The basico cruzado.
Dear Jesus there is so much going in this step.
Do this and this and this, but not this… and don’t forget to do this.
However, the advantage of the preparatory cycle is that you get to revisit and add nuances. So this time around, for those who were on the second time round, I added in a change of weight for the leaders.
The walk, a cambio de frente and the rock step.
Start with the walk. Then introduce the rock step first because a leader trapped in a direction they can’t get out of is lost. Finally add the cambio de frente, using the rock step to return to the correct direction.
This time round I spent more time explictly working on correct and exact foot positioning and it paid off. I’m warming to this step a bit more because it, literally, requires the leader to step up to the plate and be decisive.
The walk and turns.
Includes an exercise where the structure of the turn is performed by both partners together in a line. They both forward ocho, sidestep, backward ocho. It’s the first real introduction to disassociation and thinking where her chest and feet are going to go above his.
Next I have to crack the problem of finding something simple to do with his feet while she turns.
Seeing as how I went backward ochos then a mordida, which is somewhat based on backward ochos, and last week was forward ochos I think the ocho curtado thingy fits in nicely here. It is also an opportunity to introduce little variations in rhythm given that it involves a check step/half beat.
If I haven’t been publishing much of late it is because I am a) grappling with some really awkward posts and b) Ireland is enjoying its indian summer at the moment so I am out enjoying that.
Formerly Preparatory III the walk with forward ochos got bumped a week in the shuffle.
Eight weeks later I am still of the opinion that the delicacy of forward ochos makes them difficult to teach. They are however an excellent point to introduce the concept of disassociation. For the leader to understand that what is important is where her feet are going not his. To this end I added in joint forward ochos. Both the leader and the follower ocho out to the open side.
Rather than teach backward ochos one week and forward ochos the next I swapped in mordidas instead, which used to be preparatory v. The two classes segue nicely from one to the other while at the same time not making it necessary to have taken the first class.
I am this close to doing to the open embrace the same thing I did to the cross. I am coming to the opinion that starting beginners in an open embrace just panders to peoples wariness of close connection.
Yes the mechanics1 of the movement may appear more daunting but they are actually easier. There is no space for error in the close embrace. There is only one place for your foot to go. There is only one place for your weight to be. I know it sounds as though I’m expecting people to get it on their first go, but I’m not. I want to reduce the possibilities and the variance so they get there quicker.
1This raised a giggle when I used the phrase “if the mechanics allow” in response to a question, suggesting the image of two oily overalled individuals on the edge of the dance floor granting and refusing permission for different movements.
Right, eight weeks down, time to look back over what I have done.
I’ve covered ochos, backward and forward, turns, mordidas, the dreaded basic eight and one or two other steps all executed from the walk. So walk, ocho, walk. If anything this keeps them moving as opposed to jumping along the line of dance in fits and starts of block steps.
Am I happy with it? Not entirely. I’m happier. Perhaps somewhat satisfied. It has been July and August the quietest time of the year. A perfect time to experiment but your sample size will never be big enough to draw accurate conclusions. It is, however, doing what I want it to do. Each week is a valid starting point and by putting a sequence of classes together with aporimately the same difficulty, instead of one that bludgeons the dancers with increasing complexity, I have unlocked some of the leaders innate creativity.
To paint a picture; most courses present a ramp up tango mountain. I have carved a plauteau where the beginner dancer can run around and grow so that when they come to move further uphill those cliffs aren’t as big as they used to be.
The basico cruzado.
Yes I know I wrote that I was doing away with the cross but in the end the old ‘basic-8′ was the most suitable for the eight class. There are a number of reasons it finally made the list. It had to turn up at some point otherwise the migration path from preparatory class to tango class becomes rather tricky. Secondly it’s the only time it appears on the cycle. It is not ‘just the cross’ with the attention focused on what ever else the phrase entails.
A lot of attention was placed on the walk, in close embrace. Part of the difficulty in developing the lead for the cross is learning it in the ’softer’ open embrace. In the close embrace the sense of the lead is more obvious even if it does bring up toe tripping issues.
As indicated by the title of this post I have decided that the preparatory cycle should be longer than six weeks. I’m going for an eight week cycle above a six week one as in a six week cycle I feel people would be too aware that they are repeating themselves. I would prefer a sense of revisiting as opposed to repeating.
This weeks material was; walk, lead her ocho to the closed side as you ocho backwards, lead her side step and stop her (both with your chest and by placing your right foot inside her right foot), with your chest move her weight back to her right foot, lead her ocho to bring her back in front and walk.
I vaguely think it’s called an ocho curtado, but I’m not entirely sure. Either way it gets him leading with his chest especially in the side step. The class went well and I even had a couple doing the phrase to the open side without prompting, which is great that they have picked up the exploratory nature of tango on their third class!