon was spent doing errands -- taking the towel and sheet laundry to the lavadero down the street (8 pesos per load for wash and dry, next day pickup), and on the way to pick up shoes and groceries, we passed by a gal with a cooler and a sign at a storefront (actually, peeking inside, it looked like someone´s house) that said "tamales peruano" and "chicacharones de calamar" located at 438 Jean Juares. Since these are my two favorite foods, I had to pick some up. The chicharrones de calamar (15 pesos) (roughly translated to deep fried calamari) was actually pulpo (octopus). That was OK though, since octopus has a naturally more salty flavor. It came out freshly cooked, piping hot, and was divine even several hours later when I finally got to eating it. The tamales were also delicious, having ample flavoring throughout the masa. This particular tamale was chicken flavor, with chicken, egg, and olive. She also had cebiche (ceviche) on the menu, but since it was cold and rainy, she told us that it would be better to eat on a hot day. Also, I had a been warned by a previous travel companion to stay away from the tuna here, which I generally expand to fish (but not calamari or octopus...which are my weakness).

I picked up my shopping buddy´s shoes from Lolo Gerard, and they did a beautiful job on the arch supports. The materials they used totally matched the rest of the shoe. If they had this model in my size, I would have bought it. But alas, it was just not in the cards for me to buy any shoes here this trip. They were out of my size in all the models I wanted, and I just couldn´t buy the next size up.

The day was rounded out with more grocery shopping at the Hiper COTO.

I wanted to go to Sunderland, but it was cold and rainy and I was just too tired.

Domingo, 31 Mayo 2009
I wasn´t feeling well, so spent the day inside. Pablo made another visit to 438 Jean Juares because the cebiche piqued his curiosity and since he wasn´t able to partake in any of the chicharrones de calamar since I ate it all. The cebiche was a bit on the rubbery side, likely due to the high acidity (which I suppose is a good thing given the biology of local fishing waters).

Lunes, 1 Junio 2009
Day 1 - Luciana Valle Intensivo B (off axis). We began with warm up dances for the first half hour. Then we went on to the subject of the day, "Dynamics of the Free Leg". The goal was to free the free leg of the Follower, and the key is in the standing leg, pushing on it, then releasing it. We began with an exercise where Leader played with and controlled the free leg of the Follower by moving his axis (body\core, not arms), forward and back without moving his legs. The Follower moved her leg (NOT her axis or body) back and forward in response to the Leader´s axis moving forward and back. The axis is always on the front part of the feet, and we were playing with the motion before the motion, with Follower anchoring and releasing. We did this same exercise to the side, and then forward. Next, we played with intention, moving the foot, and then actually stepping. Followers were to let their legs get heavier and move down into the ground, and also react with the leg from the hip (not just below the knee). Next, we played with changing the dynamics of the Leader´s forward step, where he adds more energy, doing a normal step in size, but with lots of energy, stopping suddenly, to lead Follower´s leg to go straight back and really freeing her leg. Both Leader and Follower have to really anchor. Follower does not control and Leader does not lead the return. We were just to focus on the Leader sending the Follower´s leg out straight back. Next, we did the same forward intention in the Leader´s walk, only doing it into the Follower front cross of left foot over right foot. She was not to shape the return, but to have it have a natural, organic movement. Next, we did three different types of straight to the side free leg movements: (1) straight linear forward to the side (dancers are at 90 degrees though Follower maintains bra line to Leader), (2) Straight linear forward to the side in front of the Leader, then curving as she pivots, as if for an extremely rounded exaggerated ocho, and (3) straight linear forward to the side, with much more energy, and change the direction of her hips while her leg is at the highest point in the air (similar to doing an air rulo, only not shaped). This was to help us play with regular ochos and dynamic ochos. We did these as with boleos and contra boleos, with normal feet and crossed feet for the Leader.

Martes, 2 Junio 2009
Day 2 - Luciana Valle Intensivo B (off axis). Topic: Colgadas. We began with an hour review of what we learned yesterday in terms of freeing up the free leg and doing linear boleos to the front and back facing the Leader and to the side where dancers are at 90 degrees (though Follower maintains her bra line to Leader). Off-axis moves always refer to the Follower´s axis, not the Leader (who is always on axis, or perhaps slightly backwardly intended, but still on axis). It is important in off-axis moves that the Follower maintain her connection of her left hand on the Leader´s right arm, with thumb pushing forward against him, or pulling toward her with the rest of her fingers, to respond adequately and correctly when Leader extends or compresses the embrace, expanding or contracting the space between the dancers. We began with an exercise where the Follower moves her center back (thus it is now off axis) so that it is off her feet. When Leader sends her out to do this, it is important that she take it with the lower half of her body (hips\legs) and that she not absorb it in the chest or torso and lean back with her head back. She should not be on her heels, but on the balls of her feet, and her legs should be straight (not bent at the knee). Shoulders should be on top of the hips (not butt). Follower should try to think about being out and UP, and the Leader must really anchor his toes, otherwise she will pull him forward. Next, we rotated this from side to side, one foot to the other. We got into a very simple colgada, which was basically an exaggerated, more dynamic parada to a Follower front cross step, while dancers face each other. We were to use our knees and really propel to exit the colgada. We tried this on either side. Follower´s technique\posture are key: Stay in front of each other. The movement is not huge, but dynamic. Distance the hips from the Leader, not the shoulders\torso\head. Colgadas are a motion of the centers, not of the arms. The Follower´s hips are back a little further than her shoulders, but not much. Legs\knees are straight, not bent. Keep torso posture the same throughout, even on the rotation, and do not lean back in the upper body\head. Next, we did another colgada facing each other, one that is very planeo-like in that the Follower´s axis and left leg or right leg are sent straight back out, and then Leader walks around her while her axis is still out. Next, still facing each other, we did a colgada that was reverse pasada like in that the Follower does a back ocho with her right leg, then Leader stops her right leg with his right leg, and Follower does a reverse pasada of her left leg either out as if for a planeo, then gets a rotation clockwise, or her hips out and then back in with rotation clockwise to resolution. Whether her leg goes out or her hips go out and then comes back in are a function of how the Leader leads it (with more downward intention for the leg going out). The Follower must not rush the legs to let Leader decide which one he wants to do, the leg extension\planeo colgada or just the regular hips out, then back in to axis. Next, we did side colgadas, starting with an exercise facing each other, and the Leader anchoring and being like a wall while Follower sent her left leg and left hip out to the side away from him, and then we did this to the right side as well. We turned this into the side colgada, which we did from the Follower left leg barrida of Leader´s right leg, to colgada on her left leg to pasada with her right leg out to clockwise resolution.

Mataderos Style Tango and Milonga Lesson at EAT Centro with Veronica Alegre y Jose Luis Ferrar. I tried to go to Luna Palacios´s milonga lesson, but it was substituted for this lesson instead. This style of tango is very unique to the region of BsAs it came from. We began with walking, trying to get the intense intention right, with a collecting at the knees and ankles when the legs met, and being very grounded and into the floor, like a cat stalking. Next, we did an exercise where the Follower walks back normally and the Leader weaves in and out from one side to the other. The Leader´s and Follower´s torsos always face each other, so when he weaves in and out there needs to be torsion in his chest. The sequence taught was a relatively simple one: 8CB to five (cross), two Follower forward ochos, to tango close. The next sequence taught was also quite simple where the Leader walks forward around the Follower clockwise while she does a series of back crosses with each leg (starting with left), the steps equal in size. For milonga, we began with walking the milonga rhythm, adding the QQS. The sequence was a linear one based on the molinete of back, side, forward, side, and they added the rhythmic variation of QQ to the B-S, and really stopping and pausing on the F step. (This particular step began with the (8CB to 2, then B-S-F-S-etc.) Next, we did traspie to the Follower´s right side and Leader´s left side. Pablo asked for an adorno para hombres, and maestro showed him the edge of heel forward step, while he led the Follower to do a series of not ochos, but more like cheating ochitos (linear pivot) steps. Though the lesson was good, I was sorely disappointed that it was not Luna Palacios´s class. However, I picked up a new June schedule, and was thrilled to see that she has a couple of Friday night classes on the schedule, which I am determined to go to. Hopefully this week at the Intensivo won´t be as taxing as last week since we won´t have as much propulsion along the dance floor since we are doing off axis moves (colgadas, volcadas, ganchos).

Miercoles, 3 Junio 2009
Day 3 - Luciana Valle Intensivo B (off axis). Topic: Volcadas. We began the day with the first hour reviewing all of the Colgadas we learned yesterday, really trying to take the motion of the Leader´s top with the Follower´s bottom (hips, not shoulders). The new topic of the day was Volcadas, the opposite of colgadas in terms of off axis. We began with an exercise of the Leader just counterbalancing the Follower, moving opposite the Follower, not carrying her, but creating a vacuum and emptying the space in front of her, obligating her to step. The Leader takes an open step to his left side (Follower´s right side), then he steps around her 90 degrees (to 3 o´clock) in an open step. The Follower follows from the top of her body to the bottom, in a spiral. We also did this with the Leader stepping to the other side (9 o´clock). The Leader moving around follower in 90 degrees creates the pendulum motion. The Follower really tries to get torsion from the top down spiral. The Leader needs to have power in his step, pushing off, so that Follower feels the curve on the body and does not spiral and not move in a block. Next exercise: The Leader takes the 90 degree step, but does so a little farther away, so that Follower feels the invitation to step (and she steps). Next exercise: Adding to the prior exercise, the Leader moves toward Follower when the Follower wants to step. This is to help us understand the concept of counter motion and is done in the context of the open embrace. We did not add any off axis during this exercise. For Follower´s technique, she needs to have good spiral in her upper body with her hips coming around as a consequence and her feeling the need to take a step, and then the Leader waling toward you. We did this on the left side and right side. This exercise was to help the Leader understand the feeling of inviting her, then playing with the counter motion. From here, we added the close embrace, and did it for real, taking Follower off axis. Maestra noted that every Follower open step (from boleo, sacada, molinete, colgada, etc.) is an opportunity to do a volcada. The Leader just needs to step around her in 90 degrees. Maestra noted that Follower´s feet should always be in an upside down V shape at the end of the volcada (not parallel or pigeon toed). We spent most of the last half our of class dancing with each other, with the Leaders exploring the idea of the volcada coming from any Follower open step, and the Follower just trying to be ready and alert and able to do the volcada without anticipating it.

Chair and Foot Massage from Maossage (http://www.maossage.com/index.html) at the Coto Abasto (Aguero 616). 50-minute chair and foot massage for 65 pesos (US$18). The chair massage was extremely firm (to the point of pain at times...or maybe it was because my back, neck, and shoulders were so filled with kinks). It was difficult to get relaxed among the bustle and noise of the hipermercado, though there was ´70´s top 40 vocal elevator music playing in the background to augment the whoosh of the shopping carts, squeal of children, and conversations of adults passing by. The foot massage was also extremely firm and began and ended with a foot bath. It was amazing how the masseur knew the exact points to work in the feet (often to the point of pain...or maybe that is because I am not in tip top health). Afterwards though, my feet felt really good. They say that you need to do it regularly to get the maximum health benefits of Asian Foot Massage. I think going forward a body massage first thing off the plane and additional foot massages throughout the trip would be great (of course that is assuming I don´t wake up tomorrow with bruises on my body).

