5356 Steps for close embrace in close quarters
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:37:53 +0000
From: Jay Rabe <jayrabe@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Steps for close embrace in close quarters
To: Tango-L <tango-l@mit.edu>
Ok, what the heck. I'll jump in.
Steps/sequences for a beginner to do in close embrace on crowded dancefloors:
First, the standby, walk. Just walk, with pauses and timing of step placement playing with the music to keep your partner interested.
Second, walk in cross-foot, with the follower doing ochos, without much rotation if it's very crowded, continuing to progress in LOD.
Third, the venerable ocho cortado. Keeps you in LOD, and if the floor is very crowded, you do it with rotation to lead her forward ocho (instead of you stepping back in LOD to receive her forward ocho). Lots of variations on the ocho cortado to give variety.
Next would be simple turns, like rock-step 1/4 turns, lets you keep an eye on traffic behind you.
Next, though a bit more difficult for a beginner would be tight molinetes, a 3-step sequence starting from a back ocho. This will put you facing the wrong way, so then you have to do some kind of turn to bring you back into LOD.
You can dance all night on a crowded floor with nothing more than that if you want.
J
TangoMoments.com
> From: Victor_Bennetts@infosys.com
> Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:37:20 +1100
> Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Close embrace question vs boleos question
>
>
> I think the difference in numbers of posts is perfectly understandable. This is a natural result of the relative difficulty of answering the questions. Defining boleos and contra boleos is relatively easy. Actually doing them well is considerably more difficult. It's a bit like cricket. There are plenty of people who can provide definitions and demonstrations of a square cut or a cover drive without actually being able to make any runs. The only way to improve your batting is to watch how others do it then spend hours in the nets taking deliveries from your little brother ;-).
>
> The 'sequences to improve close embrace dancing' question is, in my opinion, a much more worthwhile one, but also by its nature so much more difficult to answer. For a start, it assumes you can improve your dancing by learning sequences then that there are some that are more suited to close embrace. Personally, I think doing exercises is more important than learning sequences. Next in importance is lots of challenging social dancing with sequences a distant third in importance. Sequences and steps are only good if you have a really good teacher correcting what you are doing and pointing out all the other variations and possibilities otherwise they will just be a vehicle for entrenching bad habits, whether in close or open embrace.
>
> Victor Bennetts
>
> Steve>On Thursday the 13th Mario requested tips on
> "Close embrace in close quarters".
> I have yet to see a sinlge response.
> Meanwhile, there have been more than 20 responses in the
> "Boleo & Contra-boleo" thread.
> I guess this speaks volumes about the interests of our
> on line community.
>
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Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:13:33 -0500
From: "Ed Doyle" <doyleed@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Steps for close embrace in close quarters
To: "Jay Rabe" <jayrabe@hotmail.com>
Cc: Tango-L <tango-l@mit.edu>
<183484970712181013p1ef1c39dke5f8951eaf3a5d44@mail.gmail.com>
Hi Jay,
Very well said. What you have written below is pretty much all I ever do,
crowded or not crowded. I hope followers enjoy it, I do. Of course, doing
these things 'to the music' is most important. I sometimes think when doing
more fancy ganchos and boleos and more complex patterns, some of us use so
much concentration on getting the footwork and steps right, that we don't
have enough mental capacity left to 'listen' to the music and dance for/with
our partners. I know I have been guilty of this, and of course that is very
bad. So, I vote for 'doing what you do' well, and keep the fancy stuff for
practicas until it is really ingrained in muscle memory and can be called
upon without thinking, be improvisational, and of course 'only' if
pleasurable for the follower.
my two cents
Ed Doyle
PS - Those of you that CAN do more, SHOULD. I am just cautioning that those
of us that do not do the fancy stuff WELL, should not keep 'practicing' it
at the milonga. Practice off line.
On Dec 18, 2007 12:37 AM, Jay Rabe <jayrabe@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Ok, what the heck. I'll jump in.
>
> Steps/sequences for a beginner to do in close embrace on crowded
> dancefloors:
>
> First, the standby, walk. Just walk, with pauses and timing of step
> placement playing with the music to keep your partner interested.
> Second, walk in cross-foot, with the follower doing ochos, without much
> rotation if it's very crowded, continuing to progress in LOD.
> Third, the venerable ocho cortado. Keeps you in LOD, and if the floor is
> very crowded, you do it with rotation to lead her forward ocho (instead of
> you stepping back in LOD to receive her forward ocho). Lots of variations on
> the ocho cortado to give variety.
> Next would be simple turns, like rock-step 1/4 turns, lets you keep an eye
> on traffic behind you.
> Next, though a bit more difficult for a beginner would be tight molinetes,
> a 3-step sequence starting from a back ocho. This will put you facing the
> wrong way, so then you have to do some kind of turn to bring you back into
> LOD.
>
> You can dance all night on a crowded floor with nothing more than that if
> you want.
>
> J
> TangoMoments.com
>
>
>
> > From: Victor_Bennetts@infosys.com
> > Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:37:20 +1100
> > Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Close embrace question vs boleos question
> >
> >
> > I think the difference in numbers of posts is perfectly understandable.
