Thursday, July 12 - Saying goodbye to Rafael and Hilda

We miss them already -- and what will we do for Santa Claus?  Maybe we can persuade them to come back for the occasion.  

Thursdays, July 19 and 26

No special celebrations.  Just great dancing and socializing with the friendliest crowd around.

Tango Tip of the Week

Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. If you’ve been reading these Tips during the past several weeks, you know that we’ve been discussing how large or small the follower’s steps should be in her dance. In particular, we’ve identified a special technique (which I call “step-and-slide”) that enables either partner to vary the overall length of their individual steps to suit the demands of any given moment.

Today, we’re going to talk about how this all applies to forward and backward ochos. The unique challenge a follower faces in executing an ocho is significantly more complex than in executing a simple forward, backward, or side step. Not only does she need to determine the size of her step as she moves — she also has to choose the right direction of that step relative to the position of her partner.

Right now, we’re going to talk about this in detail as we describe a follower’s forward ocho. Before we do, however, let’s first review the fact that in taking simple linear steps the follower moves laterally with her partner (in taking a side step), directly away from him (in taking a backward step), or directly toward him (in taking a forward step). In each case, she maintains a consistent, comfortable, balanced axis-to-axis relationship with her partner. Her challenge in forward, backward, or side steps, therefore, is to determine the size of her step only. As we’ve discussed during previous Tango Tips, she does this through the use of the “step-and-slide” technique.

Now, we come to the follower’s forward ocho. Instead of stepping toward the leader, away from him, or laterally with him as he goes, the follower is now moving around her partner. We sometimes say that the leader represents the center of a circle, and that the follower moves around that center along an invisible line, which we might call the circumference of the circle.

The implication of this is that during the execution of an ocho the follower is not guided by a leader who is actually moving with her — offering her the stability of a consistent axis-to-axis relationship. In the ocho, she has to choose not only the size of her step, but also the line of travel in order to maintain a consistent distance from her partner as she moves around him.

To further complicate things, as she executes her ocho, the follower needs to move in a highly compromised, twisted body position. This uncomfortable position — in which the follower can often find it extremely difficult to maintain balance — is initiated as the leader rotates her out of the cross in preparation for her forward (or backward) walk, and doesn’t resolve itself until she completes her traveling movement by aligning herself (squaring off) with her partner.

Here is a somewhat detailed description of the interaction between an experienced leader and follower during the execution of a follower’s forward ochofrom la cruzada:

1.     After walking the follower to the cross and making certain that she is in a balanced, comfortable position, the leader gently unwinds her from her crossed-over position through the use of a rotational invitation.

2.     The follower responds to this lead by pivoting counterclockwise on the ball of her left (weight-bearing) foot, bringing her feet together as she pivots, maintaining her weight on her pivoting foot.

3.     The leader now invites her forward walk to his right through the use of another rotational lead.

4.     The follower responds to this by walking forward around the leader with her right leg, her body in a twist with her upper half facing the leader and her lower half facing the direction of her movement. In this difficult position, she travels a specific distance along an invisible circumference,which his position and accompanying movement determines.

5.     This is where the follower’s challenge occurs, and it is the moment where well developed lead/follow skills matter. As the leader invites her walking movement, the follower moves forward, targeting her leader’s right shoulder as he continues his body rotation to his right. This enables her to find the precise step size, which will allow her to end her forward movement directly in front of him — as she completes her step by bringing her feet together and rotating just enough to “untwist,” thereby aligning herself to her leader.

Note: It is quite commonplace for an inexperienced follower to close the gap with her partner as she attempts to negotiate a forward ocho, sometimes seriously compromising his balance. Parenthetically, it is equally commonplace for a follower to expand this distance during the execution of a backward ocho by not pivoting enough before following the lead for her step.

Just to recap a bit … when executing a well-led forward ocho, followers must meet the challenge of choosing the appropriate step size (through the manner described above), and maintaining a consistent distance between herself and her partner as she travels. This is, to say the least, not easy, and requires a great deal of practice.

Next week, we’ll move on to a different subject; but I hope that what we’ve been talking about for the past several Tango Tips provides followers with a comprehensive — albeit lengthy —answer to the question: How big a step should I take?

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 8^th and Ninth Avenues), 2^nd 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!

We started in 1996, and we're still going strong!

· Still The Friendliest!

· Still The Best Music!

· Still The Longest-Running Practica in New York City!

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 46^th Street, 11^th floor, (bet. 6^th & 7^th Aves) www.franchesleigh.com

Join us this Saturday, July 21st. You'll have a ball!

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

 I want to point out that Terri Lopez is more than a helper who I call Wonder Woman and who takes my place when I am out.  Terri is our CEO and has as much, if not more, responsibility and authority than I do. 

Let me make it clear: Firehouse Tango would not exist without her.

• ​​​​​​Barbara Lombardi - Popcorn
• Henry Kim - Rice crackers
  
• Ingrid Jacob - Cherry cake
  
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