May 21 - 27 in BsAs (Intensivo Notes)

Sabado, 23 Mayo 2009
Dante´s Car Service, Buenos Aires. It was good. Dante met us right where he said he would, and he took us straight away to our apartment. Very friendly guy. It was $30 per car (3 person maximum), which was steeper for 2 people than the usual remise service you can get from the airport (apparently $11 per person according to Pablo).

The apartment at Jean Juares 467 is nice. It is new, and there is super friendly, ample attentive security. It´s also extremely convenient -- just a couple of blocks away from my favorite supermarket (the Hiper COTO in Abasto with Banelco atm machine and foot\chair massage place in the lobby), and just a couple of blocks away from the Carlos Gardel subte stop. I think I am going to really enjoy living here for two weeks.

Banking. Surprisingly, I was able to withdraw way more than the 300 pesos per day of the past. In two transactions on the same card insertion, I withdrew 400 and 600 pesos = 1000 pesos.

Martha Anton & "El Gallego" Manolo´s Canyengue lesson at Escuela Argentina de Tango (centro), en Galerias Pacifico (25 pesos per class, 4 class card = 92 pesos, 8 class card = 180 pesos, 12 class card = 264 pesos). The class, as usual, was great. There were many more dancers than I had experienced previously, and most of them seemed to have some canyengue knowledge. So it was more like a guided practica since we were all of various skill levels. Maestros remembered us from the last time we were here, and promoted their new Monday milonga at Viejo Correo, which we planned on going to anyway (skipping Luciana´s El Motivo lesson and practica). I really like them as teachers, and consider it an honor to learn with them. There was a lot I had forgotten since my last lessons with them -- like the embrace coming from the belly. I did remember how to correctly place my arm though, and I remembered a lot of the footwork. At the end, maestros did a tango demo (not canyengue) with some pretty slick moves.

Visit to Taconeando shoe store. (Arenales 1606) www.taconeandoshoes.com.ar. This is a new shoe store, just opened 5 months. The owner herself was there to serve us. What piqued my curiosity about this store, causing me to go over there on the very first day I arrived in BsAs, was their ads in the local tango magazines. It is clear that the slim stiletto heel is what Taconeando is all about. And indeed, all of their shoes have slim stiletto heels. One great thing that is unique about Taconeando is that they offer many shoes with 7 cm stiletto heels (8 and 9 cm are much more common, it´s probably easier to find 10 cm stilettos than to find 7 cm heels). I didn´t end up buying any of their shoes because they were out of my size in many of the 7 cm heel, and I believe their fit is more suitable for someone with slimmer feet than mine (many of the size 36 shoes were too narrow for my foot, and when I tried the same shoe in size 37, the width was OK, but the length was too long), and who is a more delicate dancer (I dance hard and aggressively). Still, the owner said she would be getting another shipment of 7 cm heel shoes in the next week or two, so I will likely return before my flight back. Shoes range from 250-320 pesos (about US$67-85 when exchange rate is US$1 = 3.75 pesos).

Lesson with Olga Besio (Peron 2450, 7 pesos, includes practica afterwards). The space is in an open terra cotta tile courtyard, that you go through by walking up some stairs in a building owned by the Catholic Church, and through a salsa restaurant. It was warm, about 75 degrees, and quite humid. What an experience! The dancers were of quite good skill level, but unfortunately followers outnumbered leaders by 3:1. There were also some students from her children´s class. Since we all danced with each other, we got a very wide range of heights and skill levels to dance with. First, we began with walking/connection exercises, and everyone took turns at leading and following, even if it meant you had some very short leaders (like me and the children) partnered with very tall followers that they couldn´t see around (like Pablo and the other men). Next, we did a freedom of body exercise where we were split up into groups of four. One person was in the middle, and his goal was to have one side very strong like a column, and be free and heavy in his other nonweighted limbs (nonstanding foot, both arms). The three other people would move his nonweighted limbs slowly and deliberately to the music, and the person in the middle was to remain balanced while his limbs were being manipulated. Next, we did a technique exercise where we worked on our pivots, by ourselves, making them as smooth and as elegant as possible, and doing them simply or with embellishments or however fancily we knew how. Next, there was a very strange exercise where the Leader went into groups with 3 followers, and would dance with them one by one, returning them to a different part of the dance floor mid-song. I didn´t really get why we were doing this (the instructions were given to the men in a cloistered group away from the Followers), but Pablo later said that it was an exercise to see how the Followers interacted with each other and how they responded to being taken out of a group setting, and then placed in a new-to-them setting with another new group of followers. The Leaders didn´t do their part very well, so I don´t believe the exercise/experiment was a success or what the point of what we were trying to do was. Next, we did a free dance individually to a di Sarli song, doing any move and dancing in any way we want. Next, the Leaders and Followers were separated to opposite sides of the dance floor, and then the Leaders danced to the same side the Followers were on, then took each Follower and danced her to the other side. After that, he went back and did the same to the next batch of followers until all dancers were on the other side of the dance floor. We did this in a series of dances of different types of tango music (tango, milonga, rhythmic, romantic, nuevo, etc.), so the Leaders led all the Followers to all different types of music. It was a good lesson, and I felt this was a more "authentic" BsAs experience of how a porteno/portena would learn how to dance, like Silvana Anfossi (likely maestra´s former student), who came by later on and did a performance during the practica. We didn´t stay for the practica because we wanted to rest before going to Sunderland. But unfortunately, our spirits were willing, but our flesh was weak (particularly in our feet and ankles), so we were too tired to make it to Sunderland after such a full day.

Domingo, 24 Mayo 2009
Tango (Intermedio-Avanzado) with Rosalia y Alejandro Barrientos at EAT Centro. This was a good class. Los Barrientos are gifted teachers, and because the class was small, we got lots of individual attention. They are of the school of thought that the Follower should be as up as possible (like a fountain). They also believe her shoulders should remain down and perfectly straight across, even if the leader is much taller, because if her left shoulder is up, more of her weight will be on her right leg and she will never be in balance. They also believe that the Follower should really stretch back her leg as far as she can from her rib cage when stepping back. The sequence was the cadena, resolved by a Leader right leg gancho of Follower´s right leg as she steps back with her left leg, into a parada fake-out where instead of stepping over, he stops her and leads her to do the first step right leg back in a clockwise molinete instead, then her left leg sweeps his parada foot on her side step to the left. It was a good class, enjoyably not too crowded since it was a Sunday night IA class. It is amazing how much EAT has expended its offerings, with two fully scheduled rooms and many regular weekend classes in addition to their special seminars. It looks like they got rid of the Rodriguez Pena facility, and have a new one instead close by at Talcahuano (y Av Santa Fe y MT de Alvear). It also seems like more of their classes are PIA (Principiante-Intermedio-Avanzado), and they´ve also added a lot more technique classes (especially women´s) classes.

Lunes, 25 Mayo 2009
Luciana Valle Intensivo: Day One: pivots, propelling, keeping our bra line to Leader and core engagement. In the morning session, we began with walking, paying attention to keep our axis forward. Then we worked on ochos, paying attention to keep our axis fully vertical, and pivoting with our feet first (instead of hips), and Followers keeping their bra line to the Leaders. Next, we worked on molinetes, with the Followers keeping their axis slightly back (but not from the shoulders), and the Leaders keeping their axis fully vertical (if they are forward, they will push the Follower away, if they are back, they will pull the Follower in). Followers were also supposed to propel themselves in their steps, and check their axis at each step. The molinete is a curve, so all the steps need to curve. We worked on molinetes clockwise and counterclockwise, with the code being Q-Q time on the back and side step of fwd-side-BACK-SIDE-fwd. The Follower is supposed to propel herself into the open space opened up by the Leader, and to really manage the weight change by really arriving to the forward foot. To be successful in the back cross, there has to be enough pivot. In the afternoon session, we continued our work with the turns, working with the concept of the Leader being the center of the circle and moving the center through the space (dance floor). Leader sacada was added to the Follower molinete. Next, we were to change the center of the circle through space. Follower should use the pivot in the molinete, to commit to the step and not fall into it. For Followers, they needed to slow down, and step with power in between the steps (this does not mean to step fast). Lastly, we concluded with planeos from the molinete, both left side and right side, forward and back.

So what did I think of the first day? It was amazing how fun it could be doing ochos, molientes, and planeos with the student assistants. They are all amazing dancers, and with different sizes, heights, and styles. Some had more feedback than others. All were a pleasure to dance with. Interestingly, there was a very strong showing by the San Francisco Bay Area tango community (6 of us out of 20).

Martha Anton & "El Gallego" Manolo´s milonga at Viejo Correo, preceded by a Canyengue lesson by Laura Collavini, and a tango salon lesson by maestros (20 pesos for both lessons and milonga). The canyengue lesson was very basic, and I was surprised Laura taught it (not Martha y Manolo). I had taken a lesson from her before last September at EAT Centro, when she subbed for Martha y Manolo. She is a very nice, enthusiastic teacher, and it was interesting to see how their teaching styles were quite different, but maestros did not interfere with Laura´s teaching, but were quite supportive of it. For the Tango Salon lesson, maestros taught a very interesting play on the sandwich, where the Follower does two back ochos, then when she is back on her right foot, the Leader sandwiches her left foot with his right and then left foot, and then pulls her back in to do a pasada, then sandwiches her right foot, and then can do a number of sequential sandwiches by sliding his foot along the floor, and making her stop so she doesn´t step around or over his feet. It was an excellent, very fun lesson. Viejo Correo means "old post office" but there is nothing about the interior that suggested that it once was it´s namesake. Now there´s a disco ball in the center, and it looks like a typical milonga space with black and white baldosa (stone composite tiles), and tables lined along the walls. For the milonga, seating is traditional style with women on one side of the room, men on the other side across from them, and couples on the side in between. This was only the second week for this new milonga. What was nice about it was that there were canyengue tandas, and many dancers who danced it reasonably well. There is a full bar and limited menu (empanadas).

We were starving, so we gave Ugi pizza next door a try (12 pesos for a cheese pizza), which actually was pretty good. The chef-server was extremely nice, and was thrilled at the 2 peso tip we left. They do not have water there, only cola or lemon lime soda, but they will let you fill your water bottle from the tap, which we appreciated, hence the tip.)

