Modern Tango World N° 3 (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

The Dynamics of the Tango Alexandru Eugen Cristea There has been more than a century of evolution of the tango dance. It’s time we considered some of the changes in the people’s perception of the dance. Many of tango dancers also teach tango dance. Each of them have have some kind of a personal methodology. There is a lot of information available, from the traditional books and DVDs to the up-to-date online training programs, each teaching their methodology. But, what is the essence of all these teaching methods? Is there something that belongs to all of them without being owned by anyone in particular? As the years have passed, I have identified some new reference points in order to better understand the structure of the dance and its organic pattern of movement. Here, I present to you two of these fundamental concepts to identify the dynamics in Argentine Tango. Diagonal Circularity Diagonal circularity is used for moves, such as circular high back boleos, where the knees of the follower are apart. However, the best way to distinguish between all this characteristic figures of tango is the concept of levels. CIRCULARITY The first concept is that of circularity. This is not something entirely new. Most dancers have some ideas about it. There are three types of circularity: Horizontal Circularity Horizontal circularity is used for pivots, such as the circle figures made in ocho adelante and ocho atras. A planeo also uses a horizontal circularity, but in a different way. Vertical Circularity Vertical circularity is used to change the weight, from one foot to the other, such as traspie. When the follower changes weight from her right foot to her left, she produces a type of circularity looks like an inverted letter U. Similarly, a linear back boleo uses a vertical circularity, from down to up. All of the three basic steps – open sidestep, front cross and back cross — use a downward vertical circularity. Gancho Boleo — 31 — To Subscribe, Click here photo by Cristian Martis

Modern Tango World N° 3 (Buenos Aires, Argentina) | Page 31