Showing posts with label imagery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label imagery. Show all posts
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Willingness Vs. Eagerness
What kind of partner do you want to be...What kind of partner do you want to share this experience with?
What is the difference between someone who is willing to go on a date with you and someone who is eager to go on a date with you?
Who would you hire a person willing to do a job or someone eager to join your team?
Who is going to learn to play the guitar faster, the eager student or the one willing to give it a try?
Enthusiasm makes all the difference!
What is the difference between someone who is willing to go on a date with you and someone who is eager to go on a date with you?
Who would you hire a person willing to do a job or someone eager to join your team?
Who is going to learn to play the guitar faster, the eager student or the one willing to give it a try?
Enthusiasm makes all the difference!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Guaranteed Way to Get More Dances at a Milonga (The Paparazzi Method)
It's very simple really...Smile. Smile when you are dancing, smile when aren't, laugh at yourself, laugh at life.
Do this experiment for yourself...look up photos of people dancing online, facebook, whatever...look for people you don't know.... that you would like to dance with, most of the time they will be smiling...look for photos of people that are not dancing, often they will not be smiling. Smiling often just makes people more approachable!
We have all seen photographs of ourselves and if we aren't smiling, many times we will cringe at our own image and wonder why the photographer took such an unflattering image of us, guess what, it's our own fault for not putting our best forward as often as possible. Pretend that someone is just waiting to take secret photos of you while you are at the milonga (Tango Paparazzi), sell yourself to the public. The paparazzi method I've described will also help you with other very important concepts in Tango as well, things like posture, step technique, etc...
Smiling can actually change your mood. So put a smile on, even if you don't feel like it, and pretty soon you'll be smiling for real. (Fake It 'Til you Make It!)
When looking for a partner to cabeceo, this is very high on my list. I'm sure I'm not the only one. I want my partner to smile, it reflects well on my dancing ability. And I've seen photos of people dancing and making almost painful facial expressions, no one wants to dance with a sourpuss.
I know, Tango is serious business, and some of the lyrics are well...depressing, but believe me it works.
You don't have to grin like the Cheshire cat, but you can!
Do this experiment for yourself...look up photos of people dancing online, facebook, whatever...look for people you don't know.... that you would like to dance with, most of the time they will be smiling...look for photos of people that are not dancing, often they will not be smiling. Smiling often just makes people more approachable!
We have all seen photographs of ourselves and if we aren't smiling, many times we will cringe at our own image and wonder why the photographer took such an unflattering image of us, guess what, it's our own fault for not putting our best forward as often as possible. Pretend that someone is just waiting to take secret photos of you while you are at the milonga (Tango Paparazzi), sell yourself to the public. The paparazzi method I've described will also help you with other very important concepts in Tango as well, things like posture, step technique, etc...
Smiling can actually change your mood. So put a smile on, even if you don't feel like it, and pretty soon you'll be smiling for real. (Fake It 'Til you Make It!)
When looking for a partner to cabeceo, this is very high on my list. I'm sure I'm not the only one. I want my partner to smile, it reflects well on my dancing ability. And I've seen photos of people dancing and making almost painful facial expressions, no one wants to dance with a sourpuss.
I know, Tango is serious business, and some of the lyrics are well...depressing, but believe me it works.
You don't have to grin like the Cheshire cat, but you can!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Foot Technique for Followers
I recently visited a practica in a small community where at least half of the followers present were dancing with weight on the balls of their feet exclusively (never using their heels at all). I'm not sure if this was due to someone teaching this poor technique or if they had just picked up the habit and the instructor/s there hadn't noticed. Many of these followers were dancing in flats (I assume this was because they were thinking that the heels were causing them foot pain and wanted some relief during the practica). The shoes are bad enough (I don't see how followers wear them at all) but they have heels for a reason: the heels are meant to be used to help support your weight while walking backwards by helping you maintain your balance and axis (thus taking maybe forty percent of the pressure off of the delicate metatarsals of the supporting foot).
Here is an exercise that everyone should try in order to demonstrate why this is such a bad practice: Stand naturally with your feet together and shift your weight forward so that your weight is totally on the balls of the feet, transfer weight to one side so that your weight is totally on the ball of one foot...now extend the free leg back as if you are going to take a back step without transferring any weight to the free leg without using the heel, now try a forward extension without transfering any weight (I think that almost everyone will have real difficulty doing this). Now bring the feet together and shift your weight back so that your weight is evenly distributed along the entire length of one foot from heel to toes, now...once again extend the free leg backwards in preparation for a back step, now try the front extension...Isn't this much easier to accomplish with proper technique?!
