Compression and Resistance (Int/Adv)

Song: The Luckiest by Ben Folds
Instructors: Homer & Cristina Ladas
http://theorganictangoschool.org/
May 26, 2014, Ardingly College, England



In partnership, we began with working on compression walking.

Using the four corners of our feet, we need to active the leg, rolling the weight to the back of the foot or to the front of the foot.

No hiccups or air pockets.

Back and forth.

Have elbows bent in.

We were to maintain the same distance whether we were walking forward or backward.

Exercise:

In partnership

Hand in hand embrace, with the Leader’s focus on his palm when going forward and on his finger pads when walking backwards as he leads this exercise.

When going backward, we should hang back away from each other a little, matching the resistance, but holding the tension.

We should spread our lats, have wide rib cags, with elbows pointed down.

Follower should not grip Leader’s fingers, but be a bit soft.

Rolling through our ankles to the back to the last two corners of our feet, using the energy in the hands to create resistance.  We should take long reaching steps and maintain compression.

Why is this exercise important?

For Communication.

The Leader always knows where the Follower is.

They are in balance.

We should exaggerate this exercise so that you can really feel the rolling of weight forward and back so that we create resistance.

Back of fingers to are to the other person’s palm

We are like in an A frame when walking forward with our compression energy

And like a V frame when walking back as we resist away from each other.

Follower: as you go back, engage your back.

Really roll through and collect in between each step.

To create a stronger connection with the floor, you should push more into the floor to create compression.

Homework: Do this exercise from time to time and your walk will improve.

“Superassociation” – Use the floor to get energy to use into our legs, back and core.  Whether you are compressing forward or resisting back, it is all based on how the standing leg connects with/ uses the floor.

In close embrace, the Follower gives the Leader forward compression as they walk backward. 

Use the floor to power our whole bodies.

Change of direction: 2 different methods:

(1)   Follower keeps compression forward as the Leader walks back. (They are plastered to each other.)

(2)   Follower expands back more and embrace opens up a little and there is resistance.

In (2), the Follower’s back in the Leader’s forearm is where the resistance connection is (you can slide a piece of paper between where their two bodies are).  The Follower widens shoulder blades and breathes in.

Exercise: To explore the embrace concept.

In partnership, the Leader walks outside partner.  The Leader feels resistance because the Follower is connected in her arms and breathing back.  She will feel more stable if she resists in the back as he walks back and she walks forward.

Ideas: 

The Follower’s hips should be underneath her so she can walk forward with strength and not fall into it. 

This is good for transitions from close to open embrace and back to close embrace.

The Follower matches the leader when he opens his embrace and takes his axis. So when he takes his axis, so does she.

Follower should stay longer on her standing leg before moving to her new leg.  Use the floor to transfer the weight.

Completely arrive and use the floor to make a new step.

Actively think about going from 4 corners to 4 corners to 4 corners of the feet.

Do not just pass through the floor to the next step.

In Resistance technique, the Leader should work with whatever method the Follower knows. So he can stay better connected with whatever Follower he is dancing with.

The Follower maintaining compression tells her reaching leg how long her step should be.  The Leader might do just a small step, doing just a change of weight to get a small step.  Or he may do a long drive forward to get a large weight change to get a large step. 

Exercise in partnership:

Dancing doing short steps and long steps, with big or small weight changes from the Leader and the Follower matching the compression to step in the correct size. 

The 3 C’s of tango:

Comfort

Consistency

Clarity

If you have those in leading and following, you have a language.

Maestros concluded with a class quiz and a demo to Ben Folds’s The Luckiest.

Notes courtesy of Anne at http://scoutingtour.blogspot.com

Extreme Homer and Cristina - The 2014 Collection (Advanced)

Song: Cuore Sacro by Andrea Guerra
Instructors: Homer & Cristina Ladas
http://theorganictangoschool.org/
May 25, 2014, Ardingly College, England




      (1)   Sustained Volcada

(2)   Follower’s back sacada and back gancho

(3)   Butterfly Colgada

(1) Sustained Volcada

Sustained volcadas can be done in the line of dance, and can be big or small.

It is based on the Follower going to the cross.

It is physically easier than it looks.

Like other volcadas, the concepts of compression and lift are key.

The Leader sets up the sustained volcada by going left foot forward, and then going down as he holds the Follower is up when her right foot is back. 

The Follower crosses to get out of it when she feels the Leader’s feet get close to her body and he stops traveling, and she lets go of the connection to the floor.

The Leader needs to always take care of his back.

His hips are under his rib cage.

He suspends the Follower

When the Leader comes up, he signals that the Volcada is finished.