Martes, 26 Mayo 2009
Luciana Valle Intensivo - Day Two: Boleos. We began with a review of yesterday´s material, focusing on the concept of the spiral, and moving from top down (from chest to feet), and from down to up (pivoting in our feet, and our bodies up above spiraling as a consequence). A boleo is a cut, an interruption to change the direction of the previous move, such as to back from forward. We began with boleos fro the back cross, interrupting the motion of the hips by going in the same direction "with" boleos. If the Follower absorbs the lead in her arm or opens out in the chest, she will not feel the lead for the boleo. That is why it is important for her top\bra line to stay with the Leader (this is the same as for the ocho), and to pivot A LOT to really work the down to up spiral of the body. The free leg being truly free is a consequence of the standing leg being very strong and supportive. The bra line is where the body separates top to bottom, not in the arms -- that´s cheating (using the arms to keep the chest toward the Leader). The key to boleos is the pivot of the standing leg -- Follower needs to keep the bra line with the Leader, and keep her standing leg strong with LOTS of PIVOT at the foot. For the with boleos, we did the front and back, left and right. We also did contra boleos, front and back, left and right. Regarding Maestra´s thoughts on boleo Follower technique, she believes the free leg need to be really free, so it is OK that the legs open up a little bit (as opposed to the school of thought where the thighs need to be together and/or one knee has to be behind the other). She also believes a true boleo (not a lying cheating one) will have a more circular shape as a consequence of the energy going down into the floor first and then the foot coming back up as a consequence of the spiral coming from her foot up the body and the freeness of the leg coming entirely from the hip down (as opposed to a linear up V shaped type of boleo where only the part of the leg below the knee comes up). It was a good class, though exhausting. I now know the wisdom of Maestra´s suggestion that we really take it easy after class and not go to the milongas. But then again, that didn´t stop me...

Luna Palacios Milonga lesson at EAT Centro. I had been looking forward to this class immensely, and was sorely disappointed that I will have to miss her technique classes because of the Intensivo. I have been captivated by her dance style, musical virtuosity and crisp, creative technique. So despite my feet and body being very tired from the Intensivo that afternoon, I made my way over to EAT Centro for this lesson. Maestra ended up being 15 minutes late, and I was getting antsy. All was well though because it turned out to be a very small class -- just three students. This surprised me, as I personally think someone as skilled as a dancer as she is, and with as much International teaching experience, should have a lot of good information to convey, and I was right. Since it was such a small class, part of it was more like a guided practica where Pablo and I worked on some of our milonga issues, which Maestra said was our embrace (it has to be very solid and connected in the chest). Then we did a series of exercises to explore the concept of play in milonga (or embellishments for Leader and Follower). Maestra had us do a series of exercises: while walking back, the beat back of the left foot to the right side of the right foot, back to collection on the left side of the right foot, and then stepping back. While walking forward, the right foot tap back cross, back open, and step forward cross. Then we tried to dance together fitting in these embellishments where time and space in the milonga music allowed. We were to be free to play... It was a disaster... But the point was to feel free to experiment and not be afraid of the mistakes. Next, we worked on a series of exercises to improve our pivots, making us more quick, balanced, and precise. First, it was just walking backward and forward, really collecting at the knees. Then we did a series of grape vines, really focusing on the pivot in our feet. The pivot and the connection in the chest are the most important aspects in milonga to make us more connected to each other, and more agile and responsive in our footwork. Since women are in high heels, they are naturally on the balls of their feet in milonga. However, for men, who are taught many different ways of stepping (with their heel, on their toes, or with a flat, whole foot), Maestra emphasized that for milonga, the Leader should be slightly forwardly intended on the balls of their feet so that he can step with more precision and pivot better. Maestra noted that Followers have an 6th sense -- they can smell doubt. Therefore a Leader must not have any doubt when he steps or he will lose the Follower. He must step with definiteness of purpose and intention, hence the need for Leaders to step with precision. Maestra noted that the chests for both Leaders and Followers needed to be up and connected to each other so the line isn´t compromised by hunching over or sagging. The goal for embellishing in milonga is to work within the time and space provided by the music, and milonga music provides a lot of time and space to play (even though it seems very fast). We worked the entire class with the same song which had a lot of variation in the stretching of the notes. For the Follower, to embellish, to be able to play with the free leg in milonga, requires that she be very precise and controlled in her free leg. Maestra showed us an exercise to help us get stronger feet: rising up 4 different lengths on your toes to as high as possible (you can press against a wall to do this). It was an excellent class, and I wish I were able to take more of her classes in the future (she has Wednesday and Thursday technique classes at EAT), but the Intensivo schedule won´t allow it. :o(

Miercoles, 27 Mayo 2009
Since we were going to do review, go over Luciana´s terminology (open step versus cross step), and sacadas, Pablo allowed me to cut class and go to Luna Palacios´s technique class at EAT instead. So I made my way over to the new Talcahuano facility, and burst through the door into the classroom. Unfortunately, it was a technique class taught by Cecilia Gonzalez (la otra, no la famosa) -- not that she is a bad teacher (in fact, Cecilia Gonzalez is also an excellent teacher), but I wanted to go to Luna´s class and it entailed a bit of sacrifice for me to attend it (forgoing one Intensivo day). Since Luna wasn´t teaching, I went back outside and told the receptionist that I did not want to take that class, and he gave me my card back. Then I took a cab to Villa Malcolm to attend the half-Day Three of the Intensivo, making it just in time for the review portion. After that, we worked on Leader sacadas first (on Follower´s open steps and cross steps, and with Leader´s open steps and cross steps), then we worked on the Leader leading Follower sacadas into him. It was a good half-day.

Since we were pressed for time to fit in shoe shopping in the afternoon, we had lunch right there at Villa Malcolm, which was decent, quick, and reasonably priced.

A trip to Buenos Aires would not be complete (or really begin?) without a trip to P.H. (Grito de Ascencio 3602 x Cachi, en Pompeya). Their women´s shoe selection has gotten more fashion forward (way to go Lilliana on the design front!), and they have added the option of quick release buckles. In addition, they can add additional arch support or cushioning elsewhere if you ask for it, as my shopping buddy did, and since they do it on site, it can be done while you wait.

Next, we cabbed it over to the Abasto neighborhood, and after having an unremarkable but serviceable dinner at Percerutti (sp?) on the corner of Anchorena and Corrientes, we made our way to Artesanal (Anchorena 537). Nothing there suited our fancy, so we quickly made our way over to Lolo Gerard (Anchorena 607) down the street as it was quite close to closing time (8:00 p.m.). There, we had much better luck as their material selection and styling is exquisite. My shopping buddy remarked about the arch not fitting her foot quite right, and the shopgirls told us that they could add the same arch supporting she got at P.H. Needless to say, she was thrilled. And I was pleasantly shocked and delighted that such modifications could be made. Since Lolo Gerard is not a factory, it would take them 3 days to put the same arch support that it took Lilliana 10 minutes to do at P.H.

It was just 5 minutes to 8:00 p.m., and Pablo was trying to rush us across the street to Tango 8 (LaValle 3101) before it closed. We suggested he go over there, and tell them we were on our way if they could hold the store open for us just a few minutes. Happily, they complied. They had a wide selection of shoes on sale for 200 pesos (shoes are normally 320+ pesos), one of which I scored.

April 30 - May20

Thursday, April 30, 2009
Verdi’s Back Champagne Celebration – It seemed the entire SF Bay Area community came out to celebrate the grand reopening of the Verdi Club Thursday night milonga as Victor passes the organizing torch to Cristy and Adolfo. It was super crowded, and floorcraft was problematic. Still, it was nice to be among such a vibrant crowd, with a good showing by the CCSF tangueros. Pulpo and Stephanie and Luis Bianchi & Daniela Pucci did separate performances, which I suppose were fantastic, but I could only see the tops of their bodies from where I was standing (in the back along the wall on a chair). Though I didn’t partake in any, the food looked good. It’s nice to have another Thursday night milonga option, and at such a nice place (great floor, good ventilation, excellent DJ).

Saturday, May 2, 2009
Colgada Boot/Heel Camp with Luis Bianchi & Daniela Pucci
1:45-3:15pm Making Colgadas Effortless: All Secrets of Colgada Technique
3:30-5:00pm Linear, Circular and Continuous Colgadas in Open and Close Embrace
5:15-6:45pm Challenging Combinations! Mixing Colgadas with Sacadas, Ganchos and More

First workshop: We began with basic technique, and maestros noted that our real work would begin after the workshop (when we practiced doing colgadas 10,000 times). The basic idea is that you find the colgada from the walk; it is an interruption of a step. Thus, we began with walking exercises with emphasis on Follower’s technique. We first focused on our hip movement. When we reach back in our walking back step, our hip movement should be more like riding a bicycle, pushing from our hip. Also, we were not to fall backward on the step (no kerplunking). The standing leg moves forward into the ball of the foot as the other leg reaches back. For the Leader, he should have forward intention on the balls of his feet, and be very grounded and anchored into the floor. The Leader needs to work with his axis too, creating a wave, crossing the axis when the weight transfers. His movements should be controlled, with less impulse. We did some walking exercises, with our hands palm to palm, dancers facing each other. As Follower crosses the axis, the Leader feels Follower’s weight and moves forward to counterbalance her up. The Leader’s energy is maintained up, like over the hill, and then down. When the Follower is at axis, this is the apex of the hill. Follower should not go down or sink in her steps. From this walking exercise, we started with very simple, basic colgada. Here, the Leader and Follower walk; then he lets her out straight back in a little colgada, then he brings her back to axis and they walk. This is similar to a linear boleo, but in the linear boleo he keeps her axis closer and keeps her body up (whereas it goes down in the colgada after cresting the hill). Next, we worked on suspending this, with the Leader walk around as Follower’s leg remains straight back in colgada. Here, the Leader needs to respect the Follower’s axis and not pull her off. The Follower doesn’t need to change anything, but she does need to hold on to the Leader with her left hand on his right arm. The Leader is straight on his axis, but a little backwardly intended. He needs to let her out, but his body must not cross her forward leg as this will destroy any counterbalance.

Second workshop: We started with the Follower doing a back ocho. When she is on her right leg, her left leg goes over and back into colgada. Leader does sandwich with his left leg of her right leg. Follower maintains colgada. Here, there is a circular sensation, doing a circular colgada from the back ocho. Next, we tried to set it up so that there’s already circular movement. So, from the clockwise molinete, the Follower back step is an overturned back ocho; the Leader does a sandwich immediately, letting Follower do a colgada pivot for a while, taking a long time before the Leader’s left leg lands. Technical Point for both: In colgadas, the Movement is not the most important part; BALANCE is the most important part. The Follower steps side right (Leader steps side left); dancers’ upper bodies are in 90% angle to each other. The Follower’s body should be straight and she should be on the balls of her foot near the big toe on her right foot; she needs to be off her heel. Her body should be straight (like a board). The Follower’s hand should be on the Leader’s back or arm. Follower needs to really stretch her body; her left leg comes out in the forward step. In doing a close embrace colgada, we went from forward ocho, to side, to step forward with her right leg, left leg steps over Leader’s right leg; Follower’s left hips go back first, then forward. We can also do this from a counterclockwise molinete on the Follower’s side step with her right foot.

