Every leader wants their follower to have a pleasant experience dancing tango, and if not pleasant.... awesome. But sometimes the best dancing intentions   get snagged by simple technical problems in the dance that can actually cause the follower pain. At the moment I have a painful back in a  few areas and dancing tango in an   embrace that puts undue pressure on my back and neck  can really   put me out for weeks. It turns out that I am not alone. Many followers  have a similar experience , even if they don't have a chronic back problem.  It is just so difficult to give feedback  on the embrace on the dance floor. We are all sensitive souls. So I thought I would share a few leaders' tips that  come from my conversations  with followers.   These   do not relate to any kind of dance style, but rather  comfort of two bodies moving together in close proximity.

So what do followers want in a tango embrace? In my experience most want a clear, present and gentle embrace that enables both the emotional and bio-mechanical possibilities of the dance. We want to move freely  and confidently without feeling "compressed". This means that our spine and heads should be in natural positions. From my perspective, an embrace which   inadvertently   changes these positions will most likely lead to pain  or discomfort, especially if this posture is held for 10 - 12 minutes.

Here are just a few tips on the embrace  for leaders that I share from a personal perspective. Of course, there are tips for followers as well, but I will cover these in another article:

1. The Right Arm of the Embrace- This is the arm that connects    with the follower's back. It is really important that the follower   feel the presence  the right hand of the leader.   However, this arm needs to be flexible and   should be able to expand   according to variation in the movement, whether it be in longer steps or turns.   The position of the hand should not be fixed but adapt to the rotational movement of the  follower, so that she can move comfortably inside the embrace.  A big challenge for followers happens when the leader  unconsciously  presses on the mid or lower back in the embrace. In this case the follower needs to work extra hard to  keep her hip and head in the right position, leading to discomfort.  If in doubt, use the tango salon posture of maintaining your right hand on the scapula (shoulder blade) of the follower, thereby allowing her  spine to be free.   Think of your right arm as present and flexible and as an extension  of  your back from which the circularity of the embrace is generated

In the tango I am a leader and a follower and  as a consequence I have the privilege of experiencing this amazing dance in its entirety. Both roles in the tango are  strong, present, musical and connected but the leading role has a unique opportunity to "generate" the movement of the dance, be creative and set the pace.   Most importantly, having a duel competency means more dances and more fun. I encourage all followers  to take the opportunity to lead.  In many  European countries, leading women are the norm.
​
Here is a review from a tanguera who recently took  a beginners' course  as a leader:

"I took up Argentine tango because I was searching for a technical discipline in which mastery required successful attainment of meditative concentration and the development of interpersonal trust (especially between strangers). After working with Rachael for about a year as a follower, I decided to extend my practice into leading. Entering the dance through this door was a challenging experience- ultimately increasing both my skills as a follower and my compassion for leaders! I will definitely continue my practice of developing my technique in both leading and following. I also look forward to the increased freedom on the dance floor: there are now so many more potential partners!

Rachael is a skilled facilitator. She caters successfully to classes of mixed ability and experience. For example, she regularly extends upon the introductory technical exercises for students with previous dance experience without making a fuss about it. As a result, absolute beginners do not feel isolated or intimidated, while professional (/tango) dancers remain challenged through a deepened understanding/ extension of any given exercise. She weaves a classroom atmosphere that is disciplined, safe and fun. If, like me, you seek a master of this discipline who is technically proficient, a gifted educator and a down-to-earth facilitator of social space, I highly recommend enrolling under Rachael at Libertango."  -Taz

Book for Tango 101: An Intensive Beginners' Experience

Dates and Times: February 2018

Thursdays 8,15,22 February, 1 March 7:30 - 8:45 pm
Saturdays 10 , 17, 24 February 6:00 - 7:15 pm

Venue: Hellenic Club of Cape Town, 24 Bay Road, Mouillepoint
Cost: R1540 per couple or R770 per person

Limited places available

rachael @libertango.co.za
 
 

On the weekend I co-facilitated the second tango retreat at Temenos with fellow dancer, Lizelle Steyn.

In the gentle surrounds of the Temenos gardens, with  male peacocks aplomb in mating season, we explored some of the  personal  teachings inherent in the Argentine tango, while learning to improvise movement with  a partner.

