Lesson Four
Style
The last major element of good tango style is an erect upper body and a lifted head. This improves your appearance, helping (for instance) to keep you from looking as if you have a double or triple chin! It also improves your balance and control, needed for the harder dance figures you'll someday want to do. Most importantly, tango is a dance with an attitude -- pride and independence -- and this helps you show it.
To get this posture do this exercise. Let your upper body sag, your head flop forward so that your chin touches your chest, soften your knees so that you go into a half-squat, and empty your lungs completely. Now unfold from the feet upward, breathing in and out slowly but deeply. Straighten your legs and position your weight over the balls of your feet. Open your hands and trail your fingers up the sides of your legs as if your fingers hold an invisible net that passes through your body and pulls it erect. Continue the motion of your hands upward, straightening your spine as you "lift" everything inside your upper body with the imaginary net as it sweeps upward. As your hands rise above your shoulders imagine that the net pulls your head upward till it lifts your entire body as far as it can comfortably go. Extend your arms straight above your head and stand on tiptoes, filling your lungs completely.
Then "let go" of the net and let your arms slowly drop down to hold an imaginary partner in dance position, keeping your shoulders back. Let out your breath but don't let your lungs collapse completely. Lastly, settle back onto your feet and flex your knees as taught in Lesson Three. Do this exercise several times, each one a little less dramatic. At each practice session do this sequence during the warmup.
Two or three times each time you go dancing do a discreet version of the exercise. Touch your belt buckle with the fingertips of one hand and casually run them up the front of your body till they touch your chin, using the imaginary net to straighten your upper body and lift your head.
Zigzags
The Argentine tango uses a lot of pivoting steps, where you twist your body to the left (or right) before or after a step and lift your heel off the floor. The twist spins your body in the direction of the twist on the ball of your foot. You stop the spin by controlling the speed and force of the twist and by lowering your heel to the floor when you've reached the place where you want to stop.
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The Zigzag is a basic pattern that uses pivots. It is yet another variation of the Two-Step Walk. The man moves forward along the line of dance while the woman moves backward. If you're a woman, begin by pivoting to your right 45 degrees. Step back right and pivot to your left 90 degrees. Step back left and pivot to your right 45 degrees. Follow through to the neutral position. If you're a man, begin by pivoting to your right 45 degrees. Step forward left and pivot to your left 90 degrees. Step forward right and pivot to your right 45 degrees. Follow through to the neutral position. |
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Backward Zigzags
You may also do a Backward Zigzag (backward from the leader's viewpoint). Since this would take the two of you against the LOD, the leader should first reverse direction. There are several ways to do that. One is with the man doing a variation of the Forward Rock Step (and the woman doing a variation of the Backward Rock Step).
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If you're a man, pivot 45 degrees to your left. Step forward left and pivot 90 degrees to your left. Step back right and pivot 45 degrees to your left. If you're a woman, pivot 45 degrees to your left. Step back right and pivot 90 degrees to your left. Step forward left and pivot 45 degrees to your left. The man and woman have done two 45 degree pivots and a 90 degree pivot to the left. This adds up to 180 degrees, so you end up facing opposite to the direction you began. Now you can do a Backward Zigzag, a reverse image of the Zigzag going forward. If you're a man, begin by pivoting to your left 45 degrees. Step back left and pivot to your right 90 degrees. Step back right and pivot to your left 45 degrees. Follow through to the neutral position. If you're a woman, begin by pivoting to your left 45 degrees. Step forward right and pivot to your right 90 degrees. Step forward left and pivot to your left 45 degrees. Follow through to the neutral position. |
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After doing one or more Backward Zigzags, reverse directions again. You can do this with a Backward Rock turn, a reverse image of the Forward Rock turn you just learned. Before the first step pivot 45 degrees to the left. Take the first step (forward right if you're a woman, back left if you're a man). Pivot 90 degrees to the left and take the second step (back left if a woman, forward right if a man). End with another 45 degree pivot to the left.
Variations and Practice
Since Zigzags are a Two-Step Walk, beginning and ending with your weight on the same foot, you can combine them with any other Two-Step Walk in any order and number. Here are a few patterns you can make from the Zigzag. Practice each without a partner, then with a partner (imaginary if you can't do otherwise) before you go on to the next pattern.
Do four Zigzags (eight steps) as described above, moving straight along the line of dance, walking forward if you're a man, backward if you're a woman. When you do this without a partner, focus on doing exactly 45-degree and exactly 90-degree pivots. When you do this with a partner, focus on keeping your upper body parallel with your partner but as much as possible square (perpendicular) to the line of dance. In other words, your lower body will twist away from the line of dance more than your upper body.
Notice that you have to open your frame slightly to keep from stepping on your partner's feet. Notice also that on the first step of each Zigzag you are walking in Left Foot Outside position, and on the second step in the Right Foot Outside position.
Now do the Forward Zigzags but curving the overall direction to the left (or right). You can do this to turn a corner or avoid an obstacle.