> This is a natural result of the relative difficulty of answering the
> questions. Defining boleos and contra boleos is relatively easy. Actually
> doing them well is considerably more difficult. It's a bit like cricket.
> There are plenty of people who can provide definitions and demonstrations of
> a square cut or a cover drive without actually being able to make any runs.
> The only way to improve your batting is to watch how others do it then spend
> hours in the nets taking deliveries from your little brother ;-).
> >
> > The 'sequences to improve close embrace dancing' question is, in my
> opinion, a much more worthwhile one, but also by its nature so much more
> difficult to answer. For a start, it assumes you can improve your dancing by
> learning sequences then that there are some that are more suited to close
> embrace. Personally, I think doing exercises is more important than learning
> sequences. Next in importance is lots of challenging social dancing with
> sequences a distant third in importance. Sequences and steps are only good
> if you have a really good teacher correcting what you are doing and pointing
> out all the other variations and possibilities otherwise they will just be a
> vehicle for entrenching bad habits, whether in close or open embrace.
> >
> > Victor Bennetts
> >
> > Steve>On Thursday the 13th Mario requested tips on
> > "Close embrace in close quarters".
> > I have yet to see a sinlge response.
> > Meanwhile, there have been more than 20 responses in the
> > "Boleo & Contra-boleo" thread.
> > I guess this speaks volumes about the interests of our
> > on line community.
> >
> > **************** CAUTION - Disclaimer *****************
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> solely for the use of the addressee(s). If you are not the intended
> recipient, please notify the sender by e-mail and delete the original
> message. Further, you are not to copy, disclose, or distribute this e-mail
> or its contents to any other person and any such actions are unlawful. This
> e-mail may contain viruses. Infosys has taken every reasonable precaution to
> minimize this risk, but is not liable for any damage you may sustain as a
> result of any virus in this e-mail. You should carry out your own virus
> checks before opening the e-mail or attachment. Infosys reserves the right
> to monitor and review the content of all messages sent to or from this
> e-mail address. Messages sent to or from this e-mail address may be stored
> on the Infosys e-mail system.
> > ***INFOSYS******** End of Disclaimer ********INFOSYS***
> >
>
> Share life as it happens with the new Windows Live.
>
> https://www.windowslive.com/share.html?ocid=TXT_TAGHM_Wave2_sharelife_122007
>
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:53:35 +1100
From: Victor Bennetts <Victor_Bennetts@infosys.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Steps for close embrace in close quarters
To: Tango-L <tango-l@mit.edu>
<EBAF6BD07D1C6C42AF55D51893B4C6DA0256643B58@AUSMELMBX01.ad.infosys.com>
Mario and others,
I agree with everything Jay and Ed have said, that is pretty much my repertoire as well and I dance pretty much only in close now. Sure I know (or knew ;-)) other stuff, but it falls out of my daily dance if I don't find it useful in expressing the music. Mainly I find that it is the simple stuff that goes furthest.
So when walking in close embrace, for instance, you can get a lot of mileage by just considering all the possibilities. You can walk inside, outside, play with different tempos and lengths of steps all in parallel system. It really is amazing how interesting and varied it can be, but it is a lot harder than it looks. One important thing I found is that to do this well you need good disassociation which a lot of people find difficult, so hence my previous suggestion that you concentrate on exercises. In fact, I don't know why tango dancers don't stretch their torso before dancing. It would make a lot of sense.
To me the other main ingredient is posture. When I got back from Argentina I was dancing all exactly the same steps as before I left but suddenly people were commenting it was like I had grown two inches while I was away. In close embrace, errors of posture are going to have a much more significant impact than in open. From what I have been told by followers this has a direct impact on how the follower experiences your embrace as comfortable or not. So any repertoire is not going to get you very far if your head is down, not connecting with the chest, not dancing with a straight back etc. In fact, you can tell the guys who have not corrected these problems, they are all the ones still dancing tango mainly in open embrace after dancing for years :-).
Victor Bennetts
>Hi Jay,
>Very well said. What you have written below is pretty much all I >ever do, crowded or not crowded.
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Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:29:21 -0800 (PST)
From: Mario <sopelote@yahoo.com>
Subject: [Tango-L] steps for close embrace in close quarters
To: tango-l@mit.edu
steps for close embrace in close quarters
Thanks to J and Victor for this concise list of ways to make close embrace interesting yet simple.
A beginner like myself who mainly wants the Tango music and the connection of close embrace can get awfully confused when seeing the plethora of Tango sequences that are offered. Having a few walks and a few patterns to concentrate on and then learning how to weave them into a varied dance is a giant relief.
Now, I can see light at the end of the tunnel and the light will be when I can navigate around the floor with musicality and a few nicely done moves to go with a varied walk.
Any further refinements or pointers around this basic foundation will be delightfully received. Mario
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Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:51:10 -0800 (PST)
From: steve pastor <tang0man2005@yahoo.com>
Subject: [Tango-L] steps for close embrace in close quarters (
To: tango-l@mit.edu
Jay mentioned the ocho cortado. Take a look at the photos
here
https://www.tangoandchaos.org/chapt_3search/10ascent.htm
to see just how little room you have to use.
P.S. I love this site. Tons of good stuff.
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