Third workshop: From the forward ocho, we did overturned forward ocho on her left leg forward step; her right leg wraps around the Leader’s left hip. Follower’s right leg goes out circularly as Leader sends her out as they step forward outside in the forward ocho Follower left leg step. We did a counterclockwise molinete; with Follower’s forward left leg with weight on her right leg, her hip goes down, the leg flies out, then gancho of Leader’s right leg. We did some Leader and Follower exercises with the right leg standing and weighted and the left leg free, forward and back. The Leader’s right leg is forward, and Follower back ganchos it and goes forward out. In 90% angle to each other, the Follower is on her right leg while her left leg goes forward, then Leader leads it back to gancho his right leg, paying attention to maintain counterbalance with each other in the chest. Next, we played with sacadas. The Leader does left leg sacada on Follower’s forward step of her left leg in the overturned forward ocho, out to chests in Americana position, to the other leg colgada. Here, there can be continuous colgadas as the Leader keeps going around the Follower. There are also different resolutions: (1) plain; (2) then she steps on her right leg into colgada with her left leg outside, (3) outside colgada with her left leg going up and over with her left leg around. Bottom line about colgadas: It is a regular Follower step that the Leader interrupts.

Sunday, May 3, 2009
Workshops at Alberto’s with Luis Bianchi & Daniela Pucci
3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Explosion & Expression: Spicing up your dance with Rebotes (Rebounds) and Counter Movements
5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Colgada/Volcada Combinations

First workshop: We did some exercises to play with movement. First, the Leader goes to the opposite side of Follower while she does ochos. The goal was for Follower to keep her chest toward the Leader at all times to really feel the contrabody movement and really work her spine. Exercise 2: Connection. With Follower’s right hand against Leader’s left hand, we were to feel compression, counter balance using our bodies, our knees, and our own weight to feel it in our elbow and wrist, and have our shoulder give a little. Exercise 3: We worked on the sensation in the Americana position of stopping and being face to face with each other, and to return back when Follower is on her right leg and Leader on his left leg, really using our hips. Exercise 4: Boleo. Leader extends from shoulder blades. Leader returns with Follower at the same time. Leader plays with different degrees of motion. Leader steps side left; Follower does forward left foot cross step, pivot, right leg boleo, pivot, right leg back step. Here we played with the counter movement around partner after the boleo. The Leader uses his shoulder blades to control where his hips go. Next, we returned back to the closed side, with both dancers facing forward in the Americana (Follower left foot forward, Leader right foot forward). Next, we added a boleo of the Follower’s right leg out to return (back Follower right leg, back Leader’s left leg. Next, we played with rebotes (rebounds). The Follower does forward cross body boleo with her right leg, Follower does back boleo with her right leg; Follower does forward cross body boleo with her right leg. Leader steps in the Americana, does weight change, then does American back step with his left leg. Next, we worked on sacadas. Leader left leg sacada of Follower’s right leg, causing Follower right leg back boleo (while he does quick weight change); Leader steps forward with his right leg, Follower does forward Boleo, transfers weight, then Follower steps back right leg, Leader steps forward left leg out to resolution. We were to be free and relaxed in our shoulders, and really use and stretch the muscles in our back to keep our chests and torsos up, stretching especially on the boleo-ing side.

Second workshop: Colgada and Volcada combinations: Exercise 1: in hand to hand hold while dancers are face to face, Follower’s right leg goes back, then Follower’s right leg goes forward. Here, we were to imagine two chairs, and try to sit, working back and forth on compression and resistance, and moving the axis back and moving the axis forward. The Follower needs to control her center with her supporting, standing leg. The Follower’s leg goes back, but not down, and the leg goes forward, but not down. If the Leader releases, the Follower walks back. This exercise was to help us understand the concept of how we balance our partner. The step: Follower left leg volcada into 90-degree right leg colgada. From the regular Follower left leg volcada, the Leader adds extra impulse at the end front cross of her left leg over her right leg, the strength of which sends the Follower’s right leg straight back out into colgada because of the strong tuck of the left leg. Here, if dancers are in 90% angle to each other, Leader can lead a colgada to the side, and then return her to axis. Next, we played with pivot around the Follower. While Follower is on her left leg, the Leader steps around her; as he steps back with his left leg, then forward with his right leg. For these steps, the Follower’s posture is key with strong core engagement and staying as upright as possible. Her hips should be relaxed as her left leg goes into the volcada and right hip is free as right leg goes into colgada. Next, we did a combo: The Leader’s right leg sacada of Follower’s right leg to an outside side right leg colgada, back into to front cross (during which Leader goes back with his left foot), into a left leg volcada (during which Leader steps forward with his right leg). We were to try mixing all three types of movements, twirling around each other.

I found Luis and Daniela to be excellent teachers, with a clear, thoughtful and organized instructional style, and fun, entertaining delivery. This series of colgada workshops was an excellent way to learn and drill the material, and it began at a very basic level, bit also had material that would be interesting and beneficial for those who are more familiar with colgadas.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
CCSF Classes with Chelsea Eng. Since we were close to the end of the semester, this was review day. In Follower’s Technique, we reviewed our musicality and adornment walking exercises, along with our core strengthening, balance, and flexibility floor exercises, and our tango technique barre exercises. In Advanced, we focused on milonga, and she taught us “the waggle”, which we learned last semester. It’s a crouching step of the Follower’s left leg going back cross right, and then back out to the left side, and the Leader doing mirror image with his right leg forward. Here’s the step done by Luna Palacios and Oliver Kolker at 0:37-0:43 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz7C_MbhrOM&feature=channel_page. As usual, it was an excellent class.

Saturday, May 9, 2009
Ernest Williams workshop: Super Connection & Communication Tango -Learn to evoke a truly sublime experience within the closed embrace (Int). We began with a discussion of “tango moments” – those really great dances we have with people where there feels like there is a profound sense of oneness/connection. These tango moments can happen to just one person of the couple, or two people. We are to try to find our own “tango moment” through the embrace. We begin with working on internal stuff, as it is an introspective journey. This was a close embrace, apilado class, so we focused on dancing slower, with slower movements. We started with standing and closing our eyes, and just being in me. Next, we started a connection exercise with the Follower’s hand on Leader’s chest, working on weight transfers, specifically lifting our front foot before settling back on our back foot. This causes the Follower to lean much more on the Leader than she normally does. The goal was to not let the Leader fall, but to keep the pressure on his chest consistent, as well as the usual fluidity of weight transfer and our free leg having to be really free. Next, we attempted this pressure/connection in close embrace. The Follower really needed to stay forward in her chest, pressing against the leader, as her leg reached back to step back. Next, we did another connection exercise with the Leader and Follower in close embrace, with leader moving his upper body every which way, but with the dancers trying to stay connected as much as possible from sternum to belly and with pressure like in the other exercises. The goal here was for the Follower to melt into the Leader. Maestro mentioned that Mariana Flores once mentioned that in getting into the embrace, the Follower should try to get right into all the cracks and crevices of the Leader. For all this to work, the Follower needs to trust, and the Leader needs to provide support (but not be too stiff). We concluded by dancing with each other, trying to maintain connection and pressure from sternum to belly. Afterwards, we discussed whether or not any of us felt any “tango moments” by dancing this way. I didn’t, though I did give the sensation to other people. Maestro said that I need to give more to myself when I dance, not just give to my partner.

Saturday, May 9, 2009 Luiza Paes & Adam Hoopengardner workshops
2:00-3:30 p.m. Contact & propose
4:00:-5:30 p.m. Cortes y quebradas - expression phrasing, pauses

Crazily enough, when I was waiting for maestros’ workshops to start, I was (figuratively and literally) called upon to drive maestros down to Sunday’s workshops in Alberto’s in Mountain View from their apartment in San Francisco. (Imagine seeing maestra talking on the phone, asking for Anne’s number, writing it down, then dialing it….a cell phone rings in my purse which is three chairs away from maestra…I go answer it… Then heaving a conversation in stereo since we are talking to each other three feet away from each other… “Anne?” “Yes…” “It’s Luiza…” and we look over to each other… and laugh…).

First workshop: The idea was for the Follower to generate ideas to the Leader. Here, the Follower needs to be aware of where the weight is. That way, her free leg can play with his free legs. She touches his leg, and he may or may not accept the proposition/idea. The Leader needs to be stable, with extreme density in his lower half. The point of this workshop was to free ourselves from playing with the same box of toys, to give us a new toy to play with. We began with an exercise to work on stability, and reaching or covering up mistakes. The first exercise was an awareness exercise where the Follower goes from back ocho into cross system mistakenly, as if she is a clueless beginner, and see if Leader can feel it and what he does in response. Next, we did an exercise where the Leader walks forward and the Follower dances doing whatever she wants around/in front of him. His goal is to keep moving forward, and her goal is to be independently strong. Next exercise: Leader walks forward very slowly using four beats per step and maintaining smoothness. The Follower moves however she wants, but she plays with the steps and makes contact with his feet. The Follower strongly influences things, and suggests things. She needs to be aware of her axis, her free foot needs to be present, and the goal is like trying to have eyes in your feet (NOT ON your feet), always seeing/knowing where his feet is and playing with them. Next exercise: The Leader walks, steps sides, or leads ochos, but changes the tempo; Follower plays with his feet. Next exercise: In the embrace, every step we take, the dancers feet touch each other’s. Here, everything is happening on the floor, and our chests/upper bodies move as a consequence of what is going on in the floor (this is the exact opposite of what we are taught when first learning how to tango). Next, we discussed posture, attitude and musicality, and the concept of dancing airy versus dense. Followers can transmit the intention of how we want to be led (airy or dense). We tried this while doing the ocho cortado, really slowing things down at the point of pivot, by keeping our left leg back out and extended as it sweeps around. Of course any type of slowing down needs to make sense musically – which means the Follower has to know the music.

Between workshops, maestros were hungry, so Adam, Pablo and I went over to Susie’s café, where the retro charm and friendly service surpassed the food. But we were starving and Mars was closed, so we made due with Susie’s hamburgers and tuna melts. Adam mentioned that they took public transit over to La Pista, which was surprising to me, though I suppose most folks in NYC and Buenos Aires do use public transit. We also spoke a little bit about his life in NYC, and time spent teaching tango (workshops versus festivals).

Second workshop: A “cortes” is an interruption of the music re-emphasizing the music by REALLY stopping. A “quebrada” is really twisting the Follower, with dancers intertwined around each other, touching seemingly from knee to neck. There is a lot of spinal torque, and our pivot needed to be very sharp and snappy. We worked nearly the entire class to Donato’s “Carnival de mi Barrio” so that we could really know the song, and could punctuate appropriately since knowing where to do the quebrada and cortes are just as or more important than how to do it. In doing the quebrada, the Leader’s slight left tells the Follower that the quebrada is coming.

