[Tango-L] New "nuevo tango" Sacrifices Tradition and Grace

[Jeff Gaynor]

Joe Grohens wrote:
>> On to another important question. On a side step, should you evert  
>> the free foot or not?
>>     
>
> This I actually do consider an important question. A small amount of  
> turn out gives a person more stability, the spine is more easily  
> aligned over the heel, and one is ready to pivot if necessary to  
> adjust direction. Many people have the toes parallel or turned in, and  
> have a tendency when walking, standing or pivoting to roll to the  
> outside of the foot, which interferes with balance.
>   
Not so fast. This is dependent on the structure of the lower limbs. 
Pretty much everyone has curvature and twist to the shin and flexibility 
of the hips plays a role too. What looks unstable for you might be quite 
stable for someone else.  The first half of your comment simply reflects 
that you are taking this into account. Indeed, for many people having 
them stand with their toes pointing straight forward is putting shear on 
their knees. One they start walking, they will either adapt at the hip 
or, if stiff there, will start trying to use their lower back as a 
stabilizer (especially if they have a tight psoas muscle). At least, 
that is what I see at classes...

Here is a way to test where your feet go. Hop up and down 3 times. 
Notice where your feet are. This is the most natural stable position for 
you and where your feet will end up when you aren't paying attention. 
The idea is to use your body's kinesthetic sense to tell you where your 
feet go.  It is better to ask the body what it knows about itself than 
ask the person since, as I'm sure you've noticed, many people start to 
do funny things when you ask them to consciously move.

Also, people tend to roll to the outside of the foot or end up on the 
heel when they pivot because they do not realize that the pivot occurs 
at the hip. The trick is to slightly lift the heel, stay on the ball and 
keep the foot under you as you do the move. Keeping the foot down on a 
pivot means that the knee will get torque on it. In tango you shouldn't 
be moving high loads or moving explosively, but wear and tear will 
accumulate. In other athletic undertakings a bad pivot often means a 
blown knee joint.

Cheers,

Jeff