The Follower feels the Leader’s change of height and his compression and lift.

The Follower needs to be committed to the slide.

Connection:

The Follower needs to have an active role in support.

When the Leader gives the Follower compression and lift, the Follower squeezes toward the Leader’s torso, and her shoulder blades are pushing down to have a strong fixed line.  She should not collapse in her back or hips or sides.  The Follower pushes down with her left armpit as if she is getting out of a swimming pool.  Most Followers do not push enough. The Followers need to use their lats to push down and feel lighter.  Follower needs to let herself fall into a vertical split. 

The Follower’s right leg is like a rutter. So she should keep it straight.  Keep both sides of the rib cage toward the Leader, otherwise she will cause the couple to drift. 

(2) Follower’s back sacada and back gancho

After the Follower goes to the cross, the Leader pivots the Follower clockwise, leading the Follower to do a right foot back sacada.

The Leader receives the Follower’s right foot back sacada of his trailing right foot on his left foot forward step (Leader pivots on his left foot counterclockwise, showing the Follower his back pocket), then he does a back gancho of his right foot of her left foot (like a linear boleo)

Into Captain Morgan with his right leg.  Leader does Captain Morgan leg.  The Leader needs to step away from the Follower a bit to give her room to do her sacada.

All Follower’s sacadas need space, so the Leader should walk slightly away from the Follower (not around her, or straight across from her).

Follower needs to pivot a lot – more than she thinks she can/should -- and complete her pivot a lot before extending her leg in the sacada.  The Leader leads the rotation first before he leads her sacada step into him.

Follower: after the sustained volcada slide, she should keep her knees soft so she has plenty of time to do her pivot into her back sacada and back gancho

(3) Butterfly Colgada

Here, the Follower does two colgadas, and then the Leader does a colgada.  So it is:

She goes

She goes

He goes

Leader walks outside partner as Follower does back ochos.

Leader steps left foot forward outside to the Follower’s left foot forward on her right foot back step so feet meet inside edge to inside edge.

The Follower’s right foot goes out as the Leader sends her out in circular energy (first wing of the butterfly), pivot around to the close side.

As Follower steps over with her right foot, the Leader sends the Follower out again (second wing of the butterfly) and she steps over. Then he steps over nearly simultaneously with his right foot clockwise and sends himself out in colgada as well.

Maestros concluded with a class quiz and demo to Andre Guerra’s Cuore Sacro.

Notes courtesy of Anne at http://scoutingtour.blogspot.com

The Boleo and Sacada Connection (Intermediate)

Song: Bahia Blanca by Carlos DiSarli
Instructors: Homer & Cristina Ladas
http://theorganictangoschool.org/
May 25, 2014, Ardingly College, England

Video not available.

We began with an independent walking exercise, walking forward and backward, as if we are holding a big beach ball, and then adding several different boleo footwork movements while walking forward or walking back:

Stay on the Right foot

Engage the four corners of the standing leg.

On our right foot

Reach back with our left as we transfer the weight

Do a forward boleo with the right foot

Reach back with our right foot

Transfer weight

Forward boleo with left foot

Start on right foot forward

Transfer weight

Do a back boleo with our left foot

Start on left foot forward

Transfer weight

Do a back boleo with our right foot

Step forward with our left foot

Right foot back boleo into

Right foot forward boleo

Step forward with our right foot

Left foot back boleo into

Left foot forward boleo

Exercise in partnership (using fingertip hold): Doing forward ochos together, and stepping around each other (instead of away) to the trailing foot

Keep head up and back

Present yourself

Pivot as much as you can without breaking the fingertip hold

Step toward back leg

Do it as slow as you need to

The point is to do it as well as you can

Take large steps

The limit is the embrace

Shoulders down and ribcage wide

Exercise in partnership (using fingertip hold): Forward ochos into forward boleos

Be in balance

Take your time

The toe points to the ground at the height of the boleo (do not sickle the foot).

The foot should be as if it is striking a match, and going from flexed to pointed.

The power of the boleo comes from how well you do your ocho, so it’s important to do a good ocho step prior to doing the boleo

Pivot

Collect

Then Boleo

Take longs steps in the ocho, reaching and then pivoting.

Boleo and Sacada

The Leader can lead the ocho in several different ways, both of which still involve twists in the Leader’s spine:

(1)   stepping with her

(2)   leading the Follower to walk around the Leader

The Follower receives and amplifies the twists in the Leader’s spine through the rotation of her hips.

The Follower takes long, reaching steps around the Leader without pushing him off his axis.

The Leader can start the ocho and do sacadas at any point by doing an opposition lead for the ocho.

