[Tango-L] Heel-first versus Toe-first, teaching history

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

--- rockies at comcast.net wrote:
>From a structural and mechanical viewpoint, the heel toe
> scenario makes much more sense. ... If there
> was back pressure from the follower, it would be
> significantly easier to land on the ball of the foot and
> still give a strong impulse to the follower for steps. 
> Randy F

Aha!  That back pressure from the follower during the
weight transfer was something I suspected was needed but
hadn't been able to experiment with fully as a leader. 
Because of my small size, a lot of women won't give me that
pressure for fear of hurting me.  

One male student has reported that his steps have
shortened, as Tom pointed out, with this new way of
walking.  So now, we have something we can try.

Thanks, Tom & Randy.

What I have to watch out for now is whether the additional
pressure on the ball of the foot will cause long-term
injury.  Since making a point of walking heel-first as a
follower, the leg cramps I used to get after milongas or
workshop weekends have disappeared.  If those return, I'll
have to figure out what the problem could be.

As for Copes, Copella, Gavito, or whoever else who walks
toe-first, I'll bet that as 5, 6, or 7-year olds, they were
not taught to dance tango toe-first by their parents,
cousins, or whoever.  I actually have no idea how old they
were when they started, but let's use some common sense
here.  We also know that many early teachers had to learn
how to teach when the recent resurgence of tango began. 
And many that had been dancing all of their lives couldn't
verbalize what they were doing exactly.  Were their methods
of teaching the best ways possible?  Perhaps not.

But we should also take into account that those who studied
tango with those teachers in the early years of the
resurgence (Barbara, Sergio, etc.) are also not "normal". 
They are "innovators".  These are the people who are not
afraid of breaking new ground, taking risks, and working
harder.  But those that I teach will not all be innovators.
 Most are normal.  

So, I agree with Tom and Randy that stepping heel-first is
a good way of starting normal beginners.  However, I also
see the value of walking toe-first for those who might be
ready to try it.  Does that mean that they are training for
the stage?  No, just that they are simply trying to be the
best dancer they can be.

As the level of dancing improves in the States, I see the
attempts at elegance with more emphasis on footwork to be a
natural progession.  If you saw someone dancing elegantly
at a milonga, wouldn't you want to dance with him or
her(regardless of whether they dance toe-first or
heel-first)?

I think it takes more work to dance toe-first.  It is those
additional pieces that I am trying to fit together.

Trini de Pittsburgh









PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society 
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance. 
http://patangos.home.comcast.net/ 



 
____________________________________________________________________________________
Finding fabulous fares is fun.  
Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains.
http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097