Lastly do a Rock to reverse directions, two Backward Zigzags, and another Rock to reverse directions again. (Two Zigzags with the leader going backward are usually all that's safe to do.)
Ochos
You may create variations of the Zigzag by varying the angle of the pivots. If you make them less than 45 and 90 degrees, the Zigzag straightens till it almost becomes a Stroll. You can also increase the angles to a bit more than 90 and 180 degress. This "squashes" the Zigzag so much that you end where you began. If you then trace the path your feet made on the floor it will look like the number eight. Thus this extreme version of the Zigzag is called the Ocho (Eight) or the Figure Eight. When stepping forward you're doing Forward Ochos, when stepping backward Backward Ochos.
Ochos are very widely used in the Argentine tango, so you should practice them till they become natural. Do both Forward and Backward Ochos. Be sure when you do this that you are wearing shoes with leather or hard rubber soles, not soft rubber soles; otherwise you may hurt an ankle. Also make sure the floor is neither too slick nor too sticky. Rest your hands against a wall, pretending that the wall is your partner.
Try to keep your upper body parallel to your partner and turn your lower body as sharply to the right or left as you comfortably can. As you become better you will use your partner less and less for balance. Finally you will be able to do Ochos all by yourself. You will master Forward Ochos first because they are easier than Backward Ochos.
Leading and Following
Leading and following is done mostly with your upper body, with your arms and hands just extensions of your body. Let's more closely examine what happens when the man does a Forward Ocho while the woman does a matching Backward Ocho.
Man's: You signal the beginning of the Ocho by twisting your upper body slightly to your right and beginning to move to your right. Twist your lower body 90 degrees to your right, step forward onto your left foot, and pivot your lower body 180 degrees leftward on your left foot. As you pivot twist your upper body slightly to your left and begin to move to your left. Step forward onto your right foot and pivot your lower body 90 degrees rightward on your right foot. Bring your upper body to a straight-ahead orientation to signal the end of the Ocho.
Woman's: You should feel the leader twist your upper body slightly to your right and begin to move to your left. Respond to this lead by twisting your lower body 90 degrees to your right and stepping backward with your right foot. As your weight comes fully onto your right foot, you should feel the leader twist your upper body slightly to your left and begin to move to your right . Respond to this lead by twisting your lower body 180 degrees to your left and stepping backward with your left foot. As your weight comes onto your left foot you should feel the leader twist his upper body to face straight along the LOD. Respond to this by twisting your lower body 90 degrees to your right and twisting your upper body to parallel his.
Leading/Following with Hands
Though the man's upper body does most of the work of leading, it can be helped by the man's right hand (placed under the woman's shoulder blades approximately centered on her spine). Here's how.
If you're leading, as you twist your upper body to the right at the beginning of your Forward Ocho turn your right hand so that the heel briefly presses against your partner's back. Similarly, when you twist your upper body in the opposite direction (left) before the second step, turn your hand so that your fingers briefly press against her back. At the end of the figure again press the heel of your hand briefly against your partner's back.
If you're following, as the leader twists his and your upper body to your right at the beginning of your Backward Ocho you may feel his hand behind you press on the left side of your back to help you turn to your right. Similarly, before the second half of your Ocho you may feel his hand press on the right side of your back to help you turn to your left. At the end of the figure you may again feel pressure on the left side of your back to help you turn to the right.
Other Ways of Using Ochos
Often the woman does a Forward Ocho on the man's right side while he does a Backward Rock, keeping his feet apart (right foot forward) for extra stability. This pattern has intermediate-level difficulty.
This can be done after you've done any Two-Step Walk. If you're already in the Right Foot Outside position, you can do it immediately, but if you're in the Right Foot Inside position you must first go to the RFO position. If you're a man, you do that by twisting your upper body slightly to your left. If you're a woman, you should feel your partner twist your upper body to the left; respond by pivoting your lower body slightly to your left.
Woman: You should feel your partner step backward, leading you to step right forward in the Right Foot Outside position. Then you should feel his upper body twist to the right and a brief pressure on the left side of your back. This is your cue to pivot to your right 180-plus degrees on your right foot. You should feel him step forward, which is your cue to step forward left to return to the spot where you began. Lastly you will feel him twist your bodies to the left, leading you to pivot 180-plus degrees so that you face him again. He may or may not lead another Forward Ocho.
Man: You should read the previous paragraph and do the woman's part; this will help you understand what you must lead.
You do the first part of the lead by simply stepping back, but it will help your partner if you press the fingers of your right hand briefly into her back. As your weight comes down fully on your left foot, twist your upper body about 90 degrees to your right and at the same time briefly press the heel of your right hand into your partner's back, turning her 180-plus degrees. Return your weight to your right foot, pulling her forward with you. Untwist your upper body to return to facing along the line of dance, using the heel of your right hand to help turn her upper body parallel with your's. You can then lead another Forward Ocho if you want.
Lesson 3
Lesson 5
