Practice

Practice Makes Permanent
Find out what you should be practicing (take a private lesson and ask specifically what you should practice, alone or with someone)
Make sure you are doing it correctly (get checked out and make sure you are executing the exercise correctly)
Do Not just do something over and over, right or wrong, you will have to unlearn it later (this is far more difficult)
Be willing to give up your preconceptions (if you were driving somewhere and found out that you were going in the wrong direction it might be wise to turn around or change course but sometimes it is better to push reset and start again.)

Grounding Exercise

A few years ago I had a private lesson with Luiza Paes, and she wanted my partner at the time and I to be more grounded here is what she told us to do...

Get four pieces of paper towel about 4X4 inches put them on the floor under the toes of your feet, now dance a without loosing the pieces of paper...this is harder than it seems but really smoothes the dance out (plus the game was a lot of fun and I've won more than a few friendly wagers with it to boot)

I've had other maestros use different methods to try and teach the same ideas, never loosing contact with the ground.

I read somewhere that a good milonguero never shows the soles of his feet, I've found this to be less than 100% true but I have noticed that the really great dancers (especially of the Villa Urquiza style) always seem to keep contact with the ground most of the time. In that style they will lift thier heels but normally they will maintain contact with the toe as they walk.

Makes for a very smooth and elegant looking and feeling dance!

A very good example of a well grounded couple.

OK, This is a Very Good Post (not mine)

This is aimed at (from me) those followers whom give their leaders a very stiff (arm wrestler like) stiff as a board right arm, expecting them (or me, more importantly) to push or pull them through what they should be doing on their own, and leaders/teachers whom teach this damned foolishness.

On either side of the embrace (open or closed side)the arms should be like antennae, that is to say they are there only to give either partner extra information about what the other partner is trying to communicate or how they have received the other half of the communication. A competent leader should be able to lead almost anything (with the exception of off axis turns, colgadas volcadas and soltadas) without arms.

I for one was guilty of leading with the "killer right arm" for a very long time, And I apologize to the many, many, many women that I tortured with this awful practice a few years back (you know who you are). I learned the error of my ways because I was willing to accept instruction from a couple of very competent instructors (Luiza Paes, Deb Scalar).


movementinvitesmovement.wordpress.com
Click the link to find out what the hell I'm talking about.

Exorcisim (or How to get the most out of private tango lessons)

Professional tango instructors (the good ones) are capable of dissecting your dance in a very short period of time.

In my experience some of the the best ways to get the most bang for your buck out of a private lesson are as follows;

1. Go alone, this takes the partnership variable out of the mix, it also eliminates the possibility that one of the partner needs more instruction than the other (the squeaky wheel gets the oil). It will also remove some friction in some partnerships.

2. If your instructor has a teaching partner, schedule your lesson so that both of them are at your lesson. Dance with one while the other observes from outside the embrace, this gives multiple perspectives to the lesson (one of them may see something that can't be felt, the other may feel something that can't be seen). Be aware that some times the instructors may have two different agendas to fix problems that they may observe (I have had the unpleasant experience of observing an argument, if this happens to you pretend it didn't, and don't have both of them there during the next one)

3. Relax during the lesson, you are not on trial, this is not an audition, no one is going to be injured or embarrassed. You want these people to see the flaws in your dance so that they can help you to over come them (sometimes it is something so simple that the minute they tell you the solution the problem is gone forever, other times it takes many instructors telling you the same thing over and over(try the first one, it is far less painful)).

4. Let the instructor work on what needs fixed, it is possible that what they tell you on their own initative may just be the most important thing you will ever learn.

5. It may seem like the instructor is mean/demanding/impatient/cruel/the devil incarnate, maybe they are so what. If they do something completely inappropriate
(this happens from time to time, I have heard many complete horror stories) tell the "instructor" that you demand your money back and leave immediately (never be a victim), Don't forget to tell everyone you know, if this happens to you.

6. Keep an open mind. No one can add to a glass that is already full!

7. Relax, and have fun.

8. Relax, and have fun.

9. Relax, and have fun.

10. Use video tape, if they allow you to use a camera during the lesson do it, tape yourself dancing before and after the lesson. Tell your camera what the instructor told you. Remember always ask before posting anything on the internet (they earn their living doing this). In my opinion it is to their benifet to have more and more people dancing tango in the world (more dancers = more students) and It is free advertisement.

I like to use the phrase "Exorcise my tango, por favor"!