[Tango-L] Open Embrace Connection

[Jeff Gaynor]

Alex wrote:
> To David - with the shoulder injury/pain,
>   
David - Alternately, give them a hug, i.e., use one hand to support the 
other. I found this useful last year when I was having a nasty rotator 
cuff problem. The rotator cuff is responsible for stabilizing the 
shoulder so in the unilateral (one-armed) case it will have to work. If 
you make everything truly bilateral -- so you grab yourself and she's in 
the middle -- then the issue should abate.

Of course, open embrace is also a solution. But if you like CE and she's 
ok with it, then this works fine.

Alex - As for tweaking the lower back, this issue probably relates to 
bad posture on your part -- either because you have some issue (e.g. 
hamstring tightness) or your partner is pushing you into that position. 
I would suggest you play with doing what is essentially a teensy situp 
(so your abs are tight and your back is flat -- your back cannot get 
injured if you do this). No, I'm not saying hunch over, just bend 
minimally enough that you can feel your abs working. Nobody but you will 
probably notice if you do it right. In this way any force she applies to 
you will be handled by the *front* of you rather than your posterior 
chain.  On turns, it is better (again, this is if you have back issues) 
to keep both feet on the floor and twist your hips so your belt buckle 
points where you want to go rather than pivot since a pivot can always 
be replaced by a  twist + step. Pivots can hurt your back since you get 
a kink in your spine and since you are on one foot, there can be sudden 
loads on your back. Hope this helps.

And finally, some followers just don't get it if you tell them about an 
issue you are having. The best you can do, as Alex said, is politely 
find an excuse to avoid dancing with them until the problem is 
rectified. Case in point last year when I was having nasty rotator cuff 
issues I ended up dancing with a beginner (during a class) who ended up 
side-lining me for a good month because she re-tore my subscapularis, 
again. :o( Ouch!!

(I train  athletes, FWIW... If none of this makes sense, feel free to 
ask for a clarification.)

Cheers,

Jeff G
> I have a similar problem, and followers who do this also tend to tweak my
> lower back. You should be able to get (lead?) them out into open embrace
> where they are totally vertical on - and responsible for - their own axis -
> for the two or three remaining songs of the tanda.
>
> I also don't think it would be unreasonable for you to simply/gently explain
> that you have a shoulder injury, and "would it be okay to adjust our
> embrace?"... In between songs of course...
>
> If you are trying to dance more close embrace/milonguero, then this
> obviously becomes more of a problem/issue. Unfortunately, I have had to
> resort to making a mental note of followers who do this at a milonga, and no
> longer inviting them to dance...
>
>
>
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