Friday
6-7:30pm

Advanced: Musicality&Elegance

Milonga with Traspié: Going deep into this joyful way of understanding milonga rhythmic
Milonga was borned in the middle of the 19th century out of a variety of different rhythms that had arrived to Buenos Aires together with the immigrants.
Its spirits is joyful, it consists in executing fast and musical movements. The musicality shows if the dancers make a little pause before stepping in the strong beat of the music, to make it look like they’re getting “late” to the coming beat.
Summary of the class:
1) Individual practice of excersises on musicality walking forwards and backwards stepping on the main beat and stepping every half of a beat.
2) Practice in pairs of the basic “traspié” going forwards in the dance line(leader steps forwards with the right foot, going into the third position of the basic 8 count, regrets and steps back, then comes forwards again and opens to the side with the left foot to end up collecting feet and restarting the sequence with the right foot. Follower mirrors the movement walking backwards with the left foot).
3) Practice of a 180° turn towards the leader’s left side using the same musical division (strong-week-week, and…strong-week-week) The follower turns around the leader skipping one of the side steps of a regular turn sequence (cross back – collect feet (and switch weight) – cross forward, open to the right)
4) Finally, the followers practiced where to put a little decoration to add some grace to the movements. (Remember: it was always better to do it right before stepping in the main beat.)

Beyond intermediate: Complexity

Creative walk: A series of elegant and playful ways to be creative. Employ enjoyable resources in your walking.
Walking in an embrace makes us elegant, allows us to correct our posture and get a better connection with our partner, as well as enhancing our skills to step to the beat.
Summary of the class:
1) Individual exercises on walking using different ways to understand the musicality. (Stepping every 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 or half beat)
2) “Salida cruzada” (crossed way out) of the leader towards the closed side of the couple (stepping forwards with the left foot), leading the follower to the fifth position of the basic 8 count (the cross).
3) Same exercise, but now both leader and follower crossed their feet (leader crosses the left foot behind the right), then walks forwards towards the 6th position to restart the sequence.
4) Same exercise, but now after the sixth position the leader leads the follower to cross the right foot in front of the left on the same time he crosses the right one behind the left). This looks better if done every half a beat. (Remember the exercise at the beginning of the class!)

1:40pm-3:10

Beyond intermediate: Complexity

Understanding and playing with milonga
“Traspié” – in terms of dancing - means to step three times between two beats. Literally, it means to stumble, but in fact it’s more like to take a fake step forwards, having to regret immediately and back up. In Spanish, is also called “contratiempo” (counter-beat).
Summary of the class:
1) Individual practice of exercises on musicality walking forwards and backwards stepping on the main beat and stepping every half of a beat.
2) Traspié applied in a straight line, starting from the third position of the basic 8 count, and coming backwards and forwards. (Tip: remember that before stepping in the strong beat we took a little pause to give some more idea of musicality and grace to the movement)
3) 90° Change of direction towards the leader’s right side.
4) Recovering the dance line and restarting the movement from the third position of the basic 8 coung.

Advanced: Musicality&Elegance

Bilateral Volcadas for Tango Salón: A way to understand volcadas from a new perspective, in other words, not to do always the same!
Vocadas became popular about 10 years ago. The movement consists in a very exaggerated displacement of the follower’s axis. It’s so exaggerated that some teachers believe it was born out of a wrong front 8.
The movement needs the follower’s legs to be totally free and without carrying any weight and leader’s posture to be solid enough to compensate the follower’s lack of balance, and YES!, until you manage to get used to the posture, it IS a little painful!
Summary of the class:
1) Practice of the “Carpa” (tent) with the leader doing “calesitas” (marry-go-rounds) around the follower.
2) Volcada with the follower’s left leg. The leader goes to the side, placing the follower’s weight firmly in the right foot, then lifts her up and takes a diagonal step backwards, then steps to the side with the right foot, and steps forwards with the left, leading the follower to the fifth position of the basic 8 count –the cross-. On the same time the leader should twist his chest to the right tracing with the shoulder the trajectory the follower is covering with the free leg).
3) Sacada starting from the second position, leading the follower to cross the right foot behind the left and to switch weight, so as she can be able to continue with the same volcada of the first exercise)
4) Counter-volcada (volcada with the follower’s right leg). Repeating the idea of tracing a triangle in the floor with his feet. The leader should know do the same pattern but twisting his chest to the left to lead the follower to cross her right foot in front of the left)

Basics: Fundamentals

Turns and counter-turns: Exploring the possibilities to combine turns in the context of the dance floor.
Turning is a resource that dancers found possible after they started dancing on solid and plain surfaces (remember, at the beginning in Buenos Aires they danced in the muggy floors of the port, so they couldn’t pivot at all). It consists in a circular movement in which – at least most of the times- the leader is the axis and the follower is a satellite turning around it.
It’s a very useful way to save space in the dance floor and take a look around to see what’s happening with the neighbor dancers.
Summary of the class:
1) Individual technique exercises for the leaders to understand the dynamics of the lead and for the followers to understand the sequence they must execute with their feet while turning around the leader.
2) 180° turn towards the leader’s left side, starting from a walking and turning the chest to the left while stepping forwards with the left foot.
3) “Paso básico girado” (basic step with turn). The leader goes to the third position of the basic 8 count and touches with his right foot the outside of the follower’s right foot. Then pivots with both feet until facing the opposite wall. Then, after a rocking movement he restarts the sequence to recover the dance line.
4) “Medio giro a la derecha” (half turn to the right). After leading the follower into the beginning of a back 8, the leader turns his chest to the right following the follower’s right foot, and pivots with feet together until he faces the opposite wall. Finally he keeps twisting his chest to the right and to the left to lead the follower to recover the 5th position of the basic 8 count.