Hello Argentine Tango-ers!<div><br><div>Forwarded is a newsletter from your instructor from last week, Jerry. It covers a summary of what we went over in class, so read it for a quick review!</div><div>See you all tonight!</div>
<div><br></div><div>-Helen Chao</div><div>CMUBDC Lessons Coordinator, Spr '11<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">capellan tanguero</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:capellantanguero@yahoo.com">capellantanguero@yahoo.com</a>></span><br>
Date: Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 11:29 AM<br>Subject: CMUBDC tango class newsletter 101-1<br>To: <a href="mailto:helenc@andrew.cmu.edu">helenc@andrew.cmu.edu</a><br><br><br><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr>
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<p style="background:#ccccff" align="center"><font size="5"><b>CMUBDC / Pittsburgh Tangueros</b></font>
</p><p style="background:#ccccff" align="center"><font style="font-size:16pt" size="4"><b>Class Newsletter</b></font>
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</p><p style="background:#ccccff" align="center"><font size="4"><i><b>Tango is walking in an embrace</b></i></font>
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</p><p align="center"><font style="font-size:16pt" size="4"><b>101 Week 1</b></font>
</p><div><font style="font-size:16pt" size="4"><b>Contents:</b></font> </div>
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<ol>
<li>
<div><font size="4"><b>Tango overview</b></font></div>
</li><li>
<div><font size="4"><b>Summary of 1<sup>st</sup> half of class Walking</b></font></div>
</li><li>
<div><font size="4"><b>Summary of 2<sup>nd</sup> half of class Parada-sandwich-pasada</b></font></div>
</li><li>
<div><font size="4"><b>Terminology</b></font></div>
</li><li>
<div><font size="4"><b>Featured tangueros:</b></font></div></li></ol>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p style="font-weight:normal"><font size="3">Gustavo & Giselle</font> </p></li></ul></ul>
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<div><b><font size="4">Resources</font> </b></div></li></ol>
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</p><div><font size="4"><b>Tango Overview</b></font></div>
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<div>Thank you to everyone who attended the Argentine tango class last week. I hope you find tango as rewarding as I do. </div>
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<div>Argentine Tango (AT) is diverse dance. It has an immense range of styles and techniques. It uses music with 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures. </div>
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<div>AT is different from American tango aka ballroom tango.</div>
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<div>AT is not codified or standardized. There is no universal syllabus of steps. </div>
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<div>AT thinks of an embrace (hug), rather than a frame.</div>
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<div>AT uses an upper body connection with the legs and hips apart (in American tango the upper body is apart).</div>
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<div>In AT the leader's feet are directly in front of the followers feet. In American tango the feet are slightly offset.</div>
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<div>AT makes constant use of cross-foot walking, e.g. both leader and follower step on their left foot at the same time, or both step on their right foot at the same time. This seldom occurs in the ballroom dances.</div>
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<div><font size="4"><b>Summary of the 1</b></font><sup><font size="4"><b>st</b></font></sup><font size="4"><b> half of class</b></font></div>
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<div><b>Walking</b> Every beginning tango student learns how to walk with a partner. If you can walk up the stairs, and walk down the street, then you can learn the tango walk. That's not to say it's easy. Most tango dancers work hard to perfect their walk. There are some challenges: </div>
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<div>Walking with a partner right in front of you (personal space issues). </div>
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<div>Synchronizing your walk with your partner (stepping on toes). </div>
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<div>Walking in a straight line (elegance). </div>
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<div>Walking without swaying, bobbing, or weaving (stability).</div></li></ul>
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<div><b>Embrace</b> Salon tango typically uses a V-embrace that is asymmetrical, i.e. the woman's left side is closer to her partner than her right side (man's right side is closer to his partner than his left side). Both dancers maintain their own vertical axis, with the weight on the front part of the foot. </div>
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<div>There is a light contact between the upper bodies, like a hug, but space between the hips and legs while walking. (This is in contrast to American tango.) </div>
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<div>The woman's left arm is usually around her partner. There is no hard and fast rule about where she must place her hand. </div>
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<div><font size="3"><b>Forward lean</b></font><font size="3"><span style="font-weight:normal"> The posture has a </span></font><font size="3"><i><span style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-weight:normal">slight</span></span></i></font><font size="3"><span style="font-weight:normal"> forward lean, so that the weight is primarily on the front part of the foot, i.e. the ball of the foot. Don't lean so far that you have to clench your toes. You maintain this forward posture as you start to take the step and throughout the step. When you finish a step you should have the same amount of lean as when you started the step, but your weight is now on the other foot. The forward lean is necessary for both the men and the woman. </span></font></div>
