Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. As promised at the conclusion of last week's discussion, we're now going to talk about what I consider to be the three basic techniques for executing traspies within Tango, Milonga, and/or Vals Cruzada. You will remember, of course, that a traspie (as I describe it) is a double-time sequence in which quarter note timing is incorporated by the leader in a brief burst of increased speed and intensity in order to add rhythmical variation to a dance. (For a more detailed examination off hat I mean by traspie, please reread last week's Tango Tip -- March 3, 2016.)

To start with, let's talk about timing. In observing seasoned milongueros in Buenos Aires as they dance, I have been able to identify four common quarter-note timing variations for traspie sequences:

·      2-beat sequences

·      3-beat sequences

·      4-beat sequences

·      5-beat sequences

The most prevalent of these in my experience is the 3-beat sequence. For this reason, when teaching traspie, I generally begin with this timing -- and I'm going to assume it as the basis for my description of what I consider to be the three fundamental traspie techniques below.

Technique #1: La cunita (rocking forward and back)

In Spanish, a cunita is a "little cradle." The action for the leader in performing la cunita involves rocking forward and backward (rock-a-bye, baby, anyone?) In English, we would generally call such a sequence of movement a "rock step." In its basic form, this rocking action consists of a three-beat (three-quarter-note) sequence. At a moment of his choosing, the leader rocks forward, then backward, and finally, forward in order to complete the three-beat sequence. One example of placing this sequence within a two-measure musical phrase might be the following:

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 / 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 ....

The underlined beats above represent the physical placement of a typical three-beat traspie. American ballroom dancers might characterize the timing of such a sequence as "quick-quick-slow." (In this case, the quicks would represent quarter notes and the slow would represent a half note.) Such a movement can start with either the left or the right foot. As mentioned earlier, la cunita as well as other types of traspie are not limited to three beats. I am describing the three-beat movement as a basic iteration of the technique.

Technique #2: La cadencia (rocking in place)

Using the same three-beat timing, a leader might choose to rock from one balance to the other with his/her feet together. Such a sequence is sometimes referred to as a cadencia -- which simply means "a beat." In terms of weight placement, the three-beat sequence would begin either with the leader's left foot or his/her right foot. Thus, the sequence would be defined as either left-right-left or right-left-right. La cadencia is almost always more difficult for a beginning student to execute than la cunita, since it involves no traveling through space. This means that the lead/follow mechanism needs to be considerably more precise.

In teaching la cadencia, I generally begin by asking the student leader to step forward alone with the left foot. This places his/her weight solidly on the left. Then, I ask the leader to rock from side to side with his/her feet together -- i.e., without traveling through space -- in the three-beat traspie. Finally, I direct the leader to again step forward with his/her left foot in order to exit the sequence. The point of this process is to ensure that the leader executes the entire three-beat cadencia as an isolated series of continuous movements in place.

After this, I ask the leader to attempt la cadencia with a partner, using the lead/follow mechanism. For most beginning students, this is far more difficult to accomplish, and takes a great deal of lead/follow repetition before it feels right between the partners.

Once the basic three-beat sequence has been mastered, the dancers can then be taught to slowly and deliberately graduate to more sophisticated variations of this very versatile technique, incorporating two-, four-, and even five-beat iterations, coupled eventually with multiple entrances and exits.

Technique #3: La corrida (the run)

The term corrida in Spanish means "run." When we're talking about Tango, running means incorporating quarter-note timing (You remember what that means by now, right?) for a short sequence of steps. As with la cunita and la cadencia, we're going to limit ourselves to a basic three-beat corrida -- what we might call a corridita or "little run."

In a typical three-beat corrida, the leader takes (yes, you guessed it) three short steps forward, at the same time leading the follower to take three short steps backward.

Nota bene: Such a deceptively simple -- but, in fact, extremely complex -- sequence is, in my opinion, very difficult to accomplish, and demands the assistance of a teacher in order to do correctly. For this reason, I'm not going to attempt to describe the special lead/follow technique necessary to execute la corrida. I will instead refer you to your teacher to help you get things started properly. Take my advice here, and don't try to learn la corrida by relying on wishful thinking, chutzpah or YouTube.

Typically, a corrida would be placed within a musical phrase in the same way as a cunita or cadencia. Take a look at last week's Tango Tip, and you'll find eight places in a typical two-measure phrase from which you as a leader can initiate any three-beat (quarter-note based) traspie sequence. Bear in mind, however, that without the right training la corrida can easily result in stepping on your partner's feet at minimum, and/or actually knocking both dancers to the floor.

Please do the right thing, and learn how to do this through a qualified teacher.

As with virtually all other Tango skills, what I'm going to call the art of traspie is discovered by Argentine milongueros through many years of dancing. Although traspie can certainly be introduced in the analytical way I'm using here, mastery of this highly complex technique in all its forms takes many years of skill development, practice and experience. If you put in the time and effort, progress will eventually result. On the other hand, if you expect it to happen automatically, you're in for nothing but disappointment and frustration.

Next week, I'm going to conclude this very fundamental introduction to musicality in Tango with a few final thoughts about the subject. In the meantime, if you have questions, observations, or complaints, I'd love to hear them.

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