Last night began a six week journey into tango at the Cambridge Dance Complex in Central Square. The first of several two hour classes delved into ideas of form, line and feeling motion and body awareness. Our instructor prepared us all into learning how to realize that tango was not ballroom and, that as a social "street"-type of dance, it did not seem to follow a formula found in the Viennese waltz or foxtrot.
Typical of the dance complex (which I highly recommend for all types of classes -- its organizational approach to different levels of community learning is just plain cool), there was a flamenco session above our heads. In what was intended to be a grounded introduction, we paced to the rhythm of the music with our heels pasted to the floor and our legs in contact. The floor rattled and the lights shook. One neighboring couple closed their eyes in concentration, but it only gave my (charming and handsome) partner and I the giggles. We switched partners and experimented with forward/backward, sidesteps and circling the room. All was done in a simple form, facing each other with arms cradled around the partner's.
Our second hour of class focused more on specifics of form and line. Men and women separated to practice walking backwards and forwards to the pulse of the music, and gradually added quick-steps to elaborate the rhythm. Our instructor paced with us and examined our movements, correcting along the way. We returned to partner-stance, this time in a more classic tango pose and closer in our partners' vicinities. Moving became easier after the practice of the first hour and achieving a legato became more important than simply learning how to dance together.
Baby steps.
We left class sleepy and mildly satisfied with this new technique and with more questions than we had answers for, listed below:
-learning how to lead movement with my legs
-following on the correct leg
-more great music!
-discovering what a tango step pattern is, or if there is one
-not faking foxtrot on a latin rhythm (what just about everyone, including myself, did)
-maybe some cool shoes.
Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment