ABOUT WALKING TOGETHER.
I got a message asking me the following:
“My female partner does not walk long enough, unless I verbally tell her to do so. What is the reason for her short steps at the walk, and how can I correct the problem without saying anything?”
There is several facts to be considered, and they both, leader and follower should analyze them separately, and then again, while dancing together.
-The leader supposedly should determine exactly the length of the follower step with the impulsion given to her by his chest. More often than not, leaders have a bad posture, sinking the chest, and not projecting it forward, consequently the follower cannot feel anything, and their step becomes very short, and they do not ground.
-Or the leader is not “finishing” the step, which is the complete transfer of his weight to the leading leg at the moment it touches the floor. Yeah, you can tell me that you are afraid to do that, because you could step on the follower’s feet. Well, it’s too bad, but you should ALWAYS finish the step!! Otherwise you look wimpy, shuffling your feet, and going nowhere.
-Or the follower is not keeping a steady and light pressure on the leader’s chest, so she cannot feel the exact moment of the impulsion given by the leader. Besides, if the follower is reaching back with her leading leg, rather than PUSHING back with her trailing foot, chances are that most leaders who decisively walk forward will be stepping on the follower’s feet.
-There should not be a thing like a “verbal conversation” while dancing. The leader LEADS, and the follower, FOLLOWS! But it must be good communications skills between them, in such a way that both can openly express what they feel while dancing, and to give their opinion on how to fix the problem to his/her partner.
-I don’t believe that going to a practica, and just dance, dance and dance, and with different partners each song or tanda, does any good for your dancing skills. I feel that the ideal is to have ONE partner for whatever length of time it’s possible, to dance one or two songs, and then to stop, and to analyze what they both feel about each other. And ladies, men do not have the last word, nor they should be telling you what to do, especially while dancing. An honest evaluation between partners, is the best teaching experience you could expect from a practica.Suspension
I got this question in my mail today:
"I noticed while dancing with "X" that the suspension was better when we did not use hands in the embrace. As soon as we added hands to the closed side the suspension disappeared. Any ideas why?"
The answer is kind of simple. First of all, I am glad that somebody is noticing that when you do something wrong, it has consequences. Suspension ALWAYS come from the trailing leg, men and women alike, and it also means that you are slowing down the moment of the "landing" of your leading leg, trying to reach a little bit farther. So, for some very short moment, the complete balance of your body is placed EXCLUSIVELY on your trailing leg. If for some reason you have ANY pressure on your arms, hands, or face, you immediately loose your body balance, and the suspension is not what it should be.
Some leaders have the tendency to heavily lean on the woman's face, because they project their head forward. May be because they are unbalanced, or perhaps because they have the wrong idea that dancing cheek to cheek looks romantic. Others leaders erroneously put what in ball room dancing is called a "frame", making their arms and hands very stiff, and consequently the shoulders too. Or what is worst, some leaders grab the follower with their right arm, bringing her close to their chest, probably thinking that this forced contact is connection. All of these factors, whether they are simultaneously or isolated, affects terribly or erases completely the "suspension". You need to be relaxed to be able to dance tango, always!
The easiest way to correct this problem, is to "feel and to do" the suspension ALONE first. And when you comfortable can walk a few steps (....yes, you read correctly: A FEW!) like a cat crossing across the floor, smooth and slowly, you can attempt to do this with a partner. You should do it first just touching your chests, and both, man and woman, with the arms crossed behind your back. Men should project their chest forward and women should touch the man's chest with theirs, keeping a soft pressure on it. Remember, men are responsible for keeping this chest all the time available for the woman, and the woman is the one to be concern about keeping a soft pressure on it. Try to walk a few steps like that: four maximun, and then play with changes of weight in place. Start with a depart at the walk again, and repeat this sequence as many times as needed, until you can keep the contact steady, and at the same time, "feeling" the suspension on your steps while both pushing with the trailing leg.
After a while doing this exercise, women may reach the man with their hands: the right hand softly parked on the left shoulder of the man, and the left, on and around the right shoulder and neck of the man. Softly means that the woman will be "touching the man with her fingers", and that is all the pressure you will need. Men should reach the back of the woman with their right hand, and to place their fingers or wrist on the woman's back, without put any extra pressure at all. The left hand of the man, rather than to hold the right hand of the woman, it should also be softly placed on the woman right shoulder. If the embrace affects or makes your "suspension" to stop, come back to work without hands again!
Pretty soon you will be dancing tango, even if you are just walking, changing weight at the pauses, and doing departs at the walk and halts quite frequently. Try it and let me know what do you feel.
