#1 - The Axis: Standing, Stepping, Pivoting

2008-12-24T18:01:00.012-05:00

This is the first of what are intended to be a series of technical discussions of one or another aspect of tango dancing. We start with definitions and basic concepts. Forgive us if some of them seem too simple minded, but we want to be sure that we and the readers are on the same wavelength right from the start. So here goes…

Dancing tango entails the use of natural postures and movements of the body that we employ in everyday activities: standing, walking, turning. The principal difference between performing these activities as an individual and when dancing tango, is that in tango, all actions are coordinated so that the couple moves together, smoothly, to the music. In order to accomplish this coordination, each of us must be able to perceive the location of our partner’s balance point, or center of gravity, or…best said, axis. In order to understand the dynamics of coordinating the movement of our axes as a couple, we need to first understand how the individual’s axis is controlled and used.

Simply put, the axis is an imaginary line that, when the body is balanced, passes vertically through its center of mass, intersecting the floor at the ball of the weighted foot. The axis is always either over one foot or the other, or is in transition from one to the other (a step). It never resides between the feet with the body at rest. The step can be forward, backward, to the side or in place (one foot next to the other). Thus, the general result of a step is to move the axis from one position to another.

It is a simple fact of geometry that two points determine a straight line. Therefore, a step that translates the axis from one point to another, traces a straight line on the dance floor. How then do we create a turn, i.e., a trajectory that takes the axis in a curved path? To accomplish this, a turn must involve at least two steps, two changes of axis, with a change of direction between them. The change of direction does not occur during either step. The change of direction must occur while the body is on its vertical axis, between the first transition and the second.

This is a simple yet profound concept that needs to be internalized, that steps and pivots never occur simultaneously. They must be distinct, or the body is out of balance and the movement is awkward.

The term, “collecting” is often used to describe the closed position of the legs and feet during the pivot. An expression that better represents the dynamics of the movement is “finishing the step.” That is, allowing the free leg to join the vertical, weighted leg.

As the couple moves, the man is responsible for setting the axis location (foot position) for each step, for both himself and his partner. He must take care not only to calibrate his own movement, but he needs to use the embrace to allow his partner to finish her step (collect) before beginning to change her direction, and then allow her to complete the pivot beginning to move her axis to the next foot position on the floor.

We finish this discussion by noting that when the woman is turning to change her direction of motion, she is pivoting on her own axis. However, when she is moving in a curved trajectory with multiple steps (such as in the giro), the center of curvature of her path is the man’s axis. How these two distinct modes of motion are created by means of the embrace and the movement of the man’s upper body will be the subject of another writing.

W&M

RATIONALE

2008-12-11T17:50:00.006-05:00

You might ask, “Who the heck are these guys; why we should read their advice about tango?” It’s a fair question.

We are pretty fair dancers. You won’t see us perform on the stage or find scintillating demonstrations on YouTube, but you will find us on the dance floors, here, near home, and in Buenos Aires, where we go regularly, to live and dance among the Porteños, to watch them, to listen to them, to learn from them. We are fortunate to have studied with great teachers, here and in Argentina, but we also realize that many of them developed their tango by experiencing the milongas of Buenos Aires, by observing and dancing with the milongueros. To the extent that we can, we have sought to emulate their experience.

Our teaching efforts, begun by default, when there was no one else in our area to do it, became the motivating force behind our desire to improve. In our nearly daily practice sessions, besides working to refine our techniques, our goal has been to analyze and understand the dynamics of the dance, in order to improve our ability to communicate these special skills to our students.

As of this writing we are just completing our ninth year of teaching, having expanded from weekly classes at our home studio to faculties of commercial schools in the region, and more recently, engaged to instruct in venues outside the US.

Experience calculations aside, the real test of teachers is to observe their students. On this count, we have reason to be proud of the dancers who have come through our studios, of their numbers and of the quality of their dancing.

In addition to what we can communicate on the dance floor, we like to think that our words will help open some minds to a better understanding of tango. We welcome comments from all dancers and from teachers as well, who may wish to express their own points of view.

W&M

Los Tangringos

#1 - The Axis: Standing, Stepping, Pivoting

RATIONALE