Catch the Flirtation

Here's a new video, hot off the presses!  The performance was recorded at a festival in Karlsruhe, Germany on May 26, and just published on Youtube today!

Sebastian Jimenez and Maria Ines Bogado are emerging tango stars who launched their career by winning the 2010 world championship in Buenos Aires for Tango Salon.  We Argentine Tango people are not big on competitions, but winning this annual event brought instant worldwide recognition to the young artists.  Sebastian was only 18 at the time! 

They are students of Carlos and Rosa Perez, masters of the Villa Urquiza Style, the style I call Rose Vine Tango, which I love and I teach. 

In the following video, watch to see if you can identify where are the Vine Segments (walks and traveling figures) and where are the Roses and Rose Clusters (stationary and circular figures, and sequences of Roses).  This exercise may help my tanguero readers with their improvisation, and help some of my tango teacher readers to further help their students improvise competently and confidently. (And my tanguera readers can just enjoy the knowledge.)

In this video, in addition to watching for Vine Segments and Roses or Rose Clusters, notice the firtation initated by Maria Ines when she doesn't just take Sebastian's game at 2:27 passively, but at 2:30 she returns the game on him . . . and how sensually she does it! 



http://youtu.be/f2U7dOTsMKU

The music is Esta Noche de Luna, by the orchestra of Osvaldo Pugliese, with singer Jorge Maciel.

In the coming weeks, I'll be posting more videos from Sebastian and Maria Ines' performance at this festival, with some more mini-lessons for you.

Tango Adolescence and Manhood (Part 2 of “The 3 Phases of Tango Man")

 

Last week we talked about the Phase 1 of a tanguero’s development, Tango Childhood, in which I said he must focus very much on himself because he has so many new skills to master!  

 

Once our new tanguero has gotten competent enough at all the basic Phase 1 skills (review last week's article here), and has them in his “muscle memory”, he can begin to explore his own creativity. He’s entering Phase 2, Tango Adolescence.

 

 

Often, by the time he’s had some positive experiences dancing in milongas, he starts getting hungry to learn many figures and ways to combine them. And then he can learn to deconstruct them and recombine them! This is indeed fascinating creative work. The possibilities are endless!

 

His new relationship with his creative side can become intoxicating. That's one reason people get hooked on Tango and may humorously call themselves "tango junkies". I think it's a very healthy “addiction”.  

 

But if his focus remains mainly on his own creative exploration, he gets stuck in what I'd call a "False Phase 2" - the “Puer aeternus” or “Peter Pan Syndrome” of Tango. 

 

At this point, I'd like to tap our enthusiastic intermediate level tanguero on the shoulder and remind him that "It takes two to tango".  

 

The “True Phase 2” is about mastering the woman's axis and understanding everything he can about her movements.  

 

He must now discipline himself to think less about himself and focus instead on the woman he’s embracing. He must master HER axis, in addition to his own. He must learn to recognize how everything he does with his torso or changes of weight affects her. And he must shift his thinking away from "what do I want to do?" to:

Sebastian Jimenez and Maria Ines Bogado 

• "what do I want *my partner* to do?”, and
• “what's the best way to invite her to do it, so it works for my improvisation, and so that she feels good doing it?".

Now, each movement the tanguero makes is in service of getting her to collaborate in his improvisation.

 

Paradoxically, this new focus of his supports, rather than restricts, the woman's autonomy! The more respectful control you have over the woman's axis ("respectful" meaning you never grip her so as to impede her free movement within your embrace), and the more control you have over the precise degree of pivot or length of step you're asking her to do, and the time she needs to complete that pivot or step, the more you allow her to move with precision, and with a greater sense of freedom!

 

So the woman, rather than struggling to dance well while being forced out of balance or being rushed to take a step, or guessing where you're asking her to go, will have the freedom to dance her best, autonomously, in balance, and in relation to you! And NOW, thanks to your shifted focus and your mastery of her axis, she can express herself toward you in her tango. 

 

Doing this can leapfrog you to the advanced Module 8 of my Permission Seduction™ Tango Learning System: "Master the art of the Dynamic Dialog!"  This is where tango can become more intimate, more provocative, and without a doubt more gratifying for both partners.