Like many interactions ,the tango  offers a mirror to understand our relationships with others, and can help us to identify blockages in our relating in order to  facilitate change.   Key features in our communication are   the ability to empathize, reach into ourselves to practice compassion and very importantly, to be in our own balance. Many of us know that   our own psychological balance provides clarity of thought and emotional security  to enable  us to connect with others generously and fairly. When  we are not "in our own axis" as we say in the tango,  we   may react too quickly, too harshly and self-protectively. Unfortunately we can rarely press 'rewind'.

Another beautiful gift of tango is the need to be totally present in order to dance. It is not possible to dance while we plan, strategize,  or judge  . It simply does not work. The tango demands our presence on a moment to moment basis .  As a follower, I find  that I quickly lose  understanding and may even trip over a foot or two if I lose my  mindful connection with my partner. As a leader, my  own interpretation of the  music and my desire to  shape the dance can become brutal if I am not finely attuned to,  and accommodate my follower's interpretation of my lead. And as leaders and followers, presence also means that our bodies should be made available to connect, finding just the right amount of tension to enable give and take, not too much and not too little. In tango, we physically embody an 'intention ' to connect.

If all this sounds like a lesson in vulnerability, it is! We do make ourselves vulnerable when we embark on the tango adventure. As a dancer of many years, I have observed   how   we as dancers respond to this vulnerability .   Many people form a protective shell, hardening around their  ego needs "I love dancing, but it's my way or the highway! YOU are a tool for my art!" or "Let me show you how its done (wink wink)". In this sense, the need to connect  is not separated from the need to fuel the ego, dominate or judge. But there are also many people who  embrace the transformative potential of the tango and  have become  closer to the person they want to be  - present, authentic, compassionate. The mirror   that we put up to ourselves when we dance the tango provides this potential.

Personally, I will always find tango a challenge. For me , listening  while not judging is difficult. My brain is in analytic mode   most of  time.   In the tango there   can be no agenda for the leader or follower. We co-create   something beautiful and   most importantly connected.   I am so happy that  I dance!

Hi Magnificent Tango Creatures. Well done for persisting last night with the intricate rhythms of D'arienzo. I felt that by the end of the lesson there was definitely improvement. Carl has been very diligent and suggested some tango listening homework for our dancing to the music of Juan D’arienzo.
 
Here are the list of songs that we danced to last night:
Bien Pulenta
Que Importa
Mi Dolor
El Puntazo
 
If you do a search on youtube you can see how other dancers have applied the rhythms. Please take note that if you are watching a tango performance the use of space will not be relevant to the social dance floor. However, you can certainly learn a lot about rhythm from looking at videos.
 
Carl has offered a video that he found from a lesson on youtube relating to dancing to D’arienzo. I like it a lot. Similar tools to what we have been using. BUT also consider that in a social dancing environment we use less space. Please note the elasticity in the legs. Ladies, observe the tapping adornments with the feet and the lovely adornment following the salida at 0:35 sec.
 

A lot of the rhythm in tango comes from the bandeneon, a uniquely tango instrument which is related to the accordion. D’arienzo’s orchestra had a whole lot of them pumping like mad in the front.
 
To understand the music of D’arienzo I think that you need to see some videos of him conducting his orchestra. I am sure I am related to this guy J. He reminds me of my dad.
 
Here is ‘Loca’ (Crazy)

Here is ‘Remembranza’ (Memories) with singing by Osvaldo Ramos, a tango rock star of his day. I particularly love the interaction between D’arienzo and Ramos.

This has a very different feel to Remembranza by Ozvaldo Pugliese which has a very languid feel, albeit with a strong "compas". Jorge Maciel was also a tango rock star of his time.

And to top it all, for those who need a bit of heart blistering love and loss for the day, here are the translated lyrics of Remembranza.
 
How long are the weeks
when you are not close to me.
I don’t know what superhuman strengths
give me courage far away from you.
The light of my hope having died,
I am like the shipwrecked in the sea
I know I get lost in the far horizon
but I cannot resign myself.
 
Oh! how sad it is to remember
after having loved so much
that happiness that went by
flower of an illusion
our passion
has withered.
Oh! forget my scorn,
return, my sweet,
to our love
and it will bloom again
our wanting
like that flower.
 