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</p><div><font size="3"><b>Forward lean for women</b></font><font size="3"><span style="font-weight:normal"> This seems paradoxical. The woman must keep her body forward even as she extends her leg backward. If the woman does not keep her weight over the front part of her foot at all times, her feet will get stepped on. Even thought the woman has a forward lean, she maintains her own balance, i.e she does not hang on the leader, or use the leader as a crutch to maintain her balance. </span></font></div>
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</p><div><font size="3"><b>Forward lean test</b></font><font size="3"><span style="font-weight:normal"> (while standing still on both feet) Try to flex your base knee to click your heel on the floor. If you can't click your heel on the floor, then your weight is too far back. On the other hand, if you are leaning so far forward that your heel is permanently off the floor, you are too far forward.</span></font></div>
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<div><b>Communicating</b> Leaders must communicate when to step, where to step, and how far to step. Followers must communicate what foot they are on, and where that foot is. This is done in a fraction of a second, entirely without words. This communication requires a firm, clear axis.</div>
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<div><b>Followers' rules</b> Here are some important guidelines for the follower: </div>
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<div><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Stay in front of your partner </span></div>
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<div><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Keep a constant distance from your partner. </span></div>
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<div><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><font style="background-color:#ffffff">Keep all your weight on just one foot at a time. </font></span></div>
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<div><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><font style="background-color:#ffffff">Don't shift weight unless there is a lead to shift weight.</font></span></div>
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<p style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><span style="background:#ccccff"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><font style="background-color:#ffffff">Be sure to </font><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUnjLtLF4ro" target="_blank"><font style="background-color:#ffffff">watch this clip of Giselle Anne</font></a><font style="background-color:#ffffff"> to see how you should walk. </font></span><font style="background-color:#ffffff"><font face="times new roman, new york, times, serif"><font size="3"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">The first 50 seconds show the basic walking that we covered in our first class. Notice how they move together effortlessly. Keep a picture of them in your mind when you come to the next class.</span></font></font><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"> Pay special attention to the amount of forward lean that they have while walking.
</span><b><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Women</span></b><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"> pay special attention to the way Giselle extends her free leg as she walks backward. Notice that her free leg is straight while she extends it. </span></font></span></p>
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<div><b>Patterns</b> The patterns were all based on an 8-count musical phrase. The 8 counts could be thought of as 8 slow walking steps. You practiced four patterns that fit the 8-count musical phrase. The purpose of the patterns was to help teach the techniques and concepts described above. The patterns were:</div>
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<div>walk-walk-walk-walk weight-change weight-change pause</div>
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<div>walk-walk-walk-walk check-step weight-change weight-change pause</div>
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<div>walk-walk-walk-walk check-step weight-change check-step weight-change</div>
</li><li>
<div>walk-walk-walk-walk check-step weight-change pause</div></li></ul>
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<div><font size="4"><b>Summary of 2<sup>nd</sup> half of class </b></font></div>
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</p><p style="font-weight:normal"><font size="3">In the 2<sup>nd</sup> half of the class we worked on a figure that combined three elements:</font>
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<p style="font-weight:normal"><font size="3">parada</font>
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<p style="font-weight:normal"><font size="3">sandwich</font>
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<p style="font-weight:normal"><font size="3">pasada</font></p></li><p></p><p></p></ul>
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<div><u>Parada</u></div>
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<div>The term parada means to stop. It means the motion stops. The woman stops moving because the man stops moving. This stop can occur on the woman's side step, back step or forward step. In our class we focused on one specific instance of the parada, stopping the woman's back step.</div>
