#tango styles

Canyengue Definition Ah, Canyengue… you ask about Canyengue. It is not just a word, you see. It is a sound, a feeling, a swagger. The word itself is a ghost from Africa, a whisper of candombe rhythm that found a home in the muddy outskirts of Buenos Aires. It means to walk with a certain cadence, a swing. In tango, Canyengue is the mischievous grandfather of the dance we know today. It is an…

Escuela Definition In Spanish, the word is simple: escuela means “school.” But in the language of tango, a word is never just a word. It carries the weight of the dance floor, the echo of the bandoneon. An escuela is not a building with a class schedule and a monthly fee. No, that is a studio, an academy. An escuela is a lineage. It is a philosophy of movement, a particular way of breathing with…

Nuevo Definition Ah, Nuevo… you whisper the word, and here in the heart of San Telmo, the air itself seems to change. Some old milongueros will scowl into their Malbec. The young will lean in, their eyes bright with curiosity. Nuevo is not simply a style. It is a question. It is the moment tango stopped being something you only feel and became something you could also think about. It is a…

Orillero Definition Orillero, in its most literal sense, means “from the shore” or “from the edge.” In the world of tango, it refers to the earliest style of the dance, born in the orillas or arrabales—the impoverished, tough, and vibrant outskirts of a turn-of-the-century Buenos Aires. It is a style characterized by more space between the partners, a playful and sometimes provocative attitude,…

Today's #Tango Truism 86: There are 3 'Simple' parts to every walking step.  1.) Leg Extension.  2.) Weight Transfer.  3.) Collection.

Today's #Tango Truism 86th Clarity:  In the 'Extension' phase we want to talk about something that causes quite a bit of debate among the initiate of the dance. Which comes first and how!  Specifically, do you walk forwards toe to heel or heel to toe ?

The line of reasoning is that where and how you place your foot on the floor dictates where and how you will move and thereby go! This also dictates what you will look like while in that motion. Fact is, there is some truth to this line of reasoning.  

The main argument that comes up along for leaders is the argument of toe first or heel first when stepping forward ?  Likewise the argument is the same for followers (to a degree) going backwards is usually toe first or ball of the foot first ?

So are these valid questions ?  Yes.  

Is there are 'RIGHT' and 'WRONG' answer ?  No.  Sadly not.   Where and how you place your foot on the floor does in fact dictate where and how you will move.  How ?  Once that foot is placed, it can not be moved because it is a weight-bearing structure!  So that part IS True.  Also where you place your feet in RELATION to your partner is also key.  Example: Stepping away from your partner when walking together in close or open embrace and going in a slight different direction than what was led or followed is generally a bad idea!  ;-)

At the same time, the thing that most folks are up in arms about is not necessarily these things I have laid out but rather what they've seen X, Y, or Z teacher or performer do, claiming that one is more 'right' than the other.  That said X, Y, or Z amazing instructor said this or that.  The fact is that those instructors have their own points of view (just like I do) and more often than naught (sadly) they want you to look exactly like they do.  Mind you there's nothing wrong with that idea if that's what you want from your dance to be a copy of someone else's ideas and styles.  However, the goal is not to copy, but rather create YOUR own style.  Let's be clear before proceeding further that there is a difference between STYLE and flat out poor application of technique or just being lazy.  For instance, Chicho Frumboli has a style of dancing that is clearly his, it is more open, fluid, graceful to a degree, and one might say that he employs a lot of open embrace vocabulary in perfect time to the music on several levels.  Or that Sebastian Arce has changed STYLES several times in the last few years going from Open and Fluid towards Milonguero and at the time of this writing to Performance based dancing with less improvisation but more about presentation.  These are examples of styles of dancing.  You, not practicing your walk for weeks on end, and wobbling every which way possible, and not going out social dancing, not taking classes, not studying the form...is not a style, its ignorance!  

Clarity: The truth is that these are progression of ideas. The fact is that some of these ideas, say for instance as a leader stepping forward so that your toe is pointed and it comes into contact with the floor first will in fact create a nice clean and straight line from the leg upwards for both lead and follow.  True.  At the same time, the other side of that argument is that going HEEL first, which is what you do when you're walking down the street, is ideal because it creates stability and clarity.  Again, true.  Both are true based on usage!  And here's why this is a progression of an idea...and not necessarily right or wrong. Given a particular piece of vocabulary one works better than the other based on one's own personal diligence and mastery over their technique.  So for now, going heel first is 'correct', and later on...toe first.  The same can be said for the follower's arguments as well, for exactly the same reasons!  In the case of the toe first, its functional, gets the job done.  Whereas ball first, is prettier and creates nice lines on the follower.  Again, this is an issue of what looks better based on what works at that point in time for that person.  Overtime the individuals will gravitate to one or the other based on the vocabulary and their mastery over certain techniques.