In our warm and rose colored room
everything it’s the same as it was
and in each ornament, in each thing
I continue looking at you like I did yesterday.
Your photo on the little table
is a witness of our love
and that already withered hydrangea
which was the song of my pain.
 
Please feel free to share to anyone who may be interested in D’arienzo.
 
Tango Hugs
Rachael

1.        Evita, you came to the workshops imagining that learning the tango could have been a bit like climbing Mount Everest. What is your reflection on the experience?

 I love watching others dance the Tango, in shows, in Tango shows in Buenos Aires (I saw a different one each evening that I was in that city), and free dancing on a street corner with just a CD player, and it looked like the most difficult dance one could possibly learn. I have rediscovered dancing the Rock & Roll in the past six months, and am loving every minute of it at Constantia Nek, where DJ René plays every Sunday afternoon. When I saw the ad for the Tango Workshop at Temenos, I decided to challenge myself in learning the Tango in what I described as the Mount Everest of dancing, or so it felt.  Rachael and Lizelle were gentle and kind, and helped put my Tango dancing fears aside, by taking us into it step by step, move by move. Learning to feel our weight changes from one leg to another, and that of our dance partner, was a start, very important in signaling dance moves, and something I have never been conscious of in any other dance type. We added a new move in session after session, starting to walk, and then doing slightly more complicated moves with side steps, and a swivel to face our dance partner again. It was comforting to know that I was not the only Tango newbie. I was very grateful to Paola, Julie, and Katherine, who have done Tango lessons before, who were switchables for the singles amongst our group, and who taught me so much while we were practicising new moves, and for taking over the Leader role, so that I could be a Follower. I want to close my eyes now when I do the Rock 'n Roll, it making following in the dance even better. I learnt total trust in my dance leader from the Workshop. 

1.        Are there any spiritual or personal growth lessons in the tango that were revealed through the dance?

 I loved the connectedness we had in dancing with a dance partner we had not met before the Workshop, connected via 'blue tooth', and realized that letting go as a Follower, and trusting my Leader, is something I need to practice more of. I have been a controlling leader in a business and as a mother, and am learning to let go. The Tango Workshop taught me trust and how good it feels to be guided and led by another. I had no basis of knowledge or experience to take the lead or to control the dance with another. I feel a tremendous sense of achievement in having taken the Workshop, and in having learnt the first basic Tango steps, so much so that I want to continue with classes at Libertango. 
 
3.       What recommendation would you make to someone who wants to try the tango?

I would advise letting go of one's fear of the difficulty of dancing the Tango, and to join a Tango dance school like Libertango, to learn from the bottom level. Rachael is warm and supportive, a delight to have as a Tango teacher. 

Learning Argentine Tango was always in my mind. You watched it on the TV, looked it up on Youtube. And in your mind you fantasize about the moves of the couple. You see yourself as the third person. But in your mind it stays a fantasy.

Then one afternoon your wife asks you if you want to learn to do the Argentine Tango. You read the invitation with skepticism, because they talk about connection and feeling your partner. I agreed to it. When sharing with friends you doubt whether your rhythm problem will surface. But in my soul is that small tingling feeling that make dreams feels like a reality for a moment. And the weekend arrived.

We were 6 couples. Thank God that I have a wife as a partner. The first sessions was the basics. What are the basic steps? Moving forward? To the side? I thought that too. The basics was more. It was feeling your partners’ rhythm. At that moment I didn’t know that this “soul rhythm” would be the starting place of every move. Throughout the weekend we  learned a lot of steps – forward, backward, sideways, box steps turn and more. Steps where your partner can show her elegance and desire.  If this is what I got out of the weekend, it was a waste of money and time. But I didn’t waste my money or time.

Argentine Tango is like having a candle lit dinner. You invite your partner to the floor. And if she accepts, it’s the start of that magical evening candle lit dinner. You feel her presence. You invite her to take the first step. She feels like trusting you and follows you. Not a quick follow – a slow thoughtful move to the side. Your heart smiles because it was more than you dream of. Your step closer to smell her perfume, step slightly past her. Her smell fills every sense in your body. You close your eyes to hear the music fills the air. The moment intensifies. You hear her breath. Then you move to the side back so that you can make this wonderful box-step over. Then it feels that time stood still in your dinner.