There are many types of ochos: Mocha Java, Rocky Road, and Chunky Monkey, where the Leader gives a lot of energy.  The Leader can have lots of energy when he steps into the space that the Follower is leaving when doing the sacada. 

Exercise:

In fingertip hold

With ochos where Leader steps around the Follower.  The Leader sacadas with either foot the Follower’s trailing foot.

There is send energy in the ocho.

The Wall is where the limit happens

The rebound/contra energy is where the boleo happens.

In our exercise, the Leader should try to make the Follower feel the limit.

The Leader tries to get a feel of how the Follower does her ochos.

The Leader sends the Follower around her standing leg (after he sacadas her trailing foot) until she feels the limit of as far as she can go.

The Leader is right there supporting her.

The Leader should not overfocus on his arms, but should just keep sending her until she reaches her limit, really surround the Follower’s base, standing, pivoting leg.  He needs to be next to that axis so she doesn’t fall.

Ochos are rotations based on the Follower’s axis.

The Leader goes in the direction of the Follower’s boleo (99% send).

The Leader’s Sacada

If he goes in at an angle (with his back pocket to her), he can take an extra step around her to give her more rotation in her boleo.

The Follower’s Boleo

After the boleo, be conscious of how you are putting your leg down back to collected state (foot is pointed).

The Leader needs to turn his spine more to connect everything better and don’t step too far away from the Follower at the point of the boleo.

Follower should not raise her leg too soon, because it compromises the Follower’s axis unnecessarily and spills the energy.  She should be aggressive and amplify the energy the Leader gives her. 

Tango is “romanticized physics”.

Followers should practice doing ochos by herself, making them as pretty and as strong as possible. She can do this behind the backs of two chairs, in front of a dresser, against a wall, in a dance studio at the barre, etc., so she can see how well she is doing.

Leaders should practice leading ocho and boleos using the sugarbowl embrace so he can learn about the connection of his body and the floor.  The Leader’s right hand often stops or forces the Follower instead of enabling her.

Follower side sacada to Leader:

Follower’s with boleo

Leader’s sacada with Leader stepping across, stepping around the Follower’s axis.

Follower’s left foot boleo

Leader transfers his weight to his left foot, then pivots on his left foot

Follower’s left foot steps to Leader’s right foot in a side sacada.

The Follower needs to hang onto the Leader when she does her boleo.

Leaders: Do not rely too much on your right hand, otherwise the Follower might get lazy and not hang on enough.  (Doing this in teapot or sugarbowl embrace will help both dancers with this.)

Follower needs to maintain her axis at the point of the boleo.

The Follower controls the boleo.

In doing the boleo, try to create a “thwack” noise.

There are three ways of leading ochos:

With (side) – Mocha Java

Around (rotation) – Rocky Road

Opposition – Chunky Monkey

Adding sacadas increases power.

After doing the Follower’s boleo, the Leader can lead a hiro or sacada.

Maestros concluded with a class quiz and a demo to DiSarli’s Bahia Blanca.

Notes courtesy of Anne at http://scoutingtour.blogspot.com

Rough Guide to Interpreting Different Orchestral Styles (Int/Adv)

Instructors: Homer & Cristina Ladas
http://theorganictangoschool.org/
May 24, 2014, Ardingly College, England

We worked with 4 songs:

(1)   D’Arienzo’s Arnsiedad with Alberto Echague on vocals

(2)   Fresedo’s Cordobesita with Roberto Ray on vocals

(3)   Rodriguez’s No Se Porqe Razon with Armando Moreno on vocals

(4)   Tanturi’s Que Nunca Me Falte with Enrique Campos on vocals

We first did a rhythmic miniexercise since the AV wasn’t quite set up:

1 side clapping when Homer points to it, and the other side snapping its fingers when Homer pointed to it.

Then 2 snaps and 1 clap (imitating the boom chick chick Vals rhythm).

Then we moved to another room since our original room was too noisy, being next to the dining room.

Our goal was to dance, but stopping at the end of the song, finishing when the music stops. 

We danced first to D’Arienzo’s Arnsiedad.

Then to Fresedo’s Cordobesita

What were the differences in the two orchestras we heard?  Fresdo was softer, not as hard as D’Arienzo.

Next, we danced to Rodriguez’s No Se Porqe Razon

Notice that Rodriguez has a lot of nice variacion, and finished without the last note – the song is unresolved. Rodriguez’s bad is the only one that does that (cuts off the last note).

The Follower needs to listen as much, if not more to the music.

Next, we danced to Tanturi’s Que Nunca Me Falte.

Notice that this song has a nice, long ending, so you can get a good idea when the ending is coming and we can better prepare for it.

