Instructors: Homer & Cristina Ladas
http://theorganictangoschool.org/
England International Tango Festival
May 30, 2016, Ardingly College, England
Since it is really important in Volcadas to make the Follower feel comfortable, we began with hugging each other, one arm on top, other arm on the bottom so arms are in an X pattern.
The Leader and Follower side step to put the Follower on one
leg.
Leader engages a bigger hug with a bit of lift from his rib
cage (not just his arms)
Follower pushes down with her shoulder blades as if trying
to get out of a swimming pool: pushing down to lift up.
Leader takes a few steps back
Leader and Follower breathe with intention (check that hug
is still engaged)
Follower pushes down with her standing leg, but her knee is
still soft, with hug engaged and still pushing down with her shoulder blades,
using her lats to protect her back. She should use the whole fit to create a
very strong line from her standing supporting foot to her opposite shoulder.
Leader walks forward.
There are two characteristics of Volcadas that change with
the Sustained Volcada:
(1) Leader
is always tilted forward (Leader is straight in sustained)
(2) Leader does not change height (Leader changes height in sustained)
In Sustained Volcadas:
(1) Leader is not always forwardly intended (he is at times vertical)
(2) The
Leader’s height changes to get into and out of the sustained volcada
The Sustained Volcada is a more advanced concept where the
Follower is at split weight and her legs go out in an inverted Y and Leader
drives Follower across the floor. Leader
goes down, and does not lean toward Follower. Leader uses power of his legs to maintain
weight. The Follower moves through space easier this way. Follower goes into
split movement with both feet on the floor.
Example:
In the Standard Volcada hug, Leader and Follower do side
steps, Leader walks back a few steps, then walks right foot forward, driving
the Follower’s free leg back into a forward cross of her left foot over her
right foot.
We drilled the standard volcada.
The Follower needs to really engage to protect her body.
In the Sustained Volcada, the Leader and Follower do side
steps. The Leader is upright with no
forward tilt. He hugs and slightly lifts
the Follower. The Leader steps back and goes down a little bit in height by
bending his knees (NOT by bending at the waist). The Follower’s left leg starts to have weight
(it is not completely free) as both Leader and Follower axis are vertical. Leader and Follower spines are vertical. Both Follower’s legs are working as she
paints the floor. She needs to zip up
her middle throughout. As Leader walks
backward, but comes up, and Follower feels this change in height, her legs come
together in collection.
Note that Leader remains vertical the entire time. We can move this in any direction and on any
step. Leader should be consistent with
his hug and suspension of Follower.
Leader and Follower should be close and vertical the entire
time.
Follower should have more hold rather than less hold.
Follower uses her inner thigh muscles to collect.
Follower: There are 2
activations.
The right leg, then the right leg and left leg are both
activated in the split. All inner leg
muscles and core muscles are turned on.
She should press against the floor to create a zipping up sensation.
The Leader’s height goes down as he walks in a tangent, and
when he exits, he goes back up.
In all volcadas, the Follower’s technique should be that she
presses down to lift herself up.
We drilled doing this from the Follower’s hook behind (right
foot), going into a sustained volcada, back into the cross. We also switched going from one form to the
other (Standard versus Stained).
There are two ways to start the sustained volcada: from the Follower’s right foot hook behind, or from a rock step.
Next, we worked on the Funny
Volcada
The Funny Volcada is still a standard volcada because there
is still lean and the Leader does not change height.
Maestros showed us what it looks like.
The Follower falls sideways instead of forward.
On the close side of the embrace, the Follower is on her
outside right foot and her inside left foot is free and embellishing. This move can be made small or big depending
on how far way the Leader steps around the Follower.
The entrance/setup is from the Follower’s right foot back
ocho step, which the Leader uses a right foot side step to catch. The Leader
settles the Follower on her right foot when he is on his right foot.
Leader's footwork
|
Follower's footwork
|
|
Left foot forward on close side
|
Left foot back
|
|
Right foot side
|
Right foot cross (back ocho)
|
|
Turn partner as if calesita, but off axis
|
Remain on right foot as Leader walks backward
around (left foot is free)
|
|
Walk backward around Follower
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Left foot embellishes
|
Keep this in the line of dance when going in and coming out.
Leader: Do not squeeze too much as you walk around backward.
TIPS:
Follower: Completely arrive on your right foot back step
with confidence. Be sure the standing supporting
leg is strong and stable. As you pivot,
do not go up or be on the ball of your foot.
Be sure you have control of your spine.
You can flex through the ankle so you don’t have to be so high, because
it becomes more difficult to manage your spine.
Don’t lift the heel too high; it can just caress the floor. There is no need to be on your toes, and it
will make this more difficult. Do not
pivot on your toes; pivot on the ball of your foot.
In the Funny Volcada, the dancers are at right angle,
perpendicular to each other. The Leader
walks around the Follower’s right foot.
The Leader’s step needs to be near the Follower’s right back
foot so that he can be close enough to walk around her without making her/them
compromise their posture.
If you are able to do this and are getting bored, try this
on the other side. The open side is the
hard side and the Leader needs to have a more flexible embrace. It is small and challenging on this
side. Follower will be on her left foot
and her right leg/foot is free and embellishing.
In stepping around the Follower, the Leader should start by
making 3 back steps around the Follower starting with his left foot, then
getting out with a side step right to exit.
He could add more steps as he walks around the Follower, but the needed
to be odd numbered (5, 7, 9, etc.), and always respecting the line of dance.
So his three (or any odd number) back steps and exit are:
Back Left
Back Right
Back Left
Side Step Right
To exit (Follower pivots)
The preparation for the Volcada is in the embrace, where the
Leader hugs and lifts, and the Follower compresses as if getting out of a
swimming pool (pressing down to push up).
The Leader’s step needs to be near the Follower’s standing
foot.
The Follower’s body needs to be straight (not bent in a
weird way).
The Follower falls completely sideways in the Funny Volcada,
and needs to have a very strong line across her body from her right leg to her
left shoulder, and again using the swimming pool compression: pressing down to
push up.
During the volcada, the Follower’s free embellishing foot
should always collect at the conclusion so that she doesn’t hit the Leader’s
foot.
We drilled this with the Leader making a sustained odd number
(7, 9, 11, etc.) of steps around the Follower, giving time to the Follower to
practice her embellishments.
We were to talk to each other during our drilling, with
Leaders asking if he is lifting her too much and Follower asking if she is not
lifting enough (pressing down to push up).
Funny Volcada tip:
Leader is leaning slightly toward the Follower and does not go down.
Adding the Sustained
Volcada after the Funny Volcada
We drilled this going from the Funny Volcada on the close
side, into the Follower’s Sustained (split linear) Volcada.
The Leader transitions from a circular (during the Funny
Volcada) to linear (in the Sustained/Extended Volcada), as he is first walking
around the Follower (Funny Volcada; Follower’s free leg embellishes), and then
walking away from the Follower (Sustained Volcada; Follower is at split weight
and both legs are straight). So the
Leader first walks circularly, and then linearly, tangent to the circle. The Follower’s free leg always tracks the
Leader, whether he is doing a circular or linear walk, so as they go from the
Funny to Sustained Volcada, her leg goes from inside in front of him to outside
of him on the close side of the embrace.
As the Leader comes up, that is the signal for the Follower
to collect. The Follower collects before going out.
Maestros concluded with a class review and demo to Glen
Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s Falling
Slowly (from the motion picture Once).
Notes courtesy of Anne at http://scoutingtour.blogspot.com
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