I am so looking forward to my Tango Technique Workshop this Saturday … just for the followers!
Followers’ Technique is one of my all-time favourite topics. And although we often hold Technique Workshops for both leaders and followers at Tango Movement, there is something quite special about occasionally working with just the followers.
Somehow over the years, I’ve turned into something of a tango technique geek, excited about even the smallest details in our movement and new ways to explain them in my classes.
I haven’t always been this way. In my 20’s, all I wanted to do was get on with the dance. I was prepared to work hard and practice, and I knew that technique was important, but I wasn’t always as patient as I should have been about the where and the how … and every other tiny piece of the jigsaw.
I despair of my younger self. I can now see how much more progress my students who take tango technique seriously than those who are just looking for their next dance partner and “tango fix”. Because it is the details that make up the whole picture.
I remember the feeling of dancing in a fog of confusion, not really sure what is happening from one moment to the next. Enjoying the feeling of things progressing, only to feel that progress slip away from me, without fully understanding why. Because, to quote the legendary Rudolf Nureyev:
“Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.”
I am a total convert to technique. Just a few minutes of technique each day can have more value than many hours of dancing in the milonga. Too many people adhere to the misguided belief that racking up their “tango miles” will improve their dance. If it does, it is over a much longer period of time. And in fact unfocused practice may serve only to reenforce bad habits.
A good technique workshop should help you to strengthen the precise muscles you use when you dance tango, acquire greater corporal awareness, increase your confidence and fuel your self-expression and creativity.
I hope this has inspired you to get started (or keep going) with your technique. And if you’re not sure exactly what you should be working on or are in need of some fresh ideas, look no further than my Followers’ Technique Workshop this Saturday!
This is the second week we’ll be working on Technique. My students last week requested a second workshop to reinforce the ideas from the first class. But don’t worry if you weren’t able to make the first one. I’ll make sure everything is crystal clear.
The class will take place this Saturday 20 May at 3:30 – 5:30 pm at Marshall Street Leisure Centre, 15 Marshall Street, Soho, W1F 7EL (close to Oxford Circus). Price: £20 per person.
We’ll start the class without our shoes (bring a pair of socks). After that we’ll move to our tango heels. I’d strongly recommend that you wear the shoes you would normally wear to dance tango in – rather than simply practice shoes.
I can’t wait to help you find your light bulb moments!
