Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Last week, Pat provided critical insight into la pausa -- the pause -- from the follower's point of view. As we've discussed previously, la pausa is a crucial component of social Tango. (See our Tango Tips of the Week in the Firehouse Tango archives from July 23, 2015 and July 30, 2015 for details). Today, we're going to move on to the next basic element of Tango movement -- el cambio de peso en su lugar -- the change of weight in place. I'll talk about this movement from the leader's point of view, and next week Pat will cover it from the follower's vantage point.

Let's first define exactly we're talking about here. A few of my Spanish-speaking friends have mentioned to me that they refer to this movement as el cambio del pei en su lugar, meaning the change of foot in place. I think that both expressions suggest the same thing -- a shift from one foot to the other -- without moving through space. If you were standing somewhere, waiting for a bus, a train, a friend to arrive, rather than planting yourself rigidly on both feet like a statue, you'd probably spend your time shifting back and forth from one foot to the other -- without even thinking about it. It's an easy, comfortable thing which most of us do quite naturally.

As Tango dancers, we learn to use this change of weight as a conscious way to add rhythmic elements to our general repertoire -- small in-place movements which are sometimes referred to as cadencias. When a leader changes weight from one foot to the other -- I'm going to call it changing from one balance to the other -- two things happen:

1.     He feels his weight moving from one side of his body to the other.

2.     His upper body moves laterally.

This sideways upper body movement occurs without the leader's having to think about it. (His torso may actually move up to several inches, depending on his height.) The leader's lateral movement is easily felt by the follower, and forms the basis for his lead. In fact, every lead, which we'll be defining throughout this series emanates from the leader's torso. (Argentine teachers often say that the leads come from el pecho -- the chest. I use the term "torso," but we're really talking about the same thing.)

Okay, here's what happens. While maintaining the embrace in a gentle way, the leader shifts his weight from, let's say, his left foot to his right. His upper body moves laterally during this process. At no time does the leader supplement this action through the active use of his arms. To end the movement the leader consciously brings himself into quiet, solid balance. The follower feels the leader's movement from her right side to her left, and makes a change of weight herself as a response to his invitation. As a skilled follower, she recognizes that this lateral movement of his torso is the appropriate indication for her to make her move rather than some kind of pushing or pulling from his arms. Once the follower completes her movement, she, too, brings herself consciously into balance, and waits for the next lead. This is the end of the movement.

Parenthetically, this moment of balance, this mutual consciousness of recognizing the end of the movement between leader and follower, is of equal importance to whatever movement the partners are engaged in making together. Through this balance, what I call a "state of stillness or neutrality" is thereby produced in which any subsequent movement becomes possible. However, if either leader or follower is not completely balanced at the end of any given step, the lack of conscious balance tends to force some kind of additional move, one, which might not have been intended. In our previous two Tango Tips, we talked about the importance of la pausa. Let me now suggest that this pause needs to be consciously built into the end of every single step we take in our dance.

It is worth noting at this point in our overall discussion of lead/follow that the leader also produces a step to the side through the lateral movement of his torso. However, as we will learn in two weeks, such lateral movement is preceded by an additional indication, which with practice clearly differentiates the sidestep lead from the lead for a weight change in place.

Next week, Pat will discuss exactly how the follower perceives this upper body lead for the change of weight in place. Until then, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

And of course, without Terri Lopez and Steve Turi we would have to close up shop.