Phrasing Anyone?

Shoes Too Tight? Ok, somebody try this and tell us if it works.

They say that 90% of women buy their shoes too small.

If you read the comments they also describe a method using a blow dryer.

Same Place... Different Milonga (Practica)....Tango as it is Danced in Baires

How is Tango danced in Buenos Aires...well, it depends on which night you go,



and in the same city...in fact in the same room...




videos above were found here along with many videos of various milongas in BsAs as well as a great number of sights worth visiting there(click on uploads... there are 409 videos at the time of this post)

by these people (seems to be a very good resource if you are travelling to Baires)

And from a different source (this is what I found when I visited this location in 2009 The most traditional milonga I have ever seen...also the sweatiest)



(Notice that the music remains traditional from video to video)

El Tango Es Uno!

Exercise for Good Tango Posture

This is a great exercise for posture improvement, concentrating on the shoulders (95% of non professional dancers need improvement in this area).




Give it a shot, it's really almost painless. (One of the things Tango dancers notice most about people is their posture, this holds true when deciding who to dance with...just saying).

The goal is too eliminate hyperkyphosis (excessive outward curvature of the spine in the thorax region) this is why I encourage people to open their rib cage upward.

It is also important to keep your head centered "on top of" your axis rather than "in front of",or "behind" your axis.

I do not agree with her idea that the hips should be tucked in! ( for examples of proper posture please search Youtube for videos of the most accomplished tango followers or leaders...i.e. Marina Montes, Geraldine Rojas,...etc...     I believe that the hips should be held back slightly to create a space between partners hips and feet and allow for a bent standing leg rather than locked knees and no room at the hips and below (please notice that the hips should be held back slightly, this does not imply any bending at the waist, rather it allows for and accentuates the natural curve of the spine.




For more on posture see
Tango Posture Imagery

and Movement Invites Movement (blog)

Denver Memorial Day Weekend Tango Festival 2010

Last weekend I attended the Tenth Annual Denver Memorial Day Weekend Tango Festival.

I had a fantastic four days and for the most part the dancing was extremely good and I totaly enjoyed almost every milonga that I attended.

Here are a couple of videos that others took of the festival.

First the Tango Colorado picnic at Cheesman Park, the most beautiful day I can remember there.


And for a change of pace some Tango rap From Momo Smitt at the alternative milonga Sat. afternoon. (the video is sideways at first but staightens out after a few seconds)

Poison Pens

I recently read someones post somewhere in which the person writing was highly critical of one of the best dancers in the world, in this case it was Gereldine Rojas (her embrace didn't meet this persons standards)...are you kidding me?



It is not an isolated incident, you will read all over the internet people hating on people that deserve nothing but respect for their skill and accomplishments names like Frumboli, Naviera, Rodriguez, Arce, etc... people that have forgotten more about Tango than most people will ever know.

I try to remain positive on this blog, and in life (sometimes difficult and often I fail).

I can not for the life of me figure out why people are so hateful and negative...the only reason I can think of is jealousy.

The funny thing is that almost always if you take the time to find the author of one of these haters on video they almost always suck.

I could post a few but that would be wrong (or would it be karma, justice or whatever you want to call it)

What a Way to Go

Nick Jones and Amy Anderson VERY FUNNY!

I think I saw this guy dancing in Buenos Aires.

Watching Tango Makes You a Better Dancer!

I watch a lot of videos on Youtube (at the time of this posting over 7500 mostly tango related). I know, I should get a life, but remember, I live in a Tango Wasteland. As it turns out this may actually stimulate the same areas of the brain that are used during the actual dance (see the link below for reference if you like).

I am not saying that one can learn to dance Tango on the internet, they cannot.

I know one couple that took a few lessons and decided they could study this way and improve their dance. They do dance, and it is unique. It is not tango by any stretch of the imagination, mostly a lot of very poorly executed big moves (volcadas, leg wraps, ganchos, etc... mixed up with a few snipets from other dances all smashed together) Painful to watch! Painful to be anywhere near them while they are dancing, yet they enjoy themselves (who am I to judge).

On the other hand according to this article once someone has a personal knowledge of a dance and has experience actually dancing the dance they can process what they are seeing and actually learn something purely through the visual.

There really is no substitute for one on one personal instruction from a competent instructor.

ref link

Also this

Her Tango

Wow!

Relaxation = Dynamic Tango

From time to time I get the pleasure of dancing with a follower who is completely relaxed, (they seem to be few and far between, at least around these parts) when I say relaxed what I mean is that they maintain their core (No noodle bodies please) but allow their hips and legs freedom to build torsion. This is paramount to disassociation and dynamic movement. I would compare it, if you will allow me, to the difference between hitting an rock on the ground with a stick, and hitting a golf ball with a three hundred dollar driver, guess which one will give you the most pleasure (not to mention the issue of distance and control).

The opposite of what I have described above would be a follower who kills this freedom of motion by tightening the major muscles of her lower extremities (translation; You can't dance tango with a stick up your a--!), or a follower who is trying to "do something" with her feet/legs.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for both partners adding to the dance and the feeling of the dance, expression is everything and key to mutual enjoyment, I think that each of the partners major goal should be giving themselves to the other (becoming "one" with each other and the music) the follower is the diamond the leader is the ring.

As an example

http://tangostudent.blogspot.com/2008/09/boleo-embrace.html