[Tango-L] No arms?

[steve pastor]

Perhaps you are familiar with the Tango and Chaos site by Rick McGarrey. This text is from
  the site  http://www.tangoandchaos.org/chapt_2secrets/7natural.htm

  "First, the dancers in the following pictures stay straight and centered so that the muscles
  in the back, legs, ankles, and feet can relax. Forward movement is first led by the upper 
  body... it begins with a slight tipping forward, leading with the chest. This communicates the 
  energy to the follower just before the step is taken, and it allows both partners to remain tall 
  and upright. The torso and upper body of the leader should surge forward and arrive right over 
  the leading leg when it touches the floor, so that all of the weight is instantly transferred onto 
  a straight leg. The result is the classic tango walk—surging forward with the music, and 
  stepping solidly into the floor. The couple should flow effortlessly, using the weight of the 
  torso for forward momentum, without excessive pushing from the legs and ankles of the 
  leader."
   
  I have had several to many instructors who teach this way of leading.
  Perhaps you would like to comment on this information?
  
Nina Pesochinsky <nina at earthnet.net> wrote:
  It is an incredible mistake to teach people to dance without arms. 
Great male dancers never lead "from the chest". Instead, they lead 
from the embrace, which includes everything. Leading "from the chest" 
results in dancers walking like chickens and stepping on the woman 
because the arms that hold her are asleep. Not to mention annoying 
the women with a dead, empty embrace.

If you don't like holding women in your embrace, then you are right - 
you do not need the arms.

Where did people get these ideas of "leading from the chest"? I have 
never heard any of the great masters (Mingo Pugliese, Carlos Gavito, 
Pepito Avellaneda, and others) to ever teach this. The embrace is 
what ahs always been emphasized.

Best,

Nina



Quoting Miguel Canals :

>> Melroy wrote:
>>
>> A while ago, at a milonga, there was a little game.
>> We had to dance with random partners, with just a balloon between our
>> chests!
>
>
> A milonga? I'll be sure I stay away from any milonga run by the organizer/DJ.
>
> That aside. I've done this exercise in class to emphasize the 
> importance of having the torsos of the dancers facing each other 
> (dis-association). I've also done lots of exercises of leading with 
> no hands to emphasize the importance of leading with the chest in 
> close embrace.
>
> MC.
>
>
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