Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. “How long should my steps be in dancing Tango?” I’ve heard that same question several times this week from my students. Although we’ve discussed this before in these pages, I thought I’d address it again, since it seems to be front and center in so
many people’s minds.
I’ve actually heard teachers tell their students things like “make your steps the same as the width of your shoulders.” Or “take a normal walking step.” “Width of my shoulders?” “Normal step?” Are you kidding? What can anybody do with suggestions like that?
The fact is that there’s
really no definitive answer to the question. Ultimately, it depends on whom you’re dancing with. Leaders who take long steps with followers whose steps are small usually step all over their partners’ feet. Followers who take long steps, when their partners are taking smaller steps end up moving too far away, and pulling their partners off balance with every step they take.
Help!
What it all really comes down to is that dancing with a specific partner involves building an individual dance relationship between yourself and that particular person. There’s no way to know in advance what the size of his or her steps is going to be. You have to dance together many times, constantly altering your own movements to “fit“ those of your partner — as he or she is at the same time altering the size of
his/her steps to “fit” yours. With concentration, perseverance, and a healthy sense of humor, you’ll eventually reach a compromise in which you find yourselves more or less in synch with one another.
And, of course, when you dance with your next partner, the whole process starts again.
Next week, I’m
going to offer you a potentially rewarding exercise that can prove very effective for people who are willing to do whatever it takes to move together in a more harmonious way.
In the meantime, please make a commitment to dance with every one of your partners many times, allowing the process of figuring out the size of his/her dance steps to take place over an extended period of time. Be conscious,
be careful, and be generous in your attempts to build a very special dance relationship with that particular person. I guarantee that you’ll succeed, if you put in the time and effort.
Put Fran and Pat on your Monday Calendar with our streamlined Summer Class Schedule
Recognizing that people have lots of things they want to do during the summer, we’ve responded to your needs with our special Summer Schedule! We’ve now combined our two Tango classes into one for Mondays, and the same for our American Social Dance classes, which will now move to Monday as well.
Bottom line: Monday is now your night to
enjoy a fun-filled evening of dance with us at our New York teaching location, Studios 353, 353 West 48th Street (between 8th and Ninth Avenues), 2nd floor, in Manhattan. Tango starts at 7:30 p.m., followed immediately by American Social Dance at 8:30 pm. There’s always plenty of room for parking during these early evening hours, so come join us, and get ready to have a ball!
Fran and Pat’s
Guided Saturday Practica at Dardo Galletto
Fran and Pat are on hand to answer any questions you have, and help you with material you’re working on. No partner required, all levels. Dardo Galletto Studios, 151 West 46th Street, 11th floor, (bet. 6th & 7th Aves) www.franchesleigh.com
Would you like a private lesson? Visit our website at www.franchesleigh.com, call us directly at 212-662-7692, or email us at franchesleigh@mac.com Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/franchesleighllc
