[Tango-L] Heels first vs. toes first

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

Hi Randy,

--- rockies at comcast.net wrote:

> So far, this discussion has only touched on the
> mechanical aspects of walking. In a street walk anyway,
> there is a slight whipping action of the spine. In order
> to take a step, the body has to become off balance. It
> then regains it's balance after the step is taken. That
> may seem like common sense, but we usually do not analyze
> our own movements much, they become subconscious. So, the
> body is placed off balance by a slight whipping action of
> the spine, a stride occurs, and then the body regains
> balance, ready for either the next step, or it can of
> course pause at equilibrium. 


That "whipping" action is what is I refer to as the
contrabody spiral of the body.  It actually starts where
the spine changes curves (the thoracic curves inward, the
lumbar curves outward).  At this point, the vertebraes
rotate in opposite directions (e.g, chest starts pointing
toward the right, while the hips start pointing toward the
left).  In good dancers, you can see the spiral continue
all the way up their neck as the vertebrae move
independently of each other.  The spiral also continues all
the way down into the foot, enabling a second spiral to
send the weight from the heel through the arch and onto the
metatarsals (big toe).  

While this spiral can start the leg extension, it does not
start the actual weight transfer (such as in boleos).  It
is the springing off of the big toe (that second spiral)
that begins the weight transfer.

This is an extremely useful concept to know as it loosens
the body and enables people to dance using less muscle. 
Any type of torsion uses this as well.  Understanding it
can also help one relax a tense partner (either man or
woman).


> If a person is to pull their pelvic girdle back, then
> other parts of the body have to compensate to maintain
> balance. The head may be out over the feet, but the
> pelvis lags. 

A more accurate description than the pelvic girdle (which
is a big structure) would be tilting forward where the legs
join the hip socket.  I believe this is actual action
Michael refers to as "pulling his hips back".  If someone
standing by himself were to bend forward at this point with
a straight back, he would notice this legs angling back
more and more (i.e, he’d be sticking his butt out) as head
and shoulders come forward.  Since we don’t dance tango
with our butts sticking out, it would make sense that we
would require more pressure from our partner to maintain
our balance as the lean increases.  Your example of
sprinters is a nice way of thinking about this angle, which
changes during the dance as needed.


> As for driving with the pelvis and legs, as opposed to
> the chest, they are tied together, and you can't really
> seperate them, but power movements, such as providing
> impulse to the follower should be originating from the
> lower body, not the upper body. I recall one beginners
> class with Rebecca however, where she stated that the
> leader should 'fall slightly forward' on the first step,
> to provide the impulse for the follower to step. This
> didn't entirely make sense to me. I had never had a
> problem with making a follower take the first step, so
> why modify my technique? Instead of falling forward, I
> was using a slight whipping action like mentioned, and
> 'driving' the heel into the floor, but harder than usual
> for a step once underway.  

> Randy F


Your technique is correct, according to my Alexander
Technique studies.  You’re actually springing from the
metatarsals (the second spiral), which brings your weight
forward.  Hence, Rebecca’s statement.  She might have used
"falling forward" to dissuade using the chest as the
impetus to walk.  It's a hard thing to describe without
going into detail about the spiraling.  It might seem to
you as if you’re driving the heel, but it should really
start with the spiraling into the metatarsals from the
arch, which enables the weight to spread back to the heel
and spring off for that first step.  It’s a cool thing to
study how the arch of the foot is designed to carry and
distribute such large amounts of weight.

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/ 



 
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