Leaders need to be aware of this and bring the followers weight onto the ball of her feet before leading pivots (very easily done, and this will happen without much conscious thought after the technique is practiced properly for awhile).
One of the followers at this practica has been dancing longer than I have, and I have to say that she danced quite well (although I could tell right away that something was wrong when I danced with her). When I explained my position she told me that her reason for doing this was that she had been caught with her weight back on her heels many times, and she was trying to avoid this by keeping her weight forward. (see the note to leaders above).
I hope this helps someone, does anyone have any thoughts or reactions after trying the demonstration above? I would love to hear from you.
Here is an exercise that everyone should try in order to demonstrate why this is such a bad practice: Stand naturally with your feet together and shift your weight forward so that your weight is totally on the balls of the feet, transfer weight to one side so that your weight is totally on the ball of one foot...now extend the free leg back as if you are going to take a back step without transferring any weight to the free leg without using the heel, now try a forward extension without transfering any weight (I think that almost everyone will have real difficulty doing this). Now bring the feet together and shift your weight back so that your weight is evenly distributed along the entire length of one foot from heel to toes, now...once again extend the free leg backwards in preparation for a back step, now try the front extension...Isn't this much easier to accomplish with proper technique?!
Leaders need to be aware of this and bring the followers weight onto the ball of her feet before leading pivots (very easily done, and this will happen without much conscious thought after the technique is practiced properly for awhile).
One of the followers at this practica has been dancing longer than I have, and I have to say that she danced quite well (although I could tell right away that something was wrong when I danced with her). When I explained my position she told me that her reason for doing this was that she had been caught with her weight back on her heels many times, and she was trying to avoid this by keeping her weight forward. (see the note to leaders above).
I hope this helps someone, does anyone have any thoughts or reactions after trying the demonstration above? I would love to hear from you.
Friday, July 30, 2010
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)
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)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Breathing and Tango
Being centered is essential to good tango, and breathing and self awareness are essential to being centered.
I have found that breathing in the way of Tai Chi, is the most effective way to create this internal self awareness.
To start with you should be relaxed and stacked up, head, over heart, over pelvis over feet, like a stack of blocks. Secondly your head should feel suspended as if it were filled with helium, or hung by a string from above. Your feet should be very grounded as if they grow roots into the earth each time you take a step. Finally the tip of your tongue should lightly touch the pallet just behind the ridge.
To describe what I am talking about think of it this way (I am only a casual student of Tai Chi and do not consider myself more than a beginner, but I have gleaned some very useful insights even through this limited study). First of all think of your breath as being able to go down much further than your diaphragm, think of it being able to reach the area near where your bladder is. When you breath in try to visualize the air taking a path down the inside of your sternum and reach the area I have described (Tan t'ien), you "belly" should be relaxed and expand outward (this allows more room within your abdomen for your diaphragm to deflect downward as well as lowering your center of gravity, a very good thing when it comes to maintaining balance). Additionally you pelvic floor should relax and expand downward during the inhalation.
Visualize the air following the path I have described and gathering into a spinning ball in this area maybe the size of a large tomato or small cantaloupe, this is your center in my thinking, and where your movements should initiate from, the position is not static and may be moved in many directions, for example forward, backward, diagonally, up, down, or sideways.
When exhaling the opposite of what I have described should occur with the air flowing up your spine, your "belly" contracting (exhale from the bottom up, never completely retract your abdominals), and your pelvic floor rising to complete the cycle(all our muscles should remain just right, that is to say nothing too tight nothing too relaxed). One should always think of this ball I have described as being in position and spinning (down in front up in the back) with some amount of weight (not floating as a balloon would, more like a ball of energy sand, if you will). By maintaining the position of this ball of energy a person will be able to control weight transfer more effectively.
This is a very simplified description of what I want to get across but I think it is sufficient to get a person thinking in a positive way about breathing control and centering.
When leading I try to always be aware of my breathing and use it as an indicator of when I am about to do something for example taking a deeper breath before doing a traspie, or sacada etc... I'll also try and tune in to my partners breathing as another level of connection, very satisfying!
Enjoy the experience, and I hope you get as much out of it as I have.
I have found that breathing in the way of Tai Chi, is the most effective way to create this internal self awareness.
To start with you should be relaxed and stacked up, head, over heart, over pelvis over feet, like a stack of blocks. Secondly your head should feel suspended as if it were filled with helium, or hung by a string from above. Your feet should be very grounded as if they grow roots into the earth each time you take a step. Finally the tip of your tongue should lightly touch the pallet just behind the ridge.
To describe what I am talking about think of it this way (I am only a casual student of Tai Chi and do not consider myself more than a beginner, but I have gleaned some very useful insights even through this limited study). First of all think of your breath as being able to go down much further than your diaphragm, think of it being able to reach the area near where your bladder is. When you breath in try to visualize the air taking a path down the inside of your sternum and reach the area I have described (Tan t'ien), you "belly" should be relaxed and expand outward (this allows more room within your abdomen for your diaphragm to deflect downward as well as lowering your center of gravity, a very good thing when it comes to maintaining balance). Additionally you pelvic floor should relax and expand downward during the inhalation.
Visualize the air following the path I have described and gathering into a spinning ball in this area maybe the size of a large tomato or small cantaloupe, this is your center in my thinking, and where your movements should initiate from, the position is not static and may be moved in many directions, for example forward, backward, diagonally, up, down, or sideways.
When exhaling the opposite of what I have described should occur with the air flowing up your spine, your "belly" contracting (exhale from the bottom up, never completely retract your abdominals), and your pelvic floor rising to complete the cycle(all our muscles should remain just right, that is to say nothing too tight nothing too relaxed). One should always think of this ball I have described as being in position and spinning (down in front up in the back) with some amount of weight (not floating as a balloon would, more like a ball of energy sand, if you will). By maintaining the position of this ball of energy a person will be able to control weight transfer more effectively.
This is a very simplified description of what I want to get across but I think it is sufficient to get a person thinking in a positive way about breathing control and centering.
When leading I try to always be aware of my breathing and use it as an indicator of when I am about to do something for example taking a deeper breath before doing a traspie, or sacada etc... I'll also try and tune in to my partners breathing as another level of connection, very satisfying!
Enjoy the experience, and I hope you get as much out of it as I have.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tango Epiphanies 6
Video does not lie and will show you the reality of your tango. There is no better way to learn from yourself.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Relax Your Body, Free Your Soul!
I've been browsing a couple of cool books lately (always thinking of Tango naturally).
1. Conditioning for Dance
(Eric Franklin, published by; Human Kinetics ISBN 0-7360-4156-7) This book is loaded with tons of awesome illustrations that let the reader visualize things that are happening inside of your body when you are dancing (in my case, tango), it also shows many techniques that will improve posture, balance, axis...etc... and, as the title suggests conditioning. (they are trying to sell Thera bands, or at least are highly recommending the product, but I guess that's O.K.).
I got massive amounts of information about things instructors have tried to teach me in workshops etc.. but sometimes I need a picture (they are worth a thousand...).
2. T'ai Chi Classics
(Translated with commentary by Waysun Liao, published by Shambhala Classics
ISBN 978-0-57062-749-1) T'ai Chi interests me very much and some day I will explore it in great detail, but for now I found that the sections on breath control and Tan T'ien seem to be applicable to Tango (imagine that!) Eric Jorenson once made a joke in a workshop I was at about feeling each others "bellies" it really is where you center is,
by the way T'ai Chi roughly translated means "The Ultimate"
I also found the treatise by Master Wu Yu-hsiang very informative.
Yin/Yang, energy, movement, direction, meditation, how much more tango can you get!
1. Conditioning for Dance
(Eric Franklin, published by; Human Kinetics ISBN 0-7360-4156-7) This book is loaded with tons of awesome illustrations that let the reader visualize things that are happening inside of your body when you are dancing (in my case, tango), it also shows many techniques that will improve posture, balance, axis...etc... and, as the title suggests conditioning. (they are trying to sell Thera bands, or at least are highly recommending the product, but I guess that's O.K.).
I got massive amounts of information about things instructors have tried to teach me in workshops etc.. but sometimes I need a picture (they are worth a thousand...).
2. T'ai Chi Classics
(Translated with commentary by Waysun Liao, published by Shambhala Classics
ISBN 978-0-57062-749-1) T'ai Chi interests me very much and some day I will explore it in great detail, but for now I found that the sections on breath control and Tan T'ien seem to be applicable to Tango (imagine that!) Eric Jorenson once made a joke in a workshop I was at about feeling each others "bellies" it really is where you center is,
by the way T'ai Chi roughly translated means "The Ultimate"
I also found the treatise by Master Wu Yu-hsiang very informative.
Yin/Yang, energy, movement, direction, meditation, how much more tango can you get!
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