Part of developing connection with the music is recognizing the orchestra.  The main message is that orchestras have telltale signs/signatures.  One of the clearest is how they end, which can be defined by time period or singer.

How you interpret the music is how you express yourself.  Don’t just be historians.

This class attempts to get you to connect better with the music.

Next exercise: Tango Chacarera game.

Leaders behind Homer in one line; Followers behind Cristina in one line.

Tango Chacarera game is normally with 4 steps forward and 4 steps back.

This time, we take 4 steps forward and 3 steps back, so our count is to 7, followed by a silent 8.  We were to pay attention to what happens between the 7 and the silent 8.

We danced first to D’Arienzo’s Arnsiedad, where there was a pause in the momentum of the music between the 7 and the silent 8.

Then to Fresedo’s Cordobesita.

In both songs, we noticed that the phrasing stays in a pattern.

The quality of Fresedo’s song was lighter and slower, with less nervous, frenetic energy.  Fresedo came before D’Arienzo and is sweeter, with more violins than bandoneons. 

In Fresedo, there is also an extra instrument that is not heard in other orchestras. 

We were to dance to the Fresdo song again, and really listen between the phrases to figure out what that instrument was.  Some thought it was the piano, and while it is true that the piano does appear in between the phrases, the specific instrument that is only heard in Fresedo is the Harp.  Once you hear the Harp in Fresedo, you can never go back. 

Next, we were to dance, and when we hear the harp, we were to try to notate it in our movements.  So the Leaders could tap with their feet, and the Followers can tap with their hands.  The Follower can do decorations/adornos between the beats by moving her body during the little fills.

Next, we went back to our Tango Chacarera exercise to:

D’Arienzo, then changing to

Fresedo, then changing to

Rodriguez

Rodriguez has similar energy to D’Arienzo (crazy, frenetic energy), but he creates a really interesting feeling with the bandoneons. The way the bandoneon is used in Rodriguez is more stretchy and elastic, more slinky, but not as what they would do with the violin.

What kind of movement would we use?  How do we move to this? How does the quality of movement change?

D’Arienzo is more staccato and we can do a lot of quick changes in direction via rock steps or steps that are short and sharp.

Fresdo is more flowy and sweet, syrupy, so we can do long, flowy movements.

Rodriguez, we can focus on doing changes of direction with choppy movements interspersing them with continuous and smooth wherever it is appropriate in the music. Rodriguez has the energy of D’Arienzo with the playfulness and fills of Fresedo.

Followers: Be aware of the Leader and what she can add to the conversation by being in tune to the music without disrupting the dance, being disobedient to the Leader, or changing the step.  If she is with the music, what she does will make sense to the Leader.

Someone asked a question of how we should dance to a song if the lyrics are sad. Maestro said in dancing, we are expressing that we are happy to be alive, so it is a celebration of the song.  Everyone decides individually what they get out of the song or what they hear out of it: the music, the singer, or the poetry/lyrics.

Some asked a question about where to get tango lyric translations.  H&C mentioned several of them (todotango, Alberto Paz, Jake’s, Derek Del Pilar), and suggested googling for all the different sources.

Next, we were to dance to a totally different orchestra and flavor it like a wine connoisseur.  We were to keep our movements simple.  The song we danced to was Tanturi’s Que Nunca Me Falte.

There was an element to the song that is not heard in the other three songs we worked on. And that is the “kiss me goodnight” (or syncope rhythm), that is combined with the singing, usually done three times in a row.  Also, the ending is very stretched out.

There are lots of things happening in tango music:

Rhythm

Melody

Countermelody

Musical instruments

Syncopa (kiss me goodnight).

As dancers, we make a choice, training our hearing and choosing one thing to focus on in our movement.

Next, our exercise was to dance to Tanturi with accenting all the kiss me goodnights (the syncopas) in our dancing.

Maestros conclude with a class quiz.  There was no demo song.

Notes courtesy of Anne at http://scoutingtour.blogspot.com

Dynamic Close Embrace, Single Axis and Hurricane Spins (Advanced)

Song: Que Te Importa Que Te Llore by Miguel Calo
Instructors: Homer & Cristina Ladas
http://theorganictangoschool.org/
May 24, 2014, Ardingly College, England

We were to explore single-axis turns, building toward Hurricane spins.

Since this was an advanced class, there was no change in partners.

For our class, we would work on turning to the Leader’s right.

CHAPTER 1:

Close embrace chest-to-chest connection.

We did 1 dance turning to the Leader’s right with no separation, doing 1 or 2 full turns. To exit, the leader led an ocho cortado or walk out.