Men who dance with a focus on achieving clarity in leading the woman's dance* with a competent and respectful understanding of her axis are usually the favorite dancers of women at any milonga. (*But not her embellishments - more on this another time.)

This, to me, is what separates the men from the boys in tango! In the fulfillment of Phase 2, a Tango Adolescent becomes a Tango Man. 

 

Phase 3 (Optional) - Virtuosity

 

- - -

 

Having mastered Phase 2, and owning the skill of dancing to lead the woman with clarity and with care, he can focus on himself again, and develop his own individual artistry. He can learn many more figures and combinations of figures, as well as both learn and invent ways to deconstruct and creatively reconstruct figures as he navigates in a full milonga. He can develop his own embellishments and his "stolen steps", with which he can show off without disturbing what he's asking his partner to do. He can develop more sophisticated musicality, which is essential to taking his tango to a higher level of artistry, if that is where he wants to go. He can go as far as he wants to go with his tango expression, and even become a performer. The learning possibilities are endless and accessible to everyone.  

Claudio Villagra and Romina Levin

 

I consider Phase 3 - Developing Virtuosity - completely optional, because a tanguero can dance all his life continually maturing and enriching his Phase 2: his basic expression and his musicality, and his communication with the woman in his embrace. It takes only a mastery of Phase 1 plus Phase 2 skills, for a man to become a tanguero that women eagerly await at every milonga!

 

 

The 3 Phases of Tango Man (Part 1)

Those of us who teach are constantly learning as we teach. A lightbulb went on in my head one day last year that changed my understanding of how men learn to dance social Tango.  

 

I have come to see the development of a tangero's skill in three main phases.  Today we’ll look at the first.

 

 

Phase 1:  Tango "Childhood"

 

When he starts learning tango, I believe a man must focus on himself.  

 

- He must learn how to master his own axis, or in non-tango terms, to acquire an excellent sense of balance. (How can he confidently lead the woman in his embrace if he’s wobbling all over the place?)  

 

- He must master his tango walks, understanding especially what it means to walk with "intention", which is what we call our way of walking decisively. And he must understand when he and his partner are walking in Parallel System (i.e., man's left foot with woman's right, universally used in couple dances), and when they are  walking in Crossed System (exclusive to Argentine Tango; there's no such thing as being on the wrong foot! You're just in the other system).  

 

- He must develop a tango embrace that's comfortable for both him and his partner, and be able to adapt his embrace to women of all shapes and sizes.  

 

- Even as a beginner, he must learn elementary musicality, because music in Tango is the common denominator between the man and the woman.  

 

- He must learn how to pivot correctly, which means first understanding his natural Spiral and learning to dissociate his upper from his lower body. Unless he’s a seasoned golfer (or student of Pilates), this requires exercising a bit to increase the range of torsion in his upper body. 

 

- He must learn how to navigate in the line of dance, without bumping into others.

 

- He must start to build a vocabulary of basic figures in addition to several walks (as I define them, 7 basic walks!). 

 

- And as far as his lead goes, he must always know, feeling through the embrace, on which foot the woman has her weight, and pay attention to how all his movements affect the woman he’s embracing. 

 

At this point, he deserves, if not a university degree, at least a carnation in his lapel! (A man will learn all these skills, albeit with just a small vocabulary of figures that I call "Roses" in your "Rose Vine Strategy", in just the first few modules of my Permission Seduction Tango Mastery System^TM, the foundation of all my teaching.)

 

- - -

 

Once our new tanguero has gotten competent enough at all the basic Phase 1 skills I’ve just listed, he can begin to explore his own creativity, a pleasure he can enjoy even if he started from zero, with no particular talent for dance! 

 

This new relationship with his creative side can become intoxicating!  That's one reason people get hooked on Tango and may humorously call themselves . . . (guess!)

 

Next week I’ll tell you what "hooked" tango lovers they call themselves (unless you tell me first), and we'll talk about “The False Phase 2” and “The True Phase 2” of Tango Man. 

Creating Beauty

I've been thinking about the boleo for the last few weeks.  And I've been thinking about beauty. 

