Loading Map....
Date/Time
Date(s) - 17/07/2018 - 07/08/2018
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location
Chez Margaret
Categories No Categories
Topic: Close Embrace/ Essential Tango
Tuesday, July 17- Aug 7
7-8:30 pm
Margaret’s Home Studio/33 Acorn Rd (possible carpool rides available!)
Prerequisite = basic tango, desire to master close dancing, willingness to rotate.
Please register with a partner!
Cost: $20 per class per person in group of 6 /$15 per person in group of 8 or more.
Pay in advance for all 4 classes = save $10.
Here are some benefits in learning to dance close:
– encourages a more connected, intuitive dance, regardless of distance.
– aligns you with the shared axis.
– opens the door to off-axis work, wraps, leans, callecitas.
– prepares you to dance tango on crowded dance floors around the world.
– eliminates the either/or equation.
Tango is a close dance that opens to facilitate specific steps and combinations. The use of close embrace is an essential component of traditional Argentine tango, regardless of the style. Though in today’s diverse tango world, you may see an emphasis of one embrace over another, my favourite experienced dancers do both. The category of dancers that prefer to remain in close embrace and forego any open footwork moves are referred to as “Milonguero- style’ dancers. Instead of dramatic wraps, off-axis colgados, or linear boleos, these dancers choose to protect their aging bodies by remaining close and upright while playing creatively with rhythmic changes. One of the great values of mastering close embrace is the greater ease and relaxation it provides, while not compromising the improvisational and responsive aspects of the dance. Finally it turns out that many dramatic moves can also be done close in a more subtle and safer way.
Obstacles to dancing close: There are two main obstacles I’ve seen in students. The first is the awkwardness of the physical intimacy before we are accomplished. Hence we must be patient with one another and recognize that it is merely a dance, not an affair. Second is the uncertainty leaders feel, when they must initially give up the complex footwork they have learned, and do less, while they gradually begin to trust the feel of the connection. This is by far the most profound aspect of dancing close. I still remember the panic I experienced as a lead in my first close embrace workshop : where are her feet???? As a follower dancing close, I like to shut my eyes, and enter a contained musical zone with my partner.
If you are interested in joining the Tuesday group this summer, let me know.
A similar class will be offered in the fall, in case that works better for you!
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Margaret
902-229-8585