I have written much here about how I approach the beginnings of tango. But beyond that? Where do I take things? For a long time I have simply referred to it as ‘the second class’, preferring not to use the terms ‘improver’ or ‘advanced’ due to connotations applied to them. I could not think of a term that would encapsulate correctly what it is that lies beyond my fundamentals of tango.
Until now. And that term is ‘Opportunities and Variations’.
In encapsulating the second class correctly it helps describe the function and relationship to the first class. The First class deals with the fundamentals of tango; the embrace, the walk, the music, ochos, turns, stops, check-steps. All the things you need to navigate the floor. You do not need to know how to perform a sacada to get round the floor but without stops or turns things would get sticky.
A sacada is an example of an opportunity and a means towards variation. She ochos or sidesteps and I take the opportunity to sacada. I didn’t have to. But the possibility was there and now because I took that opportunity new possibilities arise. Indeed if I vary the manner of my sacada then different possibilities occur. If I follow the music and the music changes then my movements change. Vals and Milonga all come out of the music.
So in the first class I lay down the fundamentals. Then in the second class I take those fundamentals and show how they can be used to explore the possibilities. Nothing new needs to be created, just revealed.