Two weeks ago I sent you my Thursday practica/no practica announcement with a video of "Rose Vine Tango Diva" Natacha Poberaj with Jesus Velasquez performing over a decade ago in the world famous show, "Una Noche de Tango".  I asked you to look with me, as I identified the various types of boleos they perform. 

The boleo is one of the elements that most brings the awareness of beauty in tango to observers.  And boleos, when done well, feel beautiful to both partners.

Since I was a child, beauty has always been important to me.  Beauty in my enviroment gave me a sense of wellbeing, even when I wasn't conscious of the need. I had a gift for and loved making beautiful things.  I loved art since I was old enough to take books from my mother's collection off the shelves and I'd pore over the reproductions of great paintings for hours, losing all sense of time.  Dance performances took my breath away.  Each Spring I would find my wellbeing by standing in front of the big lilac bush in back of the house, studying the pale purple bossoms and inhaling the intoxicating fragrance. 

I am sure many of my readers can relate to this.  If you weren't a lover of beautiful things, you probably would appreciate neither my writing about tango nor the videos I choose to send you. Of all tango's marvelous characteristics that people value, beauty is to me perhaps the most important. 

 
I changed hairdressers a few months ago, leaving the delightful stylist of whom I was so fond, in favor of one with an expertise in curly hair with her own line of organic hair products.  For the first time since I returned to the U.S. from Italy, I rediscovered the beauty of my own hair, which I'd been pulling back into a tight ponytail for over three years. I started a daily ritual of caring for my hair in ways I hadn't in many years, and this spilled over into other aspects of my grooming.  

At first I was shocked at the degree of time and attention I was giving to my appearance.  But then it occurred to me that by beautifying myself, I am honoring the Universe!  I made the connection to my early spiritual life:  I learned growing up in Judaism of the concept of "Hiddur Mitzvah", meaning "beautification of the commandment" - voluntarily bringing an extra level of beauty to the daily acts and rituals prescribed by the ancient texts. 

I find the concept of beautifying almost anything beautiful in itself because the act of beautifying comes from an individual's creative inspiration! While rituals easily provide opportunities to beautify the doing of them, and I'm sure you can think of examples that are close to your heart, we all find opportunities to beautify our otherwise everyday acts as well:  like when we set the dinner table with great care; like when we choose very special pieces and colors for our home or office - things that make us feel wonderful when we see or use them; like when we keep our environments clean and orderly so the beautiful things in them stand in their glory; like when we take extra care in our grooming before we leave the house; like when we lovingly tend our houseplants and gardens; like when we go beyond the basic drive-through car wash and choose auto detailing!

Finding and creating beauty in our environment and in our daily acts uplifts us and those around us, especially when the act of beautifying springs from desires and sensations deep within us.  

Creating beauty in our tango uplifts us.  

I would truly love to hear your thoughts, and to know what acts of beautification are meaningful to you!  Please share your comments.

Boleo Secrets for Men and Women

First, a great boleo secret for my Tangueros:  When leading boleos, keep yourself laser-focused on your partner’s axis!  I'm recommending a focus that's much more than a general awareness.

I'll give you a preliminary exercise for leading boleos that will help.  It’s from my lesson on "Mastering the Woman's Axis", which is also my preparation for the molinete.  In essence you’ll be playing with the woman's walk and pivot. (This exercise is part of Section 4 “Intimate Dynamic Dialog” in "Tango Improvisation Mastery™" online home study program.)

Here's the exercise:

Stand facing your partner with your feet at shoulder width, and she can start with her feet together. With your arms stretched toward her, elbows facing down, and palms of your hands facing up, hold both your partner’s hands. Using just the rotation of your upper body and the connection through our hands, lead her slowly and carefully to pivot, then to take one step on the circumference of an imaginary circle around you. When she arrives in her balance, lead her to pivot again, and play with her pivot a few times, being aware of the verticality of her axis at all times.  Experiment with the concept of “winding up her spiral”. Do the same in the opposite direction, always leading her to walk in a partial circle around you.

