Instructors: Homer & Cristina Ladas
http://theorganictangoschool.org/
May 15, 2017, The Beat, Berkeley, CA
To conclude our monthly theme of walking, today we explored
the concept of Asynchronous Walking, where one person is walking while the
other person is not, using mostly Vals Music.
(1)
Pitter Patter
(2)
Leader goes, Follower goes (or vice versa)
Chapter 1 – Pitter Patter
We began with the Linear Pitter Patter, where we would walk
together, using medium-length steps, into the Pitter Patter.
Feet are both down on the floor.
Roll the weight forward.
Bend the knees.
Try not to change height.
Do not crunch toes.
Imagine that you are holding a silver dollar between your thighs,
and take tiny steps.
Go backward too.
To do the Pitter Patter to the side, imagine dropping the
coin to the knees.
In Vals music, there is the boom chick rhythm (or 1-2-3,
1-2-3).
We began to drill with Canaro’s Yo No Se Que Me Han Hecho Tus Ochos.
First we walked solo in a circle, forward and back, trying to
catch the places where there is the opportunity to do the Pitter Patter.
“Act of Copying” is where the Leader does it, the Follower
will do it. So the Leader should do it where
it is musically appropriate. The Pitter
Patter is a “special seasoning” during transitions so it is important for you
to hear the musical phrasing.
How does the Leader communicate the Pitter Patter?
He compresses and goes up a bit, giving a little extra hug.
The Follower listens to the music and the Leader to how he is holding the
embrace. When the Leader decides to
change the quality of walking, he hugs her extra and the Follower should hear
that and respond in kind. The Follower
should hug back.
We drilled this concept to Canaro’s Vibraciones Del Alma (with Intro).
In including the Pitter Patter in our dance, there is more
contrast than walking on just the strong beat.
When doing the Pitter Patter, the steps should be narrow and tiny.
Leader should prepare the Follower’s free leg.
How do we separate it?
How do we make the Follower do the Pitter Patter while the Leader does
not?
This is more challenging to do in
the close embrace.
Leader telescopes the
arms from the shoulder blades to the forearms and then pulls back a
little. It’s not just the arms, it’s the
body, too. Use the floor to roll through the ankles. Push down on the floor. Leader adds compression to the embrace and
suspension and a little bit of lift to get the Follower to Pitter Patter back
as the Leader remains in place. He tilts
from the ankles and telescopes his arms.
We drilled this to Sonar
Y Nada Mas by Alfred de Angeles and Vibraciones
Del Alma by Canaro.
The Leader is like a wall coming at the Follower, lifting
and compressing. There is lots of
control and finessing. The Leader pushes
into the floor, tilts his ankles, and lifts his chest as he changes the embrace
to telescope out.
Qualities of Pitter Patter: tiny steps, weight is toward the
front ball of foot. Avoid changes in height by bending the knees. Imagine a silver dollar between your
thighs. The Leader lifts a little and
stays off his heels at the point of Pitter Patter. Helpful signals include suspension, lift and
compression. The Follower has to hug
back and create a little bit of lift.
This step is like the Bandoneon, or Tango Accordion.
Chapter 2 – Leader Goes,
Follower Goes
We did this in more of a regular size step (not a tiny step
like the Pitter Patter).
First, maestros began with a visual demonstration of the
concept to show us what we would work on in class, dancing to Vibraciones Del Alma.
For the Leader Goes, Follower Goes, we can do it in a line, forward
and backward, but the Follower may be fearful of stepping into the Leader.
We practiced in solo,
walking forward, to feel what the step should feel like. We rolled
through the back and front forward foot, then attacked on the actual
step (with only about 25% weight on that foot).
We also tried this backwards, attacking back with little weight, then rolling through.
In the embrace, for the Leader’s embrace and body, the
Leader telescopes, sending ad stopping with a little bit of down energy
(instead of up energy, as we did in the Pitter Patter). Leader leads Follower to take the initial
step, but doesn’t allow her to collect.
Leader rolls. The Follower’s step is not super long, it is more of a medium size step.
Qualities: Down
energy. Create a feeling of a larger, more medium step. Time it so the
Follower steps less than 25% of the way, just past the beginning of the
step. There is telescoping in the embrace. The Leader also uses his
breath.
We drilled this to Yo
No Se Que Me Han Hecho Tus Ochos.
This step is not everyone’s cup of tea, as it is a slinky
type of walk.
What are the differences between Chapter 1 (Pitter Patter)
and Chapter 2 (He Goes, She Goes)?
Pitter Patter trajectory of energy is up; He Goes, She Goes,
trajectory of energy is down.
Both have compression and can have telescoping.
Both should feel very stable.
The easiest embrace to do these are somewhat open. Use the concept of rebounding, where the
Leader sends the Follower and collapses the embrace a little, the Leader goes
back a little, and freezes the embrace to find a counterbalance.
We drilled, doing Pitter Patter (together and separate), He
Goes, She Goes (asynchronous walk), to Vibraciones
Del Alma.
Notes courtesy of Anne at http://scoutingtour.blogspot.com
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