Happy new year!
2017 is here – The time to take a fresh start!
We are excited to start our regular classes, workshops and milongas today and we know that a lot of you are ready to start 2017 with some beautiful dancing.
As this is the moment of New Year Resolutions, you might have decided to work on your tango this year.
So, we have crafted a “2017 tango learning plan”, level by level, that you can follow.
This is how we plan our group or private lessons: below are the skills we have in mind when we create our teaching programme, and when we put together the exercises and sequences of each class.
Tango learning plan - by level
Scroll down for level 1 (Beginners), level 2 (Improvers), level 3 (Intermediate), level 4 (Advanced)
Level 1: Beginners
Course outline/What you need to learn
You need to focus on getting the fundamentals right: the posture, the connection, the embrace, and the walk.You also need to make sure that you understand how to use transfer of the weight to communicate with your partner. At this stage, you start developing your body awareness: enjoy it! Tango is a very precise dance, and body awareness is key to good dancing.
Tips
- Commit to a regular class
- Focus on enjoying walking in the embrace and being as relaxed as possible when you dance
- Develop body awareness: listen to your body and to the corrections from your teachers
- Discover tango music, listen to a lot of it: find your favourite songs
The three questions you should ask yourself:
- What is connection and how do I connect with my partner as much as possible?
- How do I listen to my partner, whatever my role (leader/follower)?
- How do I find the right balance between being engaged yet relaxed?
(still not sure if you should start tango? check out our 10 good reasons to start dancing tango here)
Level 2: Improvers
Course outline/What you need to learn
At that level, you need to learn the basic steps (the cross, the ochos, the half-giro and the giro) while improving your command of the fundamentals (posture, connection, embrace and walk). You need to deepen your axis and alignment, and find more control in how you transfer your weight.
Tips
- Do not hesitate to attend beginner classes – you will discover advice and tips from your teachers that you didn’t understand a few month ago, when you were just starting out
- If available, improve your technique with dedicated classes: focus on balance, alignment and precision
- Practice individual exercises at home
- If you can, try out as many teachers as possible
The three questions you should ask yourself:
- How can I be present in the dance with my attention on my partner and not on my steps?
- How do I find the balance between walking and adding sequences to the dance?
- How can I adapt, and find a comfortable embrace with all my different partners?
Level 3: Intermediate
Course outline/What you need to learn
You need to learn how to keep the connection constantly, even during more complex sequences: now is the time to really focus on the journey in-between the steps.
In addition, at this stage, you work on:
- Becoming more precise on leading/following, and connecting beyond the chest
- Improving fluidity of movement
- Switching from linear to circular movements
This is also a good time to explore milonga and vals, and how they differ from the tango rhythm.
Finally, you also need to start building your musicality: everyone interprets the music in a different way (musicality is very personal): taking musicality workshops, and listening to a lot of music will help you create a dance that is yours.
Tips
- Learn about floorcraft and codigos, then go to milongas (yes, that’s the correct order 🙂 to know more, read ‘the most important thing to learn in your tango journey‘)
- Keep improving your technique with dedicated classes and keep practicing individual exercises at home
- Attend musicality workshops and get to know the tango music: the pillars of tango music, the different orchestras, how to express differently the music of each orchestra
- Don’t worry about embellishments and new moves: focus on polishing what you know and improving connection
The three questions you should ask yourself:
- How can I be much more precise in my leading/following?
- Am I ready to go to milongas? (you are ready when you know about floorcraft and codigos)
- Do I really need to learn new moves? Or can I dance with what I know and focus on connecting with my partner?
Level 4: Advanced
Course outline/What you need to learn
Go back to the basics and focus on making your walk more powerful and elegant. Understand that this is the moment you start dancing to the pause and practice slowness to add sophistication to your dancing. What will make you truly stand out now is your musicality – focus on finding your own way to express the music.
Practice the small things that can only be added once you master the fundamentals: decorations, voleos…
Also, have fun with the more complex sequences like sacadas, enrosques, playing with on/off-axis… Explore adding unexpected dynamics or directions to basic sequences (e.g. non-circular giros).
Tips
- Remember that advanced dancers “show-off” with their walk, musicality and floorcraft, not fancy moves 🙂
- Know that everyone take up bad habits: strive to improve them
- Even if you get frustrated by your learning process, keep searching and exploring until you find a truly connected dance
- Don’t hesitate to keep taking classes: tango has a lot to offer and learning how to dance is a never-ending process
- Challenge yourself by trying out styles that are not usually part of your dancing: go see that truly milonguero teacher, take workshops with visiting teachers, dance with new partners…
The three questions you should ask yourself:
- What bad habits do I need to correct?
- When do I slow down and add pausing to the dance?
- How can I keep improving my walk and my embrace?
We hope that this helps your in your tango learning journey! And maybe you have your own tango plan for 2017? If yes, let us know in the comments what you plan to do, and how.
And if you’re new to tango, welcome to our world 🙂
We wish you a wonderful new year, full of warm abrazos, lovely partners and yummy dancing,
Pablo & Anne