You invite her to show a bit of herself. She twirls around you like the stars around the sun. You don’t have to open your eyes to see the star in front of you. You feel her moving. She fills the gaps that you show her. Afterwards you realise that she has change the direction of your dance. During the dance your gut mimics the half-beat of the music. It flows to your feet. And you feel alive. And at the end of the dance, when the music stops, when the night is over, the wine is empty, your know your dream evening around the table has just finish. In your soul you know you have connected with another soul.

Then afterwards you plan the next candle lit dinner, the next Argentine Tango around the floor.

This is what the two ladies have shown me. Connection with my partner when I can’t see. Money? Priceless every second.
 
Thanks a million.
 

Tango dag 2.
 
Ek slaap met musiek en danspassies in my wese. So nuwe ervaring vul mens met energie, maar o aarde, beginners luck is iets van die verlede. Die passies word al hoe ingewikkelder en ek en Corrie verstaan mekaar nie lekker nie.
 
Hy lei en ek moet volg, my eie keuse en ek dink die geveg in my binneste raak hewiger. Sy rug protesteer en my brein wil,die heeltyd dink, dis moeiliker om te , surrender' as wat mens dink. Hoe minder ek van my self hou, hoe slegter beweeg ek. Die frustrasie neem oorhand en ek moet 'n paar trane stort om die drukkoker te ontlaai, Corrie wil sommer ophou en ry en dis alles behalwe wat ek wil hê, hierdie is my geveg, nie sy skuld nie. My kunstenaars en wiskunde breine veg verbete.
 
Ons leer nog nuwe beweging en die vloer word te klein vir al die bewegende, proberende lywe. Ons fokus net op onsself en is verbaas toe die groep in 'n sirkel gaan sit en vertel hoe hulle voel. Ek en die meisie met die pienk hare ervaar dieselfde frustrasie. Dis nie ons leiers se skuld, dis ons eie battle. Mense voel van balans af. My kreatiewe brein wil al die volgende bewegings uitwerk maar ek lei nie. Ai!!!!!
 
Na 'n lekker lang russie, kom oms almal agter dat ons nogals moeg is, maar ons hou aan en dans nog op ons eie 'n bietjie langer. Ons wil.
 
Vandag is ons laaste dag en dit was 'n wonderlike naweek. Kan nie wag om weer op die dansvloer te kom nie. Hierdie is net die begin om jouself en mense om jou beter te verstaan. Dis om die kleurwiel te leer maar ons moet nog oefen om die kleure te meng.
 
Wat 'n wonderlike manier om mense beter te leer ken. Ons sal dit van vandag af net stadiger vat, een treetjie op 'n slag, en oefen op die maat van musiek.
 
Juan en Lumia is gebore!

Tango dag 3.
 
Ons laaste dans dag na maande se uitsien breek aan. Ek word vroeg wakker en gaan sit onder die akkerboom en word heeltemal rustig. Wat 'n voorreg om op 'n plaas te bly.
 
Ons is gereed en ry weereens vol opgewondenheid na die eerste sessie van die dag. Ons deel ons ervarings, kuier om die koffie en tee koppies en die groepie begin gel. Dis heerlik. Almal het hulle battles en vreugdes en die selfvertroue word bietjie beter.
 
Ons leer nuwe passies en begin voel of ons dans, maar dis soos om 'n toonleer te speel, ons kan nog nie liedjies maak nie, maar ek weet mos, dit vat tyd en oefening.
 
Ons is geïnspireerd. Ek verstaan weer dat ons twee pilare is, en soms loop een voor en soms die ander een. Elkeen het sterk punte. Die tweetjies van Citrusdal se opmerking dat hulle baie geduld met mekaar het, maak 'n diep indruk op my. Dit help nie om aggressief te raak nie, erken dat jy gefrustreerd raak met jouself, dis menslik, jou maat doen sy of haar bes.
 
Ons luister die mooiste musiek, sien die instrukteurs dans en gaan só geïnspireerd huistoe. Dankie Rachel en Lizelle. Julle kan maar baie meer kom kuier, ons wil dans!.
 
Ons belowe om te oefen, die musiek is klaar gesoek en vanaand begin ons, min dinge het ons al so geïnspireer, beweging om die maat van die beeldskoonste musiek.
 
Shall we Dance Juan?

By Annalien van der Colff
Rhebokskraal Olive Estate