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An Approach to Advanced Tango
by Sandi
& Dan Finch
Tango comes in many flavors—the sultry Argentine style, the playful
American style, and the staccato International tango. Each style has a
different way of moving, a distinctive look of the dancer that can be
recognized even without music playing. Many figures can be danced in
any of the three styles, depending on the technique applied.
At the advanced level, tango takes on the character of the
International style. The late Sir Alex Moore, MBE*, described that as
having “tango atmosphere,” calling it a dance “full of eccentricities
coupled with steps easily acquired.” As dancers move into advanced
tango, they should spend some time on the technique that sets the
International tango apart from other rhythms.
I. Understanding Its History
All three styles evolved from the dance that took root in the slums and
bordellos of Argentina in the late 1880s, as waves of immigrants
flooded into Buenos Aires. Their dance was sad, about lost loves and
lives left behind in Europe, opportunities promised and not fulfilled,
aggression and passion. Political upheaval in South America in the
early 1900s drove many to Europe, and they took their tango with them.
It became the rage of Paris society. The sad overtones were lost on
those who had not lived through the terror of government overthrows,
but a “battle of the sexes” theme survived. Hollywood stylized it for
the movies of the 1920s. In England a more staccato form was
standardized in 1922 as the International style.
II. How Advanced Style Differs From Other Rhythms
To achieve that “tango atmosphere,” the dancer must incorporate a more
compact hold and must learn to pick up and place the feet. Tango has
virtually no rise and fall, no swing, no sway, no skimming the feet
across the floor.
Hold: The basic position
feels more grounded than in the other rhythms because knees are
slightly flexed. Without rise and fall, the dancers will move as though
they are walking in a low cave, trying not to bump their heads by
keeping the movement level. The hold is more compact, with Lady
slightly more to Man’s right side. His right hand is lower on her back
and further toward her spine, with fingers pointing down. Lady’s left
arm is placed over the top of his right arm, with her thumb under his
upper right arm so that her fingertips just avoid touching his torso.
The back of her hand faces away from her. This gives a sense of being
“locked” together, so that any slight move by the Man will be felt and
amplified by the Lady. Lead hands are joined just below his eye level.
Placing the feet: Steps
are taken with compression and deliberation, like a cat stalking prey.
Pick up and place each foot, contrary to the gliding steps of the
smooth dances. Side leads and CBMP add to the cat-like nature. When
dancing the standard walk 2 (found in almost every dance), the step
forward with the left foot is placed ON (not across) the line of the
right foot, in CBMP. The right foot walks out of CBMP. The result will
be a wide curve to the Man’s left. Walk 2 should move from an alignment
facing diagonal wall to diagonal center.
A Little More Technique:
Staccato action is obtained by delaying the movement of the foot that
is not supporting the weight of the body. Turning steps are placed
without foot swivel, creating a different look for lady’s heel turns,
such as in the telemark to semi.
Footwork: Forward steps
are taken with heel leads. The first two steps of promenade figures are
also heel leads. This is a different heel lead from foxtrot, for
example, which lands on the back of heel. In tango, the heel lead in
semi-closed position will be onto the inside edge of the heel. In
closed position, the heel lead with the left foot will be taken onto
the outside edge of the heel, but on the right foot, it will land first
on the inside edge of the heel. Steps can be on the inside edges of
heel, ball, or even the big toe. Closing steps are usually described as
being taken onto the “whole foot.”
When feet close, they will be offset to allow for the flexed knees of
the partners. To practice getting into this position, both partners
stand in closed position with feet together, then keeping the balls of
the feet on the floor, each turns 1/8 to the left, which slips the
right foot slightly back so that the ball of the right foot is at the
instep of the left foot. Your right knee now is “tucked” behind the
left. Whenever the feet close, they will generally be in this position.
III. Musicality
In round dancing, tango is choreographed in 4/4 timing, meaning four
beats in each measure of music. The most basic rhythm is QQS, which
means you dance the first “Q” on beat 1, the second “Q” on beat 2 and
“S” on beats 3 and 4. Many figures span a measure and a half, like the
closed promenade, SQQS. Couple it with the progressive link, QQ, and
you have two full measures of music.
Many figures end with a count of “&S”. To accentuate the staccato
nature of tango, you dance the final step quickly on the “&” count
and tap or hold the Slow, rather than using both beats of the “S” to
take the step.
A good basic tango to introduce the advanced style is Kay & Joy
Read’s Gold Tango. It is phase IV+2,
with two of the promenade family figures. It will feel like a very
advanced tango if its phase III and IV
figures are done with advanced technique.
*Sir Alex Moore’s Ballroom
Dancing is considered the bible of international style ballroom
dancing. He founded the ballroom branch of the Imperial Society of
Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) which standardized the technique for
ballroom rhythms and was its chairman for almost 40 years.
From clinic notes
prepared for the RAL Convention 2014,
and
reprinted
in the Dixie Round Dance Council (DRDC)
Newsletter, June 2018. Find a DRDC Finch archive here.
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