Tips

Tango Relativity: Finding your Reference Frame

We express ourselves in dance through movement and stillness. Having clear descriptions of motion supports our growth as dancers and dance instructors. Since Einstein, physicists have realized that all motion is relative, and its description depends on the frame of reference. When it comes to dance, what are the reference frames we can describe movement relative to?

There are three reference frames we can speak from. We can speak of movement relative to 1) the space, 2) our partner, and 3) another part of our body. When we take a sidestep together, our hands move relative to space but stay fixed relative to our partner and our torso. While pivoting, we may have our hips move relative to our torso while our torso stays fixed in space. Each frame of reference provides unique insights, and understanding a movement relative to all three reference points provides a fuller understanding of the dance.

Most movements have an invariance, where one of the reference frames remains fixed throughout the motion. Finding the invariance is especially useful for understanding a movement. It is much easier to keep something fixed than to know how much to move, especially when the size of step or rotation changes. Often, the invariance is in the embrace, providing an oasis of calm for our partner as we move in space. A volcada, for example, has the invariance in our own body where we keep our own alignment while tilting. With dynamics such as compressions and elastic movements, we tend to keep a point fixed in space that our partners and ourselves both move relative to.  

The three reference points help us communicate better, both as a teacher and as a student. Seemingly contradictory advice is often actually the same advice from different reference frames. Our arms sometimes have to move more in space to be able to provide a still embrace relative to our partner. One teacher may tell us to move our arms more, and another tells us to move our arms less, but they are both giving the same feedback just from different reference frames.

Feedback from our partner is often about what they are feeling, which coincides with how we are moving relative to their body. When a teacher shows us a new move, the advice is often how we move our body relative to ourselves. Comments from outside observers tend to be about how we move in space. Each type of feedback gives a new perspective. Seek out information from all three reference frames and then combine them to a fuller understanding of the dance.  

By sericson0, ago

Don’t Blame the Embrace: How to make moves work on both sides

Why do some movements work much better on one side than the other? Why is the ocho cortado a “beginner” move on the closed side but an “advanced” move on the open side? Same goes with the cross. Turning one direction is often easier than the other. Perhaps most interesting of all is that the leader’s back step to the closed side is literally the first step most tango dancers learn (step one of the basic), but the back step to the open side is challenging even for professional tango dancers to pull off.

Eventually we want to know why moves work better in one direction than the other, if for no other reason than to have a better answer than “Well, that is just the way it is.” The simplest explanation is to blame differences in the embrace. Having one open side and one closed side creates an asymmetry in the embrace, which makes some moves easier in one direction than the other. Unfortunately, when we empirically test this hypothesis by using a symmetrical practice embrace (where we hold each other’s elbows) we find that the asymmetries persist.

Accepting that some moves are harder to lead on one side than the other even in a symmetric practice embrace, we jump to the next logical solution…blame our follower. It must be all the hours of other dancers leading the same cross that has spoiled their ability to understand my perfect lead to the other side. Tango moves must be like the side of the road you drive on. Maybe in England they all cross on the closed side? I heard that in Sweden followers used to cross right in front of left until one day in 1967 where the whole country switched to left in front of right. Joking aside, blaming a lack of familiarity is simply not the answer to explain the persistent asymmetries between one side and the other. For one, in a partnership where you can discuss what movements you are practicing and have ample time to get familiar with different movements, it remains that many movements feel better on one side than the other. But then what is the culprit?

Here is the answer I have come to, which has opened up movements I previously could not lead. Hopefully it is helpful for you too. The asymmetry between sides comes not just from the embrace, but from the offset of the head, spine, and feet. When we dance, our heads are offset to the left of our partner’s. This offset in the head causes our spines to be offset as well, which in turn results in our feet being staggered. While some dancers may set up toe to toe, most take a position where our left foot is outside of our partner’s feet and our right foot is between their feet. It is this staggered foot position that makes moves work better on one side.

Jonathan and Clarissa displaying the staggered foot position. Image from here

Unlike which hand is around our partner’s back, which is a set aesthetic of the dance, the staggered foot position is something we can control. We talk about being ‘inside partner,’ but there are actually two inside partner positions: the default where our right foot is between our partner’s feet, and a shifted inside position where our left foot is between our partner’s feet. This means there are four foot relations: (1) outside partner to the left, (2) default inside partner, (3) shifted inside partner, and (4) outside partner to the right.