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<div>A parada means that the bodies and feet stop moving. Coincidentally, the man places his right foot next to the woman's left foot. This creates the illusion that the man's foot is stopping the woman's foot. <b>It is only an illusion</b>. The woman's foot stopped moving because her body stopped.</div>
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<div>You began the <span style="font-weight:normal">parada</span><b> </b><span style="font-weight:normal">when</span><b> </b>the man leads the woman to pivot clockwise on her left foot, then he leads her to step back on her right foot. Normally the woman would collect, i.e. bring her knees and ankles together. However, the man stops moving his upper body, and uses his right forearm to apply a minute amount of pressure on the woman's back. </div>
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<div>At the same time the man extends his right foot, placing it next to her left foot. The woman should stop with about 95% of her weight on her back foot (the right foot). Her left foot remains extended, and in contact with the floor, but almost weightless. </div>
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<div><u>Leader's tips:</u></div>
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<div>The specific parada that you learned in class went to the man's right, i.e. clockwise. The simplest way to lead this is to change the woman's weight to her left foot with a simple weight change in place, then pivot her CW on her left foot, and invite her to step back with her right foot. </div>
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<div>It is easier for the woman to pivot CW if she is already moving to the man's right. This converts the momentum of her step into the pivot. This means that the parada could be initiated with a simple side step to (the man's) right. </div>
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<div>In our class the parada can occur whenever the woman is stepping back on her right foot, while moving around to the man's right. This is called a <i>back crossing step</i>. The back crossing step occurs during back ochos. It also occurs during the molinete. (The molinete sequence is
.forward-side back-side forward.....) This means that the parada can occur during back ochos and during the molinete.</div>
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<div><u>Sandwich</u></div>
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<div>Next the man moves his left foot so that his feet create a <span style="font-weight:normal">sandwich</span> around the woman's left foot. His feet should only overlap a few inches with her feet.</div>
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<div><u>Pasada</u></div>
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<div>Next the man steps back with his right foot, and leads the woman to shift her axis forward onto her left foot. Finally, he leads her to step forward with her right foot. This last step is called a <span style="font-weight:normal">pasada</span>, because the woman steps over his left foot, i.e. she <i>passes over</i> his foot.</div>
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</p><p style="font-weight:normal"><br>
</p><div><font size="4"><b><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Video of the parada-sandwich-pasada</span></b></font></div>
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</p><p style="font-weight:normal"><font size="3"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Here is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB0OvBQom5w" target="_blank">a video clip that illustrates the parada/sandwich/pasada sequenc</a>e similar to what you learned in class.</span></font>
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</p><hr>
<div><font size="4"><b>Terminology</b></font></div>
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<div><b>Weight shifts</b> A weight shift means that you shift 100% of your weight from one foot to the other foot. This occurs whenever you take a step. However, the phrase <i>weight shift</i> usually implies in place, i.e. shift the weight from one foot to the other while the body stays on one spot. Weight shifts can be interspersed with walking. The simplest kind of weight shift is when both the leader and the follower shift weight in the same direction at the same time. You practiced simple weight shifts at the beginning of class. </div>
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<div><font size="3"><b>Base leg </b></font><font size="4"><b> </b></font><font size="3"><span style="font-weight:normal">The base leg is the leg you are standing on. In tango the woman tries to keep all her weight on just the base leg. </span></font></div>
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</p><div><font size="3"><b>Free leg</b></font><font size="3"><span style="font-weight:normal"> The free leg is the leg that doesn't have any weight. The free leg is the leg that you will move to when you take the next step. If you are standing on your left leg, then your free leg is the right leg. </span></font></div>
<p style="font-weight:normal"><br>
</p><div><font size="3"><b>Free foot </b></font><font size="3"><span style="font-weight:normal"> The free foot remains in contact with the floor, but with no weight. One way to think of this is that the shoe is on the floor, but the foot is off the floor. Your free foot remains free whether you are standing still or walking. In other words the free shoe should remain in contact with the floor even when you are walking (but no weight). The free foot skims across the floor as you take a step. This gives beginners extra stability. </span></font></div>