After the workshop, Pablo and I drove maestros back to their apartment since they needed to be at the Late Shift later on and if they took public transit, they basically would have been on buses the entire time back to the apartment and back to Cheryl Burke. This way they at least had a little bit of time to kick back and relax without the SF Bay Area tangueros being all in their face. I asked Maestra where she first learned to tango, and surprisingly, she said in Portland, from Clay. She came to the area to study singing and got hooked on tango. Maestro came to tango when he saw it being done in Paris at a private room in a fancy restaurant.

Sunday, May 10, 2009 Luiza Paes & Adam Hoopengardner workshops
2:00-3:30pm Musical adornments for leaders and followers
4:00-5:30pm Musical ganchos and boleos

Bright and early, Pablo and I made our way over to maestros’ apartment. During the drive to Alberto’s we chatted amicably. Maestra travels 8-9 months out of the year, and considers BsAs home. Maestro is based out of NYC, and typically teaches with Ciko. I asked what the best way for a new dancer to learn tango was. Maestra said to study study study (take lessons, practice what you learned). Maestro said you need to dance at least two hours ever day for at least six months. The most exotic place Maestra taught was Japan; Maestro the US Virgin Islands during a beauty pageant. They both knew immediately that they wanted to teach (not just dance well or perform).

First workshop: The best adornments are the ones that the Leader doesn’t feel, so they do not interrupt what the Leader is doing. When a Follower does adornos, she must know the music. First exercise: We listened to Di Sarli’s Organito de la Tarde, really trying to organize the information. The phrase is introduced in the beginning, and is repeated throughout the song, but reproduced using different musical instruments. Our recognition of the repetition helps us understand the space in which we dance. In the quarter beat, we can find the Leader’s pattern/flow. Exercise: Leader walks on the beat, collecting on the half beat; Follower can collect faster, but still step on the beat. The goal here in collecting faster is so that from walking, we can add the adornos of the tap, tuck (beat back), beat, drag. Next exercise: One person dances as the piano, and the other person dances as the violin, both dancers in no embrace. Here, we tried to express in our dance the variation of the instruments in the first phrase, and the mood of the instrument (sharp, soft). Next exercise: Leader steps side left, Follower steps side right, Leader walks around her, dancing with adornos and musical emphasis, while Follower is the center and doesn’t do anything. To be in charge, you need to know more. Listen to the music and make the music a part of you. Next exercise: Leader and Follower do embellishments, with one the center of the circle, and the other going around. The center does not move from the spot until it is necessary from a body spinal torque perspective. Next exercise: The Follower is in the center and dances like/to the violin; the Leader dances around her in a circle and dances the rhythmic part of the music. Concluding remarks from Maestro: Take what you learn in workshops and focus on that at the milonga. You might piss some people off for a few weeks, but eventually, you will get it, but you have to do it for 1,000 hours on the dance floor.

Second workshop: Musical Ganchos and Boleos. Maestros demonstrated what musical ganchos versus non-musical ganchos where. The Follower helps the Leader understand what the song’s musicality should be. For ganchos on the melodic part, the lead and follow is slow. Done on the rhythmic part, it is fast. To lead ganchos, the leader has to place the Follower next to him. The timing is “rah” – “ting” – “boom” – “jhoom”
Rah =
Ting = twist; where the Leader’s toe wraps around the Follower’s heel
Boom = gancho; Leader’s heel is up during the gancho
Jhoom = step forward for Leader, back for Follower, out to resolution

Exercise 1: Leader places Follower in different places around him without moving his feet (just move his chest, arms). The Follower should always keep her hips with the Leader. Exercise 2: The Leader pushes from his left leg with purpose behind himself to take the step and change with onto that leg. Ganchos are interrupted steps of the Follower when she is trying to collect. In ganchos and sacadas, the positions are almost the same, but the feeling is different (away versus together). Next, in 90 degree to each other, Follower’s right leg ganchos Leader’s right leg. Here, the Follower can’t float away, she needs to step near the Leader. Next, we did the same gancho, only the Leader catches the Follower’s right leg between his knees, then sends it back out after catching it. The Leader should use his hips, bringing his left hip and whole body into the movement. Leader closes his hips/thighs. The Leader’s right leg flows around with the Follower’s right leg out to resolution, swooping around and down (“jhoom”). Here, the Leader must follow the Follower’s hips and legs on his exit. Then we tried to get musical with it, doing it from the walk, and from the ocho cortado (whereby it is complimented with counter energy). We were really trying to match the music with the boom (gancho). To do the boom (gancho) on “1”, the preparation has to be earlier (on “3”).

The last two days’ workshops with Luiza and Adam were excellent, and were more like group privates since turnout was not high (likely because of the Mother’s day holiday and several other maestros being in town at the same time). They are both enthusiastic teachers, and there was plenty of individual attention to each couple, and feedback for every Leader and Follower.

Café Cocomo Milonga with lesson beforehand by Luiza Paes & Adam Hoopengardner. Here, we did a series of combinations in parallel system, that mostly focused on back crosses of the left and right legs. We began with rock steps, and trying to create a back cross from there, whereby the Follower’s right leg hooks behind her left leg, immediately into the left foot hooking behind the right foot in a diagonal line. During this time, the Leader does a forward cross. Leader uses the bounce of the rock step to go forward in the forward cross. Follower tries to step through, away from Leader, and Leader tries to hang on. The energy is similar to colgadas, only the Leader moves her swinging out and then the leg back in to settle into a back cross. The milonga itself was good; I had more fun that night than I had ever had there. Maestra celebrated her birthday with chocolate cake, and a vals to die for – it seemed that every local maestro and maestra in attendance gave her a whirl around the dance floor. I got to dance with maestro.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009
CCSF classes with Chelsea Eng. In Follower’s Technique, we did a review of our floor exercises before our practicalonga for Advanced. It was a good class.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
CCSF classes with Chelsea Eng. It was the last day of the semester, so we had 2 hours of practica time, followed by a Feldenkrais class co-taught by another CCSF faculty member, followed by a half hour of body awareness / lead-follow exchange exercises that built on that Feldenkrais class.



So maybe some of you have been curious why I’ve fallen so far behind on my weekly writing. Well, like all artists, sometimes I run into experiences in my life that kill my inspiration (or drastically derail it). I recently had such a series of experiences. Am I over it? Time will tell. And on a practical level, I was also studying for a professional licensing exam…and yay for me… I passed!!!! So congratulate me, because now I am Anne, NCG (soon to be CLPF, as soon as I fork over the huge licensing fee).

Join me tonight… Verdi club milonga with lesson beforehand by Oscar Mandagaran and Georgina Vargas.

Then after that Scouting Tour continues in Buenos Aires for two weeks covering Luciana Valle’s Intensivo (if I have any strength at the end of the day), with supplemental blurbs from Luna Palacios’s milonga class at EAT (I am TOTALLY stoked about that!!!!), visits to P.H. and Galauno, and milongas at Sunderland, Sin Rumbo, Maipu 444 on Sunday/Monday, etc.

April 16-22

Thursday, April 16, 2009
Milonga Roja @ La Pista with lesson beforehand by Daniel Trenner: Endless Salidas. This was my first lesson with Daniel Trenner, and I had been curious about him since he's basically the granddaddy of the American AT scene (he started dancing tango when I was in high school), purported to have an encyclopedic knowledge of AT and be a fun teacher. So I was glad I was able to experience his teaching first hand and come to my own conclusions. He came up with some really good nuggets: The best Leader tango moves (like the back sacada) are derived from Follower's moves (in this case, the back ocho), so if you want to be a really good Leader, you need to know the Leader and Follower part. This is how the old milongueros learned -- by dancing with each other, both doing the Leader and Follower part. He also said the Follower does nearly all of the work, while the Leader takes nearly all of the credit. In the lesson, we were all encouraged to do both the Leader and Follower parts regardless of our sex. The lesson itself didn't bring any earth-shattering new tango insights for me. I tried to lead, but found the men who were trying to follow too big for me to see around and one had such poor body control and lack of physical sensitivity that I had to excuse myself out of frustration. The milonga itself got to be rather crowded, so floor craft difficult at times. It was an OK night -- not magic, not tragic. I could have done worse (or better).

Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Late Shift with lesson by Ney Melo and Jennifer Bratt: Milonga. In milonga, there is more marching and less sliding. We did maestros' version of the basic milonga box, then practiced walking on the inside and outside with it. In milonga, you should not take big steps, and you should not lunge (otherwise you will kill the ladies in high heels). It is OK to take open steps with legs apart, but DO NOT lunge. We did simple traspie steps with the Follower's left leg forward traspie (the lead is an up and up lift, with straight legs), and also the Follower right foot side traspie (where the lead is down and down, with bent legs). Follower should be on the balls of her feet during this quick-quick traspie step. Maestros reiterated that the Follower needs to keep her chichi back, and connect at the lower ribs so that the legs and feet have space. The step of the day was, from the basic milonga box, a traspie walk forward, diagonally in and out with crossed steps, while dancers chests are in a 110 degree angle, both dancers facing forward in the line of dance, like in the Americana position. Their arms are connected, but the bodies are open. They get in to this from the basic milonga box where the Leader does a side left foot weight change (quick quick), and the he steps forward diagonally across his body with his left foot (slow, down and down). Leader and Follower are both on the same foot, and their steps weave in and out diagonally forward in parallel with each other. So for the Leader and Follower, it's left foot forward traspie (down, toward 2 o'clock), right foot forward traspie (up) (toward 10 o'clock), left foot forward traspie (down), etc. The exit is on the left foot forward traspie (down) step, where the Leader moves the Follower so she is on her right foot and facing in front of Leader. The Leader steps forward with his right leg and Follower steps back with her left leg out to resolution. Maestros spoke about dancing milonga starting with the basic box as the base, and alternating between simple and fancy steps, then back to simple. To Dance is art, and we should play...respecting the structure of the song, it's opening, the build, the highlight, and the resolution (or finale), and also not trying to catch every single beat or creative element (like trying to catch every single butterfly you see when you are in an enclosed butterfly habitat). As usual, it was an excellent lesson, though I sat out a lot since there were so many extra Followers. I had a real blast at the milonga, entirely free to dance with many leaders, familiar and new.


Sunday, April 18, 2009
Cafe Cocomo milonga with lesson by Marcelo Solis on Chacarera. This lesson was largely the same as what he taught at Alberto's recently, but a bit shorter (so we didn't get to go over some of the subtle nuances of Chacarera). Still, it was an excellent lesson, and I do believe Macelo is the best maestro from whom I've learned Chacarera thus far. After the lesson, I made my way over to Whole Foods for dinner, which was a good call (they were having a special at their hot meal table, so dinner did not cost a whole paycheck). The milonga was OK. I had trouble getting over the unbearable heat of the day, so ended up leaving early, after they played a chacarera.