As a follower, from the default position, it feels uncomfortable to step forward with our right leg (on the open side) because we have to step between our partner’s feet. Stepping forward with the left foot (on the closed side) is not a problem because of the staggered position. The common solution to lead our partner to step forward on the open side is to shift to outside partner so that there is a free path to step forward. But knowing there are two inside positions gives us another possibility. The shifted inside partner position suddenly makes the follower’s forward step on the open side feel more natural.

The staggered position means the follower is naturally ahead when turning clockwise while the leader is naturally ahead when turning counterclockwise. Some turns work better when the leader is ahead, while other turns works better when the leader drafts behind the follower. Thus, some turns are easier in one direction than the other. Same goes for many other movements such as sacadas, ganchos, and colgadas. One solution is to only do the move in one direction. The other (hopefully preferred) solution is to control both staggered positions so that the movements work on both sides. When a move feels like it only works on one side, first check the foot position and spine position before blaming the embrace or blaming your partner. There are two inside positions, and the non-default option opens the possibility for new movements. Having control of these small details facilitates moves that feel challenging otherwise.

By sericson0, ago

Two Tips for Better Pivots

Pivots are a fundamental part of tango dancing, and a well performed pivot looks and feels wonderful. But let’s face it, pivots are challenging. We all know we need to work to develop our pivots, but what should we actually focus on? Here are two tips that can help.

Keep the foot and pelvis of our standing leg aligned. We want the foot and pelvis to turn at the same time and at the same speed. It is as if our standing leg and pelvis are in a cast and move as one unit. Another piece of imagery: you can think of headlights shining from your standing foot and the middle of your pelvis. You want these headlights to point in the same direction throughout the pivot. Keeping the foot and pelvis aligned will provide balance and minimize our chance of injury. We want to utilize the freedom in our hips, but we want the movement to happen in the free leg, not the standing leg. It is common for us to rotate in the hip joint of the standing leg without moving the foot. This reduces our stability and makes the pivot harder. More important though, moving the pelvis separate from the standing foot puts a lot of torque on our knee, ankle, and foot, which can cause pain or even injury. If you find yourself having a sore knee or ankle after dancing, there is a good chance that you are moving the hip and foot separately in your pivots. Focus on keeping your standing foot and pelvis aligned throughout the pivot and see if it helps.

The spiral in the upper body has a counter-spiral in the lower body. Finding the counter spiral through the floor helps provide balance, provides a feeling of groundedness, allows for more rotation in the upper body, and makes our pivots look more dynamic. As a concrete example, say we are doing a front ocho with the right foot so that we will turn in a clockwise direction. Our upper body goes in the same direction of the turn (left shoulder comes forward, right shoulder goes backwards). The rotation of our upper body puts a torque on our hips which will pull them clockwise as well. To counteract this torque, we twist our foot into the ground counterclockwise, sending energy towards our midline. The torques from the spiral in the upper body and the counter-spiral in the lower body cancel each other out to give us a steady pelvis. You should feel that the counter-spiral grounds you and allows you to twist the upper body more. You release this counter-spiral at the moment of the pivot, which should now feel has more ease and energy. The rule for the counter-spiral is to twist your foot into the midline in front ochos and away from the midline in back ochos.[1] We want to just counter-spiral enough to stabilize our hips, not so much that it starts to twist our knee.

The two tips (1) keeping the foot and pelvis of our standing leg aligned, and (2) finding the counter-spiral in the lower body should help with your pivots. Cleaner and more efficient pivots then help with all the other movements you want to do, opening up new possibilities in your dance.

[1] Some teachers use the terms disassociation when the shoulder opposite the standing leg comes forward, such as with a front ocho, and association when the same shoulder as the standing leg comes forward, such as with a back ocho. The more general rule is that the foot spirals towards the midline in disassociated pivots and spirals away from the midline in associated pivots. I first heard the terminology of disassociation and association from Gianpiero Galdi and Lorena Tarntino, though I am not sure whether they or someone else first coined the terms.

By sericson0, ago