[Tango-L] Snow in Buenos Aires - Toe First

[Tom Stermitz]

MASTERS

A master tango dancer has a lot of control over their foot placement.

They can choose whether to land heel or ball first, depending on the  
technical needs of the situation. Also, if you watch, the master  
dancer may land flat-footed, and it takes a discerning eye to  
determine whether they are landing first on the heel or first on the  
toe.

Any high-end ballroom dancer would say the same thing.

As I said before, control of weight over heel OR ball allows for a  
greater control over how fast or whether the follower collects. Using  
only one or the takes away options.


BEGINNERS.

The problem with teaching beginners toe-first is that it imposes a  
distracting detail on them. Worrying about that specific detail takes  
away learning more important things like balance and just moving  
around the floor. It is far better to start with a natural walk and  
emphasize posture, balance, walking in a straight line, leading &  
following.

I teach many men how to dance tango. These are "normal" guys, not  
necessarily previous dancers or young athletes. The first problem is  
just getting them to feel comfortable and competent enough to stick  
around for more than a few lessons.

As we all know, tango takes a number of years to perfect, so they'll  
get plenty of chances later.


On Jul 10, 2007, at 1:25 PM, Deby Novitz wrote:

> 2nd, the toe first and then to smooth to the side is taught by many
> people. (If we are talking about the same thing)  Mimi Santapa teaches
> it, so did Miguel Balmaceda, and many others.  When people walk  
> flat on
> their feet in tango it makes them heavy and difficult to move.  Women
> also dance with the weight on their big toes.  It makes you very  
> light.
> You must have your balance so you don't fall. (Please read this as
> weight on the big toes and not as dancing on your tip toes)
> ______________________________________________