Wednesday, April 21, 2009
CCSF classes with Chelsea Eng. Topic: Milonga. In Follower's Technique, we began with two CITA 2008 videos of Mariangeles Caamano and Bruno Tombari, the first dancing to Saludos (similar YouTube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwPJFH0PyUY) and "Al Galope" (there's a YouTube video of them dancing to that song, but the choreography is entirely different). Maestra also talked about an article in Dance newsletter about being able to manage the qualitative shifts in dance (i.e., from rapid to slow, big to small, staccato to flowing). In class, we did our usual warmup, floor, and foot strengthening/balance exercises, and then spent a lot of time on musicality games to milonga music, trying really hard to catch the end of the beat and not be early. In milonga music, there is the temptation to move faster than the music calls for, so we were trying to be almost late to punctuate the music with our movement, and have no bleed-through of our back legs, and not be mushy or smooth in our milonga dance. For embellishments, we practiced tapping with our trailing back foot as we walked forward, and heel taps of our trailing forward foot as we walked back. In Advanced, we worked on the same sequence that we learned last fall, which was with the Leader walking forward, doing the beginning of an ocho cortado, then a tango close with rotation to step out to resolution. The Follower does two forward steps starting with her left foot, then right foot, then a weight change to step forward with her left foot as the Leader steps back with his right foot and then she can take two more forward steps, then Leader brings her back in front of him to step out to resolution.

April 9-15

Saturday, April 11, 2009
Milonga de Nora @ Allegro with lesson by Federico Naveira and Ines Muzzopappa: Hiros. Federico went right in to teaching some sequences: First sequence: From the back ocho, the Leader steps over her with his right leg clockwise over her left leg to step clockwise around her. For the Leader's technique, when he steps to his right, he makes a big step, taking enough big energy to make a big pivot by turning his chest. For Follower's technique: Her steps are back right, open left (Leader steps over at this point), forward right in the clockwise molinete. Two issues: On the Follower's back ocho, don't step too far away from the Leader because then he has to make a really big step over and it looks inelegant. For the Leader: turn her body more so that she can come closer to you. When the dancers remain close to each other, they will have more turn, which looks better. Second issue: Leaders: First lead the Follower to take the step back first, and then step over; do not go too fast or move the Follower with your own movement simultaneously. You do this by moving her axis with his right arm. Next sequence: In open embrace, it is important for the Follower's left arm to have contact with the Leader's arm. The leader changes feet while leading counterclockwise molinete for Follower. The Follower does back ocho (back cross step) of left leg counterclockwise; Leader pivots so his left leg is crossed in front of his right leg; Follower takes side step with her right foot, during which Leader does rulo. Follower takes a forward open step with her left foot, Leader leads her to pivot around and does a parada stop of his left leg of Follower's left leg, after which Follower steps over clockwise with her right leg. Follower's technique: The last forward step at the end before the pivot should be a big step, as molinete technique still applies (keep all steps of molinete the same size, always be the same distance from the Leader and do not float away). Next, we added sacadas to molinetes. Going counterclockwise (Follower goes back cross left foot; side right foot, forward left foot (during which Follower changes her orientation from being to the Leader's right side around to his left side), then Leader does left leg sacada of Follower's trailing right leg, immediately into Leader's side sacada with his right leg on the Follower's open left leg. Here, we can add the Leader's rulo sequence we just learned. Federico discussed the concept of the triangle when doing the sacada: When Follower is her forward left leg step, her two feet make two points of an equilateral triangle. The Leader's left leg takes the point of the triangle where the Follower's right leg was, and brings the Follower to the point of the Leader's triangle where he just left, but using his left arm to bring her to that point. Federico speaks English; Ines does not. They are both young teachers. We had lots of time to drill the moves, and the sequences we learned were simple ones. Though sparse with his verbiage, Federico explained some very important points about technique quite clearly. Ines struck me as being shy, and she gave feedback to Federico about what she saw while we were drilling, and thus gave Federico ideas of what he should clarify to us technique-wise. As a result, it was easy to take notes for the class. :o) And they both spent time individually with those couples who were aggressive enough to approach them for feedback. The milonga itself was extremely crowded on account of their popularity, and despite there being many other milonga events nearby. As a result, floorcraft was bad. I had an OK time though. I got to dance with a lot of my favorite leaders, some of whom asked me where I've been recently. (answer: still here, just not at too many milongas the last two weeks, for no particular reason other than needing a break). Food was the usual yummy cold cuts, crackers, and fruit artfully arranged by Jerry, wine brought in by the usual generous souls, and water in the usual 1 ounce dental cups (glad I brought my Nalgene). I think Federico is really trying to become a good teacher, and his teaching has improved a lot since CITA 2008.

Monday, April 13, 2009
La Cumparsita Milonga with lesson beforehand by Gary Weinberg and Carolina Rozenstroch on Volcadas. We began with Carolina teaching us about how to relax the leg and have really good posture for volcadas. Our feet should be relaxed on the floor, toes released (not hammered), attempting to spread the feet inside the shoe and release the heel and be well connected and stable on the floor. From the pelvis up, our upper body should do the opposite and be really long, elongated, and up to the sky, having the opposite energy, with long back of the neck, inhaling so our chest goes up, and exhaling and still having our chest up. Next, we shifted weight with slightly forward intention to be on the balls of our feet, and then slightly back to be on our heels. Core engagement is vital. We were to keep our bodies, our cores very engaged and very long, but each dancer owning their own body (not relying on the other dancer). Next, we just worked on the simple volcada footwork of Follower back cross of right leg behind the left leg, and left leg popping forward as a consequence. Then we tried the other side of right foot back crossing behind right leg and right leg popping forward as a consequence. For the Leader, he does a weight change to cross system, and turns her a little like an in-line boleo, to send Follower's right leg back free. She gets really into the floor with her supporting leg. Because of his leading the turn, her right leg hooks back behind her left leg. He steps diagonally back with his right leg, which leads the volcada. Walk out to the cross. Maestro emphasized that the Follower should have the sensation of "Falling UP" -- so she should really focus on keeping her body very elongated and straight, and her rib cage as up and toward the sky as much as possible without breaking her body. For Leader's technique: Don't rush. Send her, step back, and collect feet every time. Do not let Follower turn her hips (as if for an ocho); hips, toes, chest, should all point toward each other at all times. For Follower's technique: Do not bend at the hip, even a little, it will make you feel heavy. From the simple volcada, we learned a spot where to insert it: From the ocho cortado with Leader's footwork of forward, together, side, together; instead of the Follower going back into the cross, after she steps forward with her left leg, Leader keeps her weight on her left leg as he steps back with his right leg and leads a volcada of her right leg hooking behind her left leg. For Follower technique: She should collect her feet at the point of unwinding. It was a good class. The milonga was fun, as usual. Tangonero played live; as usual they were great.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
CCSF Classes with Chelsea Eng. It was Vals night, and we began in Follower's Technique with a video from CITA 2008 of Julio Balmaceda & Corina de la Rosa. In class, we did our usual warm up, floor exercises and foot strengthening exercises. We spent a lot of emphasis in walking and doing simple embellishments to the vals music 1-2-3 pulse, specifically stepping on the 1 and 3, and then on the 1 and 2 (which is quicker, catching the 2, and then holding on 3). In Advanced, Maestra taught a sequence from the CITA 2009 Advanced Vals class by Luis and Gabi, proteges of Julio y Corina). The sequence began with walking, weaving in and out. Then we added the Follower's counterclockwise molinete of back left foot, side right foot, forward left foot during which leader collects, then steps left foot forward curved in around her, pivot, and then he steps right foot forward during the Follower left foot forward step of the molinete, as if in the Americana. To this we changed the ending, adding sacadas. So, when Follower does the left forward step of the counterclockwise molinete, instead of the leader stepping forward with his right leg, he does a right leg sacada of her trailing right leg instead, directly into another sacada using his left leg of her trailing left leg as she steps side right. This concludes into Follower back ochos. It was a good class.

April 2-8

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Milonga Roja @ La Pista with lesson by Rina Gendelman. I went thinking that the lesson would by by Ruben and Enriqueta, but there was a miscommunication somehow, so Rina taught the lesson: Subtleties of the Cross. Rina often teachers complex, high level concepts of very simple figures, and tonight was no different. It was an excellent lesson. We began with the cross, with Leader changing weight left to right while Follower is on her right foot. The purpose of this is the Follower letting her free leg hang free and the Leader leading it to go in and out of the cross and to uncross. We did a ribcage exercise where the Leader holds the Follower's ribcage and moves her leg back and forth with no pivot. Here, only the standing leg is engaged, and Follower needs to maintain her axis. Hips are parallel to the ground. Next, we practiced going to the cross, immediately into the uncross. Next, we attempted to go directly into the cross by planting the Follower's left foot down small and short, and keeping the embrace close in apilado style with lean into each other, then drive Follower's right leg back as Leader steps forward strongly. Linking these two concepts together, Leader can try to get Follower directly into the cross, and then directly to uncross. Ruben and Enriqueta came by later on and did a very lovely dance demo. The milonga was OK. It wasn't overly crowded, and the dance skill reasonable, so floorcraft was generally not an issue.

Sunday, April 5, 2009.
Workshops with Michelle & Murat Erdemsel: (1) Terminology of Sacadas (Int) and (2) Leader and Follower Sacadas (Int-Adv).

These were two excellent workshops, taught by excellent teachers Michelle and Murat. We began with a game so that we were all on the same page regarding awareness and being able to recognize things; how to read the notes of tango, and be expressive, creative, and be able to read other people's work by understanding the structure of the song better (to play with the phrases) and to communicate with others. Basically, we first worked on the notation of the dance. We did this by doing six things (walking, ocho, molinete, cross, sacada, and weight change), and the Follower naming them as the Leader led them. Then we changed the rules were the Follower dictates them, and the Leader does them. Next, we did a really helpful thing: all 36 sacadas: To the open step, forward step, and back step, we did forward sacadas with our left foot, our right foot, and a back sacada, and we did this for both Leader and Follower and clockwise and counterclockwise (3x3x2x2=36). The goal of sacadas are for dancers to rejoin at the end, and if they do not, they are considered irregular sacadas. Thus, we should also try not to distort the embrace when doing sacadas. The most comfortable, easy sacadas are forward sacadas on the side step. Next, Maestro talked about the Mingo Pugliese (father of Pablo Pugliese), who developed a system for sacadas. There were six sequential sacadas that we practiced in this system, going to the cross from the molinete with Leader doing sacadas at various steps of the Follower's molinete. Roughly, they are (from clockwise molinete): (1) Leader right foot forward sacada to Follower's forward cross step to her left; (2) Leader's left foot sacada to the Follower's left foot on Follower's open side step to the right; (3) Leader's right foot forward sacada of Follower's left foot back cross, (4) Follower's right foot forward step with Leader's left foot sacada to Follower's trailing left foot, (5) Leader's right foot sacada to Follower's right foot on her side step to the left; (6) Leader's left foot sacada to Follower's left foot as she takes a a back cross step with her right foot. The first three (1, 2, 3) are in cross system, and the last three (4, 5 and 6) are in parallel system. Once we did all six sacadas, Maestro would come around and tell us 4-6-1, 2-2-1, 3-5-2, etc., and we would have to do the sacadas in that order.