Make sure to keep your feet in the original position. Don’t take any steps; only your partner walks in this exercise.  Use only the torsion of your upper body to lead her partially around you and to return in front of you, as well as to “wind up her spiral” to invite her to pivot.

Be extra careful not to pull her or push her with your arms.  For this reason it is essential that you keep a keen awareness of her axis.  Your partner should tell you if you are pushing or pulling her off her axis.

You can let your partner know if you find her anticipating your lead, or you can just be quiet and lead the movement again. She should be aware of when she is in balance and when she is not (a question of her both her own stability and of your skill at leading her while respecting her axis).

That was the preliminary exercise.

Now, for the boleo exercise, just lead a side step to your left, change weight (go into crossed system), “wind up her spiral” with your upper body moving around her axis to your right to lead her pivot, and then calmly lead a return-pivot.  If your partner is in axis with her free leg relaxed, and with energy down the invisible line that runs down the inside of her leg (see woman’s tips below), she will do a small boleo on the floor.  Leading her to flex the knee of her standing leg is one way to widen the arc of her boleo on the floor.

When you can do this basic exercise slowly and calmly, protecting her axis on the first pivot and on the return, then start experimenting with different degrees of energy and different timing in leading the return.  This is a very organic way of learning to master leading a boleo.  When you have both mastered the preliminary walk-and-pivot exercise and the slow boleo exercise, you may be surprised when it comes time to experiment with the timing and energy levels on your leading the return pivot, that all of a sudden, your partner’s foot will fly off the floor and draw a beautiful arc in the air.  By experimenting, using the correct dynamics that you will have developed in the preparatory exercises, you will both master the high boleo in an organic way.

When you've gotten some competence going to the your left side, try doing the same to your right.  Work on becoming equally competent on both sides.

(Later you can experiment with sending her free foot away from her into a projection at the farthest point of the pivot, before leading the return. Think of a paddle with a ball on an elastic string.  Her foot on the floor is the ball, her free leg is the elastic string. But the basics are enough for now!)

* * * * *

And here’s a critical boleo tip for my Tangueras:

Our thighs in tango have no brains!  Send your thighs’ brains on a vacation to Club Med.  :)

The thigh of our free leg has only two simple jobs:  1) to hang, 2) to swing.  (We learn to feel this deeply in Advanced Tango Fundamentals Module #1!)  The thigh of our supporting leg does work; it supports us, but as effortlessly as a cherry tree produces cherries.  These are the thigh’s only natural jobs, requiring no brainwork!

Remember that "a boleo is something that HAPPENS TO US" when the man leads it, and our free leg is relaxed and hanging "from the hook" that connects it to our pelvis.   We do not make our leg work in most boleos.  We do not use our thigh to lift any part of our leg!!  Keep your foot on the floor at the beginning, drawing an arc on the floor when you receive the lead to pivot and return.

Later, the your foot will rise by itself (while your thigh and knee still hang down), when your partner puts more energy into leading your return pivot.  It's a question of 1) his energy and timing plus his awareness of your axis, and 2) YOUR awareness of your own Infinite Axis, and the complete relaxation of your free leg, starting from the muscles around your hip joint - while still maintaining a sense of energy in a line down the inside of your leg, that goes from your groin to the tip of your big toe (ankle included!).

For both of you:   Together you’ll find the “sweet spot” of your boleo energy, and you’ll both find that once you've mastered it with one partner, it will easily work with most other partners.

It could take a whole session or two to start to get this, but when you do, you'll have this strong skill forever!  And, high or low, if feels soooo good to do a great boleo!

* * * * *  

Natacha's Boleos 

 
Natacha Poberaj and Jesus Velasquez

http://youtu.be/f6MT84basqo

Watch for Natacha's boleos at 0:07, 0:20, 0:53, 1:05, 1:21, 2:21, 1:47, 2:43, and 2:52. Notice the great diversity that is possible with the same kind of movement one tango. (Did I miss any? Natacha's boleo at 0:26 is really an adorno; it's not led!) Remember that Jesus is leading these boleos all differently, and that Natacha responds with sensitivity to the lead each time.  Notice also that in every one, the thigh of her boleo leg does nothing but hang or swing, and so the knee of that leg is always pointing toward the floor.