Leader’s footwork is:

Leader does left foot rock step forward to sacada

Step

Hook Behind

to Ocho Cortado

Leader’s secrets to turning to the Right:  There needs to be sustained energy for the turn.

The Leader’s footwork to enable the turn to the right: Leader does left foot rock step forward, right step hook behind.

Follower’s right foot forward step is long and reaching around the Leader.  The Follower’s forward cross step is truncated.

Leader’s right foot sacada to Follower’s right foot.

Follower does hook behind quickly for functionality. 

The Follower’s job is 50% of the movement, creating smart legs where she creates the shape of walking around the Leader. She needs to be plastered to the Leader in close embrace.

Follower’s footwork:

Forward step

Side step is in relation to the Leader is near him, not away from him, otherwise she will pull him.

Her right foot hook behind is tight, whereby her right hip does not open since there is no time and she will float away if her right hip opens, and her hook won’t be tight.

The Follower continues to press into the Leader to be near him.

At the change of weight, her feet are very close.

In order to create the appropriate shape, she needs to be active from both the standing leg and the reaching legs. Both legs are working (there is no such thing as the free leg).

For the Follower, there are two points of energy to power herself:

(1)   The Follower’s forward step as it makes her launch as she is in spiral. With this dynamic change of weight from left to ride, the side step can be very powerful.

(2)   When the Leader does the Sacada at the Follower’s side step, into the hook behind so that she takes his energy and puts it onto her hook behind tight.  If her hips open up instead, then the energy spills and she doesn’t hook behind but does more of a regular back cross step.  

The Follower needs to maintain close embrace and be close, like a tomato sandwich where her hands are the pieces of bread and the Leader is the tomato.  So there is horizontal energy in the Follower’s body toward the Leader the whole time.  The energy needs to be contained so that it doesn’t spill out.

Next exercise:

In Sugar Bowl embrace, with the Follower’s embrace of one arm under and one arm over to maintain close embrace.  We did turns, with dancers in synchronicity. 

The Leader’s right foot sacada needs to be next to the Follower’s right foot.

Leader’s  footwork is right foot sacada, left foot side step, right foot hook behind to quick weight change, repeat (right foot sacada, etc.). 

In turns, the Leader is the center of the circle, the axis.

In the teapot or regular embrace, the Leader puts power into his footwork.  He needs to think about where the energy will come from for the next step.   The Leader’s torso starts to spiral: the energy builds up in his upper body and then gets released.  The Leader can move the turn, but keep a tilted relationship with the Follower to keep it from going around.  The Leader needs to make sure the Follower is in the right place for the Leader to do is sacada.

Tango is an interdependent dance, not a co-dependent dance.

The Follower’s hook behind does not allow her right hip to open, otherwise it will flail out.  She needs to keep her thighs together, and her left foot flexes at the metatarsal with her knee bent, and she should take care not to scrape the front of her ankle with her opposite stiletto heel, as she is pushing on the front two corners of her foot into the floor as the foot arches.

We drilled to two songs, with the Leader putting power into the turn with his sacada.  The Follower’s steps need to be near and around the Leader, including (especially!) her left foot side step.

The Follower needs to wait for the Leader a little more.

There is a lot of fire, power in this turn.

The Follower waiting will help her calibrate with the Leader so they can step together, with the Follower reacting to how the Leader’s body is moving.  The Leader’s left foot is the axis.

CHAPTER 1.5

Leader’s left foot front enrosque.

After the Leader’s right foot sacada (of Follower’s right foot on her left foot side step), he does a left foot forward enrosque, immediately into a right foot hook behind extension to get in really tight center. 

CHAPTER 2

Hurricane spin

For the Leader’s right foot hook behind, he waits a bit and captures the spider, whereby his right foot goes back (more straight than cross) to capture the Follower’s right foot forward step so that he can be around the Follower’s axis.  As she puts weight on it, he puts weight on it also, so they both give a little bit at that point. 

The Leader walks around the Follower, with his left foot pigeoning as it turns in, and right foot turns out, left foot toes point in, right foot turns out, etc., as he goes around Follower in Hurricane.  Follower is on her right foot as the Leader goes around her. The Follower leaves her hips back a little as she arrives on her right foot, as there is a little bit of colgada motion in that she is a little back.  The Leader holds Follower with his right arm to contain her so that she doesn’t have time to reach in a side step, and the Follower connects to the Leader’s right arm as she hangs back in a little bit of colgada energy.

Maestros conclude with a class quiz and a demo to Que Te Importa Que Te Llore by Miguel Calo

Notes courtesy of Anne at http://scoutingtour.blogspot.com