In the second workshop, we were to work on our intention, specifically doing sacadas with the intention of doing additional molinetes, with the intention of stopping, or with the intention of exiting. We also worked on the concept of the "almost" sacada -- like a rock step of Leader's right foot to Follower's right foot. We also tried the concept of "almost" in our other steps, trying to find it and play with it. The point was to not complete it; leaving the step open allows it to do different possibilities to navigate the partnership and the dance floor, and you still have control over it. With the "almost" sacadas, we were able to rotate it, and then complete it. We worked on a sequence: Follower right leg forward sacada to Leader's trailing right foot on his side step, to Follower's forward step with her left leg and Leader steps back with his right leg. And another sequence: Leader invites her to forward sacada of her right leg to Leader's right leg (his standing, weighted leg) for Leader to attach and wrap with his feet sandwiching her right foot into a colgada. Here the Leader repositions his right foot to sandwich the ball of her right foot with his left foot, side stepping to pivot around. Follower does left foot forward step into a colgada while and Leader steps back with his right foot.

Maestros concluded with a comment that it is important to take the step classes like sacadas, volcadas, colgadas, etc., in addition to working on the concepts of embrace, musicality, and navigation to be a well-rounded dancer.

Chacarera class with Marcelo Solis. This was likely the best Chacarera class I had ever taken. Maestro was excellent at explaining the steps clearly and simply, and was fantastic at explaining the musicality of the Chacarera (which had always eluded me). The singer signals many things: When the dancers actually start walking forward in the beginning, during the Follower's diamond & Leader's zapateo and at the last part where dancers end in the middle with arms framing each other's face. The Follower's diamond begins with left foot stepping across to the right side of the bottom part of the diamond. The Leader's zapeto begins with a slapping of his right foot on the floor, like a horse, and follows with two hops, the second one being a stomp. The diamond/zapateo is done twice in a row. For the exchange of sides, you take 4 counts to get to the other side. We even had time to learn some Chacarera embellishments and variations (Chacarera Doble [where the singing lasts longer and it has the same elements, but different structure], Gato, Leader's back tap during zapateo, contact in the half circle where Leader catches Follower and turns her, during the big circle from one side to the other, the dancers can twirl away from each other but this needs to be done after the middle point where there is eye connection). For the hands, the finger snapping is at eye height straight in line with your head. When dancers are doing the big circle to exchange sides and little circles, their chests should be facing inside the circle and not have any contrabody rotation to it toward the outside away from each other or outside the circle. I hope Chacarera will be played at more milongas in the Bay Area, like they were later on that night at Alberto's.

March 26-April 1

Friday, March 27, 2009
Homer and Cristina Ladas Advanced Seminario on Volcadas. See the video on www.tangostudent.blogspot.com This was truly an advanced seminar, with maestros introducing the idea/figure, and then giving the students two songs to work on it to figure it out. Maestros expected us to have knowledge and fundamentals of volcadas.

(1) Standard Forward and Back Volcada, with Follower working on how to embellish/play with them, and Leader leading them so she has time to play. Maestra demo'd rulo embellishments in the volcadas. Play can be done as long as the music dictates it. For the Follower, she should treat her embellishment like the ocho parada/pasada, doing it within the time of the lead/movement. The Follower has choice; sometimes the Leader will feel the Follower doing something more and will let her do the embellishment by giving her time. If the Leader leads one straight smooth volcada, the Follower will find a place to do the embellishment within the time of the lead. Follower can do play as soon as the Leader starts the lead for the volcada so that the embellishment is in the beginning; otherwise, she imposes the embellishment, which changes the timing of the leader. Our goal in embellishing is to stay within the music/movement.

(2) The Funny Volcada -- from the open back ocho. Here the dancers are perpendicular to each other, and Leader gives Follower lots of time to play. We only attempted this on the easy side. The Volcada has a different feel when the foot is articulated with the heel on the floor, so be careful about how you hold your body. Be playful. Since many people did not know the Funny Volcada, we reviewed it. The analogy was the Follower as the moon orbiting around the Leader, or earth, so she can spin on her own. It is important that Follower use good volcada technique and be strong in her left arm with the digging down to get lift like coming out of a swimming pool, and that her standing weighted leg be strong and supporting of her own weight. The Leader's foot work is left foot back, right back step, left back step, big side step. The Follower traces the path that the leader leads, but stays behind him. Follower should know where leader is the whole time. (See the Funny Volcada September 11, 2008 video and notes.)

(3) Chicho Compression Volcada. The Leader uses out/colgada energy, then breaks the normal volcada rules (normal rules: (1) never collapse; (2) never go down) -- sending her out, then pulling her in so she collapses a little. The Leader also collapses his frame too, but his back is still engaged and his core is still engaged. We did this in open embrace, and tried small ones since this was new to many students and is a "special effect" volcada, since the Leader sends her out, then back in by using compression to collapse her. For the Follower, in her frame collapse, her shoulder blades come closer together, touching. When doing volcadas in open embrace, they should be done small. The Follower really needs to engage to compress/collapse in, which is why the Leader leads the colgada energy first. If she is too stiff, she will block the energy. This requires trust and should not be done large.

(4) Multiple Volcadas / Hard Side Volcadas. We tried the more "dangerous" versions of what we already worked on -- linking the standard forward and back volcadas with the Leader doing windshield wiper technique to do multiple ones, and also the Leader using the right foot block to do multiple ones.

(5) Traveling Forward Volcadas where Leader walks back. Here, the Follower knows where to land her foot because the Leader sets her down mid-Volcada. Compression and release are used here so that the Leader can give the Follower the feeling of both compression and release. With respect to walking, the Leader does this as if he is trying to lead sacadas in a funny way, but his body is swerving from side to side. It looks a little weird. For Follower, she does a series of progressive forward volcadas, and you don't have to do too many of them since the Leader's back will be to the line of dance as she progresses forward. Floorcraftwise, this works well approaching corners of the dance floor.

(6) Volcada Plus. Here we practiced our sustained volcadas, trying to do them in the context of social dancing. The Volcada Plus is where the Follower's side legs go out and is sustained, like an ocho cortado of volcadas. The Leader leads a forward volcada, then uncrosses it after she settles on her weight. Follower needs to use the same technique as for regular volcadas, but her free leg is straightened out very linearly. For the Leader it is important that his feet are together so that his hips are under his axis. The Leader's spine stays straight to take care of his axis, with the weight split between two legs so he can keep her back on axis. We also attempted to do more difficult Volcada Pluses: with a Follower forward split, going really underneath and beneath/between Leader's leg. (See the Back Volcada Explored February 20, 2009 video and notes.)

(7) Volcada Plus with two different exits. Maestros only showed us this as it was beyond what the students could do. Starting from Promenade position,
(A) The Bounce Exit, where the Leader kind of crosses her, then he steps back and so does she. There is an up, bouncing energy to this.
(B) The Helicopter / Spinny Thing. This is tricky. The Leader turns to his left to pivot her around to the maximum point of support where Leader has to unwind her.

Maestros demo'd all that they taught to Di Sarli's Nido Gaucho with Alberto Podesta on vocals.

The milonga was fun. I had danced with many new Leaders. The catered food by Cristina was fantastic as always: tortilla and pita chips, guacamole, cheese platter, bread, fresh fruit, grapes, crackers, sliced veggies, hummus, baba ganoush, spinach quiche/muffin things, prosciutto wrapped grilled pears with Gorgonzola, and two yummy desserts of flan and deconstructed ginger bread triffle. Pablo y Jaime thought it was the best food Cristina had ever done for a Seminario. Tangonero played live, and they sound better and better (from an excellent base to begin with).

Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, 2009
Workshops with Ruben Harymbat & Enriqueta Kleinman.
(1) Different Ochos.
(2) Musicality.
(3) Boleos in Rhythmic sequences; backward corridas for Leaders, forward corridas for Followers simple and double.
(4) Milonga
(5) Dancing to Pugliese; Introduction of Renga with flexion and forward.
(6) Review


We began the workshops with walking, weight changes, having intention and passion (not sensual passion, but being alive passion), embrace/connection. In the milonguero style, the heart and head are connected (touching). Be present when dancing (do no talk about the weather). In the milonguero style, the intention is only in the chest. We worked on the ocho cortado (Ruben is famous for using the ocho cortado to transition between different steps).



Posture: Chest forward. Weight on the balls of your feet (no heels). The Follower should have really high energy up toward the sky, so that her sternum/rib cage is as high as she can get it. To get this posture, you breathe in, let your chest go up as high as it can, breathe out and still keep the chest up high; don't let it sink. This will engage her core naturally and will make the top of her body more disassociated from her hips. She is to try to stretch her body as much as possible so that knees are fairly straight. Body should be stiff from ribcage to hips. Legs should be straight. Follower's weight is always on one leg. If the Follower does not have her axis, the Leader will not be able to manage it. The Leader's energy should be solid and in the ground, into the earth with roots, so Leader has to be with all energy in their legs -- strong and powerful. Leader should think of his body as having two columns -- starting from his feet going up, so each foot / side of the body is one column. Leader stands up straight.



Embrace: For the Leader, his right arm should be solid and circular/enveloping to protect the Follower. The contact is from chest to chest, and head to head, with Leader looking forward so he can navigate the dance floor. The energy should be very even in the chest -- no bouncing.



We worked on corridas (runs forward and backward), whereby the Follower follows the Leader's cadence; in the corrida, the steps are not equal, one is longer because it's not just walking; there is soul. The weight changes should be elegant and not rushed.



We began with walking, first going with our chest, with intention.



When we worked on the ocho cortado, we were to focus on being clean and neat in our changes of weight.



When we worked on back ochos, the Follower changed weight each time the knees passed each other, and pivoted each time. For the Leaders, he was to just do weight changes. We added a Leader embellishment while he led Follower back ochos: taps of his right foot, and back crosses of his left foot.



IN TANGO, EVERYTHING IS ABOUT WEIGHT CHANGES. So try to manage perfect weight changes. Think of doing it in the same way that you would walk in the street; it's natural.



Musicality. We began with a discussion about cadence, rhythm, and compas, with focus on cadence. Cadence/cadencia is the way the interpreter gives his own way of playing with rhythm. He does not change the notes, but gives his own interpretation. We all know the same letters, but we all write differently.



The compas is the key tempo. The Follower should step on the perfect beat rather than have Leader pull her through the music. Tango is not about pushing or pulling. If she does this, then she is just following, not dancing. Tango is about leading: with connection, intention, and changes of weight.



