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

[Keith]

 Tom is correct when he says that most good Tango dancers use either heel or ball first
 depending on the situation and which is more appropriate. But the point is they don’t need to
 think about it. Because of training and practice, both feel equally natural and easy to use. The
 question is which should be taught? Unlike Tom, I’m of the view that ball-first should be taught
 and some of the reasons are:

 1. Ball first produces a far more elegant walk and style of dancing than heel first. 

 2. Ball first helps beginner students to learn to walk with a forward posture. Heel first tends to
  produce a backward posture, which is what we have in Ballroom Tango.

 3. Students will quickly understand the difference between dancing and walking. I know many
  people who, even with 5 years experience, still walk the Tango and have never ‘danced’ a
  step. 

 4. Students who are taught heel first will be stuck with it and will never be able to dance ball 
 first. It would be nice to think, as Tom does, that students will continue to learn for a number of
 years. Unfortunately, we all know that isn’t the case. 

 5. Students who are taught ball first will easily be able to use heel first, when the situation
 arises, without the need for additional instruction. It’s more natural and we can all do it  already – why teach it? And, as Tom correctly states … “using only one or the takes away 
 options’. 

 6. Unlike Tom, I don’t think learning ball first imposes a “distracting detail”. I think it’s a 
 fundamental aspect in teaching students to dance Tango. And the sooner, the better.

 Keith, HK



 On Wed Jul 11  8:38 , Tom Stermitz  sent:

>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.