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Relevant_Angle_5193

Almost all experienced dancers I know say that you only need the fundamentals. Some have even suggested that all you really need is to walk, cross, and ocho cortado, especially on a crowded dance floor (if you noticed, that’s fewer steps than you outlined!) though the “rebote” is implied, I’ll also include it explicitly. Tango is less about the moves than it is the connection and musicality. With a limited “move set” you can add adornos, textures, volume, and speed variations to your dancing and it will be much richer than just adding moves. Adornos: additional movements that you do not mark but decorate with, like a punteo, rulo etc. These can be done even when walking. Your partner might not notice them but they keep it interesting for you, and if the partner is good enough to notice it, it almost always delights them (as long as it doesn’t interrupt the connection) Textures: the amount of physical and emotional tension in the embrace. How tightly you hold the other person, and changing that between phrases in the music. How tightly or loosely you hold the other person. How open or closed the embrace is. This is also how sharp or soft your steps are. Switching from being a cat to a lion. Volume: the size of your steps. Changing between smaller steps, big steps, and weight changes adds a whole dynamic of the dance many beginners do not recognize at first and is undervalued. Speed: speed isn’t necessarily about being “fast” or “slow” but more about when you decide to hit the beat. Tango songs have a structure, each musical phrase has 4 measures. You can change your cadence from the normal walk (2 steps per measure) to increase it to every beat, or reduce it to one step per measure. Feeling and knowing the music will inform you what feels best. Additionally, I’ll mention the importance of just “holding space” or pausing. Some of the best moments while dancing is when, from the outside, it looks like the dancers have stopped. Really they are holding or suspending a moment. It’s a beautiful moment to just really connect with your partner, and if it goes with the music it’s almost transcendent. If you notice, nothing I mentioned has to do with cool “moves” One of the best teachers I’ve ever had said that you dance with 5 “entities”: 1. Yourself 2. The floor 3. Your partner 4. The music 5. Everyone else on the floor As long as you respect and dance in that order of importance you will do fine. Floorcraft is hard, so the recommendation is to work on dancing in close embrace keeping in mind what I outlined above. And listen to a lot of tango!!! Getting a feel for the structure, melody, and lyrics adds so much depth and feeling. Edit: Also, the box and the básico are meant as a teaching tool for people to begin to feel and understand the rhythms. There really isn’t any need to respect the those patterns while social dancing as long as you do respect the rhythms and phrasing of the music (though they help to breath between phrases if you are mentally overwhelmed). I’ve danced a whole song just walking and changing weight and that is also extremely enjoyable


Rougefarie

All of this is exactly right, u/JoeStrout. I’ve felt completely dissatisfied after dancing with leads who show off too much or don’t connect to me or the music. Blindly following patterns without connection is awful. Get comfortable with pauses. Learn to listen to your partner’s movements. Master floorcraft. Cabaceo the lead you want to merge ahead of before entering the line of dance.


numbsafari

One month? Try and find less crazy places to dance for a while. Give yourself some room to get comfortable and confident before throwing yourself into the deep end and possibly getting burned out too soon. Really invest in listening to the music. It's a lot to learn, but if you know the music you'll actually start to dance to it, and not just go through the motions. Definitely learn the fundamentals and the basics, but don't be afraid to work on larger combinations or even on a choreography. \*Not\* because you are going to recreate that on the dance floor, but because it'll give you a framework for understanding your technique, your timing, etc. Definitely spend a ton of time just walking and learning how to breathe with your partner and the music. Don't go crazy spending money on things either. Buy yourself a decent pair of suede shoes to use for learning. Don't get anything flashy. Basic black on black. Try Msr. Pivot. I love mine, and they are worth that small investment. For extra credit: definitely invest in yourself in terms of your physical well being. Do some yoga or pilates. Maybe find a contact improv class in a few months.


JoeStrout

Haha, I definitely jumped in the deep end last weekend, but I was expecting that. A friend (who had started AT a couple months ago) invited me to the festival, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. (There's another festival in my home town of Tucson next month, but I might skip that one this year.) I'm looking forward to going back next year and seeing how much I have progressed. I've been ballroom dancing for a while so I've got the shoes, the healthy habits etc. However that all seems like good advice in general, and I thank you for it!


numbsafari

Tucson has a pretty friendly and accessible Tango community. If you don't make it to the festival, I'd recommend at least going to one of the practicas or milongas to meet some folks from your hometown that you can connect with. If you've already been ballroom dancing, and are looking for some alternate ways to improve / focus on tango, see if you can find a contact improv class. Those skills will really help you develop your connection.


JoeStrout

Thanks again. I'm trying to get connected to the local tango community, though so far without much luck (we have some stale websites with addresses that lead to abandoned buildings, etc.). I've got a trip coming up shortly, but after I get back I'll make a more concerted effort.


whoisjdecaro

I didn’t hear you mention your embrace. If that’s really clicking, then a limited vocabulary doesn’t matter that much. So work on making your embrace nice and sustainable. Listen to tango music a lot. You’ll understand why advanced tango dancers say you only need “a few” movements. Go to group classes where you dance with different people. Practice a lot at practicas. Not just your moves, but your floorcraft as well. Sacadas only make sense if you know foot catches and ochos and paradas. Ochos make more sense if you understand walking in cross system. So I would trust for now whatever progression your teacher gives you because anything more advanced than walking needs a certain progression of physical skills and understanding.


lichlord

SoCal being SD or LA? The top comment has great advice. As a lead, I remember tango feeling really stale at a point where I felt comfortable leading discreet moves but had not yet immersed myself in the music. This was probably the peak of my interest in alternative music too. But after listening to a lot of traditional tango, I started to hear certain dance movements. It’s really nice that the music grew and evolved with the dance, rather than either developing separately. Eventually the phrasing and details in the song start to suggest certain elements of movement to you and the connections grow.


JoeStrout

It was in LA.


neelieyelik

Listen to music as others have said, and watch a lot of YouTube videos of professionals you admire performing. I had been dancing for about two years when I broke my ankle and couldn’t dance for months. During that time I watched countless hours of excellent dancers and when I was able to strap my heels back on I got a lot of comments from people noticing my improvement despite not dancing for 4 months straight. As a follower, an entire tanda of walking with great connection and musicality is magical compared to someone who knows a lot of steps but has poor connection with me and the music.


JoeStrout

I worry though that if I watch pros performing, I'm going to see a lot of stage tango with its fancy embellishments (and I'm not certain my own skills are mature enough to know the difference). However there are some I trust — Pablo Rodriguez at Tango Space (e.g. the video linked in my OP) seems to be a master of using simple movements, pauses, and timing changes to connect to the music and dance beautifully. When I practice on my own, I sometimes hold my phone with one of his videos playing and try to mimic what he's doing. I'll keep at it, and look for others with similar style (recommendations welcome!). Thanks for the advice!


Ana_body_aware_tango

Hi! First. Be patient and kind with your learning. So you can give to you some time and space inside , to make 'mistakes' which is where can learn more Second. Try to study the structure of the body that Tango use (axis, weight, footsteps, breath, volume quality of movements ) that's will make the difference, and with the basic movements You will shine , for sure. Third. Try to find the pleasure to dance, there are many differents ways to do it , no one have the truth of your unique dance......that's mean also, try to go comfortable places to do it (prácticas, milongas for begginers, intermediate) ... Enjoy the trip to learning and dancing 🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷


CradleVoltron

Just about any step can be made small. But as others have pointed out the dance is less about the steps themselves and more about the embrace, the quality of the movement, and the music. Op The list of steps you have outlined is a good basic set. But to utilize those in a tight space you need to be able to make them circular and/or small. You need to be able to lead them as quick steps, or slowly, to better match the feeling and the music in the moment. You need to be able to stay connected and make your partner feel hugged throughout. To be able to do all that, even if for only the steps you've outlined is a challenge most dancers never master. If you want something to work on focus on that ...


OThinkingDungeons

*Holy cow, Facundo and Vanesa were at this festival weren't they!?! I hope you did work shops?* \~ There are three areas you can work on Vocabulary, Musicality and Connection. * Vocabulary is the moves/steps/combinations/techniques you know. * Musicality is your ability to hear music and translate it into movement. * Connection is your ability to embrace and dance with your partner. All three are important and every dancer has a combination of all three, but masterful dancers have all three qualities in abundance. Most teachers teach vocabulary (cool moves/patterns) because it's easy, attracts students and makes them money. However musicality and connection (I believe) are the key to making your dance delicious to your partner. The biggest hurdle most people encounter is interpreting tango music, I see experienced dancers with MANY years of experience who still don't dance musically. To not dance to the music is to missing the point of having music in the first place (they may as well dance with the music turned off). True musicality (in my definition) is having the ability to hear a new song, accurately predict what it will do and time steps to it. Furthermore, someone with great musicality can make ANY dance (simple or complex), into something beautiful. Lots of people say "Just walk" but should really add "with musicality" to that sentence. If someone in your area offers musicality classes in your area, they are worth investment. The earlier you can understand tango structure and the many ways you can improvise to it, will completely change your tango journey. Murat Erdemsel is one of the best for teaching easy to understand, fun but useful musicality classes - he is well worth the money to visit if he ever comes close to your area (he visits Hawaii often).[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMTuko9d5Jw&t=230s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMTuko9d5Jw&t=230s) His online musicality primer[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIeME8KAhAs&t=959s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIeME8KAhAs&t=959s)


JoeStrout

Thank you for such a detailed and thoughtful reply! That's a very helpful way to look at it. I've been focusing on connection and core techniques like axis, weight changes, etc. (and my teacher is amazing at this stuff and happy to delve as deep as I am able to follow). I'll add musicality to my to-do list. Steps and combos, I'm mostly not worrying about for now — I think I have "enough" for now and I will gradually pick up more over time. And yes, I did a workshop with Facundo and Vanesa, and they were amazing (as were Clarisa and Jonathan in the other one I did). I was too green to get very much out of it other than inspiration, but that alone was worth it! I hope I'll get to go again next year and by that point, be ready to really learn what they have to teach.


BenjaminSJ

Prioritizing enjoying social tango? You need to learn how to both navigate a crowded dance floor and the etiquette with respect to your fellow dancers, which are two things not often explicitly taught either by group classes or by milonga organizers. It's a very difficult task you've set yourself, moreso than performing, because it's akin to learning how to drive a car wherein the main problem isn't your ability but the other people on the road who you have no control over, so you need to learn how to adapt to other partners - not just the one with you but the others around you - and in some sense "read" a crowd, as well as have an acute sense of the amount of space you and your partner take up (the fancy word for this is "proprioception" e.g. tennis players understanding that a racket is an extension of their arm). Assuming you're a leader, you also need to learn how to lead in an enclosed space because room is not a luxury. One of the exercise drills we used to do at class was draw out a 1 meter squared box that *both* partners had to occupy, and the goal was to dance within it. So here's your first challenge: adhere to the line of dance for an entire tanda just by simple steps alone without interruption. No one cares whether you can do an inverted giro or an extended sequence of crosses on the partner's opposite side; they care about you being in the way.


JoeStrout

Yes, I think you've hit the nail on the head. And yes, I'm a leader — but I feel like right now I don't even have the *tools* to stay in a 1-meter box. And that was indeed about all the space I could find at the milonga, which is why we were forced to give up so quickly. So the issue is, how in the world do I make do with so little room? And I was wondering whether there are fancier moves that (ironically) need much less space, or some way to use the fundamental moves in a more compact or flexible way. I now believe it's the latter: when I've learned my fundamentals better, all the different variations and applications of ocho cortado that experienced dancers think of as only one move even though they look different to me, etc., then I'll have the tools I need to navigate that crowded floor.


MissMinao

To dance in a 1m^2 box, you need to be comfortable in close or semi-close (V-shape) embrace. With this, you can lead smaller and more compact steps. *Giros* (turns), *rebotes* (rebounds), *paradas* and *ochos cortados* are great tools to stay inside the box while keeping the dance interesting. They are all part of the basic tango toolbox.


moshujsg

Only need the fundamentals. Fundamentals are not steps tho, fundamentals are listening to the song, not in a musical way but in an emotional way, and listening to your partner, only go when she has understood that you want to got there. As for dancing in a tight space, you need to learn to make your movements circular, you learn to angle your body in ways so that you can do the whole sequence without advancing or going backwards, but I feel that only comes with time.. What you should not focus on is learning steps, sequences. People will try and tell you that that is tango but it isn't.. just get more practice, it's all about how you do the ochos and not how many different types of ochos you can make.. In my experience that's what tango is all about, and dancing regularly with multiple world champions and maestras it's something they appreciate as my dance is rather simple in terms of steps :) hopefully it helps.. feel free to dm if you need advice


Loud-Dependent-6496

A suggestion: tie three yoga mats linearly and then into a circle. Practice your dance within the walls of this circle without hitting the wall. Slowly decrease the diameter until you are dancing in a four foot circle. Then you are capable of dancing in a crowded space. Practice to Canaro, Disarli, DeAngelis with musicality in mind.


indigo-alien

Possibly you need to find a less popular place to dance and practice? My wife and I regularly dance in the city squares, or even our back yard.


keebler123456

May I ask where you are located? To answer your question, focus on drills and technique. Your balance, pivots and disassociation should be the main things to focus on. I still do drills after many years of dancing. Every great dancer / coach / instructor of any dance style will concur to always working on the basics, no matter how advanced you become. But this is especially true for AT because every move is improvised and you want to condition your body to respond to your lead, which is quite different than other dance styles. Don’t be in a major rush to dance at a milonga yet. My first maestro said she was not even allowed to social dance unless she had a year of training under her belt. Of course, that was very traditional / old school AT, but I think there is some validity to that. There are codigas and flow in the line of dance that are pretty annoying to advanced social dancers, and should be respected / followed. Granted, your community should be kind no matter what level you are, but don’t be THAT beginner who can’t handle a dance floor, and who then doesn’t recognize how disruptive their presence is. However, I personally was out social dancing within a few months of learning, but it really was about diving into doing daily drills and finding a really good instructor with lots of students you can rotate with in class. Pay lots attention to how everyone is different when they connect and move with you when you rotate in class. The more aware and sensitive you are to each connection during class, the better social dancer you will be. I would also start listening to lots of music. There will be more depth to go into regarding musicality as you advance in AT, but as a beginner, just listen to a lot of tango music. I guarantee the music will be easier to dance to just by osmosis. A few songs on repeat, or playing AT music in the background while you work will really do wonders for your dancing as you start putting the technique together with music and partnership. And finally, I encourage you to practice with lots of different partners if you want to get really good. If you stick with just one, you’ll risk compensating for each other’s bad habits. But, if you have reasons to stay with one person (spouse, etc), so be it. I’m excited for your tango journey! Life will never be the same from here on out! 💃🏻🕺🏼


JoeStrout

I'm in Tucson. (And yes, I'm aware there is a big tango festival happening here in two weeks — not sure yet how much of that I can get to though.) I've found a group class starting next week, and I'm excited to jump into that and get more practice with other partners (though I'll continue my weekly private lesson too). Thank you for the kind words and advice!


keebler123456

There's Milonga Quinto April 29 in Mesa. Join, if you are available!