We danced to two different orchestras: Di Sarli (Bahia Blanca) and D'Arienzo, dancing using the steps we worked on in the prior workshops, but with entirely different flavor since the energy of the songs/orchestras were different.



Maestra commented on Tanturi (with Campos on vocals): when you dance, you need to choose either the orchestra or the singer in those songs because they are both going in different directions.



We also discussed the contrapiano and waiting and pausing (not being still, but brushing the floor during the pause).



To dance, you should listen to the music. FEEL! YOU ARE ALIVE! DANCE!



Di Sarli is very romantic; so you should dance like you are in love.



Next, we worked on turns and contraturns. Amague -- a way to turn easily; go and come back. We can do these in small spaces. Do the weight changes strongly, and it will look like a great step. The foot points in the direction you want it to go (QQS tempo).



Leader does series of back crosses with his left leg, then unwinds as Follower does molinete around him.



Corrida -- make it a dream. Leader walks on a line, not with feet outturned or like John Wayne. It's a straight walk forward with speed according to music. Double Corrida: Forward and Backwards with transition like a spring. The steps are small and you don't have to do too many of them in a row. The first and last steps are longer so that Follower knows it is beginning and ending.



Then we did side steps from the ocho cortado to Follower's right side, and Leader's left side. Then we did the side steps to Follower's left side and Leader's right side, from the first half of the ocho cortado (eliminating the return to the cross in the ocho cortado).



On Sunday, we began with reviewing all that we learned from the day prior: walking; back and forward ochos, ocho cortado, side steps, back and forward corridas in simple and double time, amague, amague with change of direction, posture, embrace, intention, attitude, musicality, embellishments, sacadas.



For the milonga portion of the class, we began with the quadrado, or basic milonga square. Steps should be small because we have little space. Cadence is great if you do it soft. Legs are instruments. It is important to keep the axes of both dancers together, so Follower needs to be in front of Leader's chest, In milonga, there is NO JUMPING, and you should be very still on top. It is very tempting to be jumpy in an attempt to move to the music since milonga music is so lively, but there is NO JUMPING when you dance to milonga. Move the legs only; keep the chest very still and energy up top very still.



Next, we tried to incorporate the qaudrado and link them to all the steps we learned yesterday, dancing to milonga rhythm. The steps are not different. The difference is how you dance it.



Next workshop: Dancing to Pugliese. Using the same steps from the last class, we danced to Pugliese. The pause is really important in dancing to Pugliese. Also in Pugliese, the Follower's role becomes more important, and to really listen to the music. We all have the same tools as to where to start. Be present to the music. Pugliese, because there are so many waves, pauses, and dramatic passages in the music, shows everything in our dancing. Wait with the music. Go with the music in slow motion. Flow with the music.



Maestros then proceeded to dance with each student individually for an entire song while the other students watched to see how to dance to Pugliese. I went last. This would never happen in real life (a milonguero dancing to Pugliese with me). It was probably one of the best dances of my life. Afterwards, the entire class clapped for us. It was the kind of dance that all tango dancers hope for, wait for, live for. It left me breathless.



Next, we played a game to really focus on managing our weight changes, specifically while doing the ocho cortado during Pugliese, with the focus on the Follower being gently sweet, feminine, gracious and gorgeous. The Leader should always know where the Follower's feet are so that he will know how/when/where to change weight.



Next, we started to learn the Renga, a step that Ruben created and is famous for. It's a tricky turn of the Leader around the Follower using the back ocho and ocho cortado. The Leader's footwork is right step diagonally forward, left collect, right side small open, left collect. It's a small movement to be subtle, and as the Leader steps around the Follower, his feet should curve out like to 1 o'clock as he walks around the Follower (similar to what she her curving footwork would be on the forward step of the molinete). The Follower's footwork is back ocho of right leg (so left foot pivot), and back step of left leg (so right foot does not pivot). To this, we added the ocho cortado with Leader's sacada of his left leg of Follower's right leg.



These workshops were progressive, and thanks to Pablo's enthusiastic support, I felt truly blessed to be able to learn from Enriqueta Kleinman and Ruben Harymbat. This series of workshops was truly amazing. Maestra is a profoundly gifted, passionate teacher. Maestro is a master, a national icon of tango; what a treat to be able to learn from and dance with this legendary milonguero. They were both really wonderful people, and spent a lot of time giving each couple personal instruction, and each individual personal instruction. They also danced with all of us during the class so that we could feel what the correct lead felt like. The Leaders danced with Enriqueta, and she gave them all individual instruction on the lead technique.



We had plenty of time to drill the moves, over and over, with different leaders and followers. Maestros did not rush us through to get to the next subject. If anything, they held us back a little to make sure as many people as possible really *got* the concept they were trying to teach. And on Sunday, we spent plenty of time reviewing the steps learned the day prior, only really working on different musical interpretations of the steps.



Maestra was very fervent in her instruction that we needed to keep good posture (engage our core muscles and be really up high in our chest/rib cages), and that that was the key for Leaders being able to lead the Followers. If Followers do not have good posture, they are difficult to lead correctly. She also made the point numerous times of being able to correctly manage weight changes for both Leaders and Followers. Maestra's parting advice was that hopefully we will work on our posture and learn to stand up straight before she visits us again next year.



Monday, March 30, 2009
Orange Practica at the Beat with lesson by Homer and Cristina Ladas on "Exploration of Height Change in Tango" See the video on www.tangostudent.blogspot.com



Height change is the up and down movement of dancers. Are height changes deliberate or do we do them unaware as a result of bad habits? Every movement we make in tango can have an element of height or height change. If our height change is deliberate, is it styled? Does it come from communication? Is it an expression of the music? Everything we do has an impact on our partner.



We began with an exercise attempting to use height change to communicate. We did this by doing a touch step or multiple touch steps, first to the left and right sides, then forward and back. The lead is more of the energy of the Leader pushing into the ground and not transferring weight. The Leader's axis remains where it is; his center does not move. The Follower should be prepared to go down, and to do this she must have flexion in the knee of her standing supporting leg and just reach with the other leg, but not change weight. This is especially important/apparent on the Follower's forward step. The dancers' centers don't move; they stay back, but flexion in the knees gives the dancers range (especially the Follower). We then tried the touch step exercise with our eyes closed.



The question came up of whether or not we knocked knees when we did this, especially on the forward and back touch steps. Many people did. To remedy this, the Leader can use our upper bodies to create space on the bottom where the legs are by going outside or inside (using a little bit of contrabody movement) because someone has to move to get out of the way.



Next subject: weight changing. Here, we were to either change our weight in place, or make a side step. We were to really work on our posture, thinking about how up we could be, and still have our feet on the ground, and keeping the backs of our neck long and letting our head float (like in Alexander Technique). If you are over your center, you will be very grounded and balanced.



Next, we did a series of side steps, as many as three, four or five, then come back up to center and do a few weight changes in place. Here, the Leader was to have flexion in his knees going down before he actually goes. There is a "U" energy when doing the side step, and when there is a series of linked side steps, the energy becomes more like a series of "O"s.



Next, we worked on forward and back steps with weight changes. Here, we stepped forward and back with the same foot with a weight change (or several weight changes) in between. This was to let us practice the concept of rising up to change weight, and to have down compression in our leg to help us move.



Next, we used height change to communicate. The Follower can help the Leader to go up, giving him a lifting energy with slight push to increase the chest connection. The Follower's supporting standing leg can create a nicer quality of the side step by staying longer on the supporting, standing leg, but pushing off and lifting and transferring the weight slowly, delayed, staying as long as she can on her supporting, standing leg so that she massages the step. Here, there is a very apparent oppositional pull of up and down in the posture, really pulling horizontally to create density of movement (like molasses). Follower should really reach when doing the side step, and to get maximum range of motion, her supporting, standing leg must have flexion in the knee. The goal was for the Follower to be really up, maximally stretching from sternum to pelvis/hip.



Next, we worked on the concept of keeping the weight transfer in the middle. Here, the Leaders used a little bit of down energy and settling. When the Leader plays with the weight in the middle, both Leader and Follower's legs are open/separate.



From this idea of the weight in the middle, the Leader stops the Follower when she is in the middle of her weight (she is at the point of split weight), he then walks around her axis. As Leader walks around Follower, she pivots around on both feet without changing weight; her body eventually unwinds as a consequence of maintaining connection and remaining in front of the Leader. The Leader uses a bit of down energy, and as he walks around and she unwinds/spirals out, both dancers' heights go up. We tried this first on the Follower's back step and Leader walking around her clockwise. This can be done on the other side as well.



From this split weight walk around, we can conclude this to unwind directly into a volcada. Here, the Leader drops the Follower in her energy to lead the volcada. For Follower's technique, it is very important to really stretch from sternum to pelvis/hip, and to maintain this stretch/reach and core engagement at all times, especially when it transitions into the volcada.



Maestros concluded with a demo to Canaro's Como Dos Extranos with Ernesto Fama on vocals.



Interestingly, this lesson dovetailed nicely with Enriqueta Kleinman's and Ruben Harymbat's workshops the last two days. Though each couple's dance styles are vastly different, conceptually in class, both profoundly emphasized the importance of good posture, specifically being very up and maximally stretching between the sternum and hips/pelvis (and engaging the core muscles) and the importance of understanding how to manage weight changes. Those were two really good nuggets.



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

CCSF Followers' Technique and Advanced classes with Chelsea Eng. The subject of the evening was boleos, so after our usual warm-up, floor and barre exercises, we worked on forward boleos at the barre: the pivoted fake-out, on the floor, off the floor, and a new one: the flamingo, where the leg goes up on the side of the other leg (like what flamingos do). Core engagement is key in doing ochos by ourselves (and hence doing the boleos nicely at the barre). In Advanced, we worked on with and contra (against) boleos, from the Follower back ocho. For the with boleo, the Leader turns with his body/chest to turn her body and absorb her front cross (he should not use his arms). We tried the with boleo on the send and on the return. For the contra boleo, he sends her, then Leader changes to go forward and around with his left leg to go in opposition to Follower's leg, which creates the "contra" pat of the boleo, to resolve by stepping toward the Follower's trailing leg. For Follower's technique in boleos, she should have stretchy legs -- one bent knee, one straight leg, and take big steps if Leader leads them. We also tried the contra boleo on the open side. Boleos are all abut timing and balance. Next, maestra taught us something very popular from CITA 2009: the soltada. From the back oncho, the Follower goes onto her right foot, and the Leader is on his right foot. Here, he gives turns her for an outward turn counterclockwise (a loop turn in ballroom) while she is on her weighted, pivoting right foot. Her left foot is off the floor, but next to her right foot. As Follower turns away from Leader, her left arm comes into her body so she doesn't whack him in the face or body. One option is to have the dancers stay connected in sweetheart hold. From this, there can be enough momentum to have Follower do a contra or regular boleo with her left leg, to forward ocho or forward cross step of her left leg. It was an excellent night.