Do you think you can't lead? A letter from Anna to tangueras

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Do you think you can't lead? A letter from Anna to tangueras

Dear ladies,

As a beginning dancer, I actually believed that I couldn't lead, and that I'd never be able to.  When my teacher, Daniel Trenner, heard this, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "You poor thing.. what have they done to you?"  After a week of his classes, I was leading, and it became my goal to reassure all women that they can do anything they put their minds to.  It seems silly now that I doubted myself so sincerely, but I know how easy it was to put myself in a "follow only box" in classes and milongas.

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Care for the Feet that Keep You Dancing - Part 2 of 3

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by Diana Devi

Part 2: Exercises and Massage

For Part 1 of the Series - See here

We walk on them all day; we dance on them all night. We all know that when our feet hurt, nothing is enjoyable. This is one major reason why we must take proper care of our feet. Another motivator is that we want to dance until we are in our nineties, just as we have seen in Buenos Aires at the milongas.

So how do we get our feet to take us there? Last time we talked about simple foot care. For this segment, we will focus on exercises and methods to massage, stretch and strengthen our feet. The first set of activities will focus on massage, the second flexibility, and the third on stabilization and strengthening.

None of these exercises should be painful. If you are experiencing pain, STOP what you are doing! Pain is a warning signal from your body telling you something is not right. Please pay attention when your body speaks to you.

The following exercises I have developed over time, designing my own regimen while incorporating relevant components from teachers like Ms. Judith Bragg, my first point teacher; evolving through all of my bodywork and dance experiences including most recently a workshop with Diana Cruz, international Argentine Tango performer and instructor.​

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Realness and Community: Who Are We, Beyond Our Dance Level?

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Often I see dancers at Tango events seated; paralyzed; restless within.

Don’t we all yearn for others to know and appreciate who we are ? Who we are is so much more than our current level of Tango skill.

I think people who have made socializing through Tango part of their life participate in a truly great and powerful movement toward beautiful community. And yet, the frame of a Tango event is limiting. The seating, the narrow focus on dancing, puts blinders on us. It may lead us to judge ourselves and others based only on Tango abilities.

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Microendings

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Fifth Article in It Takes One to Tango Series

by Mitra Martin

A dancer friend of mine once taught me about phrase endings in Tango.

He and I aren’t friends anymore.

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I am terrified of endings. I know that whatever the ending, I will terrorize myself with guilt that it was my fault. That I didn’t find the potential in the situation.

How can we go fearlessly into that end? I think learning this will be part of my life’s work. There is something about the end that is beautiful. A shape...a little stretch, almost is it a pose? A salute, sincerely-felt gratitude. An extra squeezing-out of life. A sudden gap, a shock, a shakeup followed by an arena of mental space.

 

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Pei Pei's Thoughts After One Year of Tango Shoe Buying

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by Pei Pei Tan

We get asked a lot of questions about tango shoes. This little article is not meant to be exhaustive, but it’s meant to give you some guidance on what to consider and what might fit your new tango identity.

I recommend going to WorldTone and ask to start out with a stacked heel. I never, ever wore high heels before dancing tango; I always wore really “comfortable looking shoes that made my feet look like freshly baked loaves of bread,” or I wore Birkenstocks. So, for you ladies who protest “But I don’t wear high heels!”—if I can do it, so can you.

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