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</p><div><font size="3"><b>Axis </b></font><font size="4"><b> </b></font><font size="3"><span style="font-weight:normal">The axis is a straight firm line from the ball of the base foot, up through the hip, up to the shoulder. The axis is recreated each time you take a step or shift weight. If your axis is bent, or curved, or floppy, your partner will not be able to tell what foot you are on. </span></font></div>
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<p style="text-decoration:none"><font size="4"><b>Featured Tangeros</b></font>
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</p><div><font face="times new roman, new york, times, serif"><b>Gustavo Naveira & Giselle Anne</b></font><font face="times new roman, new york, times, serif"> are two of the big names in the world of Argentine tango. If you look at some of their clips, you'll quickly see that they can dance from the spectacular to the sublime. </font> </div>
<div><font face="times new roman, new york, times, serif"><font size="3">Clarin, the major Buenos Aires daily paper, identified Gustavo as one of the major influences on contemporary tango. He was instrumental in the development of nuevo tango. Gustavo was one of the dancers in the movie "The Tango Lesson". </font></font></div>
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<div><font face="times new roman, new york, times, serif"><font size="3">Most of their clips on YouTube are spectacular performances intended to wow the crowd. These performances are somewhat choreographed, in contrast to the social tango that you are learning in class. However,<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu05NXBwXNk" target="_blank"> here is a snippet that shows them executing the caminda, i.e. the tango walk</a>, during the middle of a performance. Notice how they fit their movement to the music. </font></font></div>
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<div><font size="4"><b>Resources</b></font> </div>
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<div><b>Gateway: </b>There is a single web site that serves as the gateway to all the Pittsburgh area tango organizations: Visit <a href="http://pittsburgh-tango.com/" target="_blank">http://pittsburgh-tango.com/</a> . </div>
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<div><b>Announcements: </b>Would you like to receive email announcements of future tango events in the Pittsburgh area? Then sign up with tangueros-unidos at <a href="http://list.pitt.edu/mailman/listinfo/Tangueros-Unidos" target="_blank">http://list.pitt.edu/mailman/listinfo/Tangueros-Unidos</a> . They send out about 1-3 emails per week. </div>
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<div><b>Background:</b> Are you interested in the background of tango? Then you could start with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_Tango" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_Tango</a> or <a href="http://www.tejastango.com/beginning_tango.html" target="_blank">http://www.tejastango.com/beginning_tango.html</a> .</div>
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<div><font size="4"><b>Preview of the next class</b></font> </div>
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<p style="font-weight:normal"><font size="3">In the next class you will begin working on the woman's ocho. The ocho is simply a sequence of steps and pivots for the woman. The challenge for the women will be to learn when to pivot, and when to step, while maintaining a clear axis. The challenge for the men will be to move around the woman's axis without pulling her off-balance. </font>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><font style="font-size:16pt" size="4"><b>Events calendar</b></font> </span>
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</p><p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Click <a href="http://www.pittsburghtangueros.org/calendar.html" target="_blank">here for a calendar of Pittsburgh milongas, practicas and workshops</a>. Once you get to the calendar you can click on individual events to see additional event details (like addresses).</span></font>
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</p><p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><u><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">weekly events:</span></u></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><b>Tuesday</b> practica at WSCC $5-$8 7:30 9:30 pm </span></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><b>Wednesday</b> milonga at Peter's Pub *free* 8-9pm lesson; 9-12am dance</span></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><b>Thursday</b> practica at Zafira's $5 7:45 9:00pm</span></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><font size="3"><b>Sunday</b></font> m<font size="3">ilonga at Wightman $10-15 7-8pm lesson; 8-11pm dance</font></span></font></p>
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</p><p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Future milongas:</span></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Jan 22 Absolute Ballroom</span></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Feb 4 Rich's </span></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Feb 12 Zafira's</span></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0in;background:#ccccff"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><span style="background:none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%">Feb 26 Absolute Ballroom</span></font></p></li><p></p><p></p><p></p></ul>
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<div><i>"tango...two hearts, four legs, one dancer"</i> </div>
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<div>Jerry Minshall</div>
<div>412-661-2480</div>
<div><a href="mailto:CapellanTanguero@yahoo.com" target="_blank">CapellanTanguero@yahoo.com</a></div>
<div><a href="http://www.pittsburghtangueros.org/classes.html" target="_blank">http://www.pittsburghtangueros.org/classes.html</a></div>
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