Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the week. If you read our post last week, you may now be aware that becoming a better Tango dancer takes quite a bit of time, patience and concentration. I often suggest very specific practice goals to my students in order to help move this process along, and I’d like to begin sharing some of them with you.

Today, we’re going to focus on feet. Notwithstanding the employment of adornments, I believe that there are fundamentally only two foot positions in Tango: together and apart. When you move forward, backward, or to the side, your feet are apart. Otherwise, they’re together.

When I was first learning to dance, I remember my teachers telling me that “neat feet” were crucial in looking appropriate, when dancing Tango. What they didn’t say — but what is also of paramount importance — is that when your feet are together, your balance is secure. When they’re apart, your balance can be severely compromised.

Let’s talk about what I mean, when I say together.

Heels and toes completely together

Stand in one place, and gently bring your heels and toes completely together — with one foot carrying your weight, and the other along the ground, but not bearing any weight at all. Notice how solid your balance is. This was the way people created what we’ll refer to as the “together position” during Tango’s early years.

Heels together, toes apart

Now, stand in one place, and bring only your heels together, allowing your toes to remain slightly apart — maybe an inch or so. This will create a slight V-shape.  Once again, make sure that one foot is bearing your weight, and the other is along the ground, but free. Notice that you have the same reliable balance that you experienced a moment ago, but the “style” is a bit different. This is the way many people dance today — a minor evolution of the earlier style in which the feet were completely together.

Heels together but offset, toes apart

Finally, stand in one place, and gently bring one foot up to the other, setting the heel of the free foot very slightly to the rear of the weight-bearing foot, and leaving the toes apart as before. This is a further evolution of the “together position,” probably introduced originally by performers — but widely used today among social dancers who want their feet to appear particularly special.

Any of these “together positions” are fine for dancing Tango. They all promote “neat feet,” and offer the advantage of solid upright balance.

Unfortunately, lots of students never really bring their feet together, when they dance. It is common to see even so-called “advanced” social dancers moving along the floor, never bringing their feet together in between traveling movements. Whether you’re a leader or follower, your immediate goal should be to concentrate on starting your dance with your feet nicely together — always bringing your feet together between steps.

In order to make this happen, it’s going to be important for you to slow your dancing down. If, as a leader, for example, you’re constantly running your partner around the dance floor, she’ll never have an opportunity to bring her feet together between steps, and neither will you.

Starting today, please S-L-O-W  D-O-W-N!

As you discover better foot styling along with greatly improved balance by concentrating on bringing your feet together, you’ll prepare the way for other changes that will improve your dancing. We’ll continue talking